My Future

Album: Happier Ever After (2020)
Charted: 7 6
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Written and recorded in Los Angeles during lockdown, this ode to self-care finds Billie Eilish ready to put the past behind and excited about what's ahead of her. "I'm in love with my future, can't wait to meet her" the teenage songstress croons. The vibe is far more positive compared to the late-adolescent angst of her first album.
  • Eilish wrote the positive, soulful song with her producer/brother Finneas about a month into quarantine. It finds the singer reveling in her own company having "changed her plans" and isolated on her own. Eilish explained in an email to fans that the upbeat ballad reflects where her head was at the time: "hopeful" and "excited," having done a great deal "of self-reflection" and "self-growth."
  • Eilish expanded to Apple Music on how the lockdown inspired her to reexamine her feelings on loneliness and solitude. "I spent years and years relying on having someone - I could never be alone," she explained. "It's not something you'd think about being hard. But when you're in that alone zone, it's a new feeling. I feel like people - everything is about love. There's nothing that talks about how being alone is really powerful."
  • The ongoing worldwide turmoil resulting from the coronavirus pandemic added an extra layer of meaning to "My Future." Eilish encouraged her fans to remain optimistic despite the immense challenges brought on by the events of 2020.

    "Our future as a world and as a people, it's crazy when you can get to a point in life where hope itself feels hopeless," she said. "It feels hopeless to hope for stuff. Should you even be wishing? Should you even be hopeful? It's like, is it even worth it? That's insane, but that's where we are at this point. We need the music. We need the hope."
  • The sibling duo wrote and recorded the song in just two days, which is much quicker than Eilish and Finneas usually manage. The speedy turnaround was helped by Eilish nailing her vocal early in the process. The teenage pop star explained to Apple Music that she's normally a perfectionist with her singing and does hundreds of takes. "There was something about this one take that I did," Eilish explained, "and I was like, 'This is the only way that it can be.'"
  • Andrew Onorato created the positive pop song's animated music video. The Australian artist is known for his work on the TV movie Doomlands.
  • Billie Eilish gave the song its live debut on August 20, 2020, performing it at the third night of the virtual Democratic National Convention accompanied by Finneas on keys.
  • Billie Eilish told BBC Radio 1's Annie Mac that Michael Buble's 2009 single "Haven't Met You Yet" influenced this song. The Californian star explained the idea for "My Future" came subconsciously from a video she found of herself in her early teens listening to the uplifting ballad.

    "That song, when I was that age, I used to listen to it night and day just because it made me hopeful," Eilish continued. "I was also really depressed at the time and sad all the time, and that song made me excited for the future."

    Eilish sent the video to her friend, who told her she loved the clip because "you're talking about your future self, like, I just haven't met you yet, and I'm excited to meet you."

    Eilish thought her friend's reaction was cute and says it subconsciously inspired the chorus. "I was totally thinking about that," she recalled. "It was so exactly what I was feeling and thinking and wanted to convey and wanted to say and wanted to be heard."
  • Billie Eilish and Finneas wrote this song after their mom proposed they use the unexpected free time during the pandemic to create new music. Finneas told The LA Times their mother said, "What if you guys had a schedule where Billie came over and you worked three days a week?'"

    At first Finneas dismissed his mom's suggestion, but then she said, "Listen. Why don't you just try it for one week? You don't even have to make anything."

    Within the first week, they'd written and recorded "My Future."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Andrew Farriss of INXS

Andrew Farriss of INXSSongwriter Interviews

Andrew Farriss on writing with Michael Hutchence, the stories behind "Mystify" and other INXS hits, and his country-flavored debut solo album.

Chris Robinson of The Black Crowes

Chris Robinson of The Black CrowesSongwriter Interviews

"Great songwriters don't necessarily have hit songs," says Chris. He's written a bunch, but his fans are more interested in the intricate jams.

Brandi Carlile

Brandi CarlileSongwriter Interviews

As a 5-year-old, Brandi was writing lyrics to instrumental versions lullabies. She still puts her heart into her songs, including the one Elton John sings on.

Fire On The Stage

Fire On The StageSong Writing

When you have a song called "Fire," it's tempting to set one - these guys did.

Barry Dean ("Pontoon," "Diamond Rings And Old Barstools")

Barry Dean ("Pontoon," "Diamond Rings And Old Barstools")Songwriter Interviews

A top country songwriter, Barry talks about writing hits for Little Big Town, Tim McGraw and Jason Aldean.

Penny Ford of Snap!

Penny Ford of Snap!Songwriter Interviews

The original voice of Snap! this story is filled with angry drag queens, video impersonators and Chaka Khan.