"Your Power" is a song by American singer-songwriter Billie Eilish. Darkroom and Interscope Records released it as the third single from her second studio album Happier Than Ever (2021) on April 29, 2021. A folk ballad accompanied by an acoustic guitar, the song is a plea for people to stop abusing their authority, mainly towards vulnerable women. Eilish wrote "Your Power" with her brother, Finneas O'Connell, who handled its production.
The song received positive reviews from music critics, who praised its subject matter. In the US, "Your Power" debuted at its peak position of number 10 on the Billboard Hot 100: the highest chart entry during that week. "Your Power" reached the top 10 in singles charts for 20 other countries, including the UK where it received a silver certification. It peaked at number 6 on the Billboard Global 200.
Eilish directed the music video for "Your Power", which premiered on the same day as the song's release. In it, she sings alone at the Simi Valley; during this, an anaconda wraps itself around her. Eilish revealed the first live rendition of the song in The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. She included it in the set lists of a 2021 concert film and a 2022 world tour in support of Happier Than Ever. Eilish also performed "Your Power" as part of political causes, such as in protest against the US Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.
Background and release
Eilish released a snippet of "Your Power", a ballad with acoustic instrumentation, on April 28, 2021.[1][2] Regarding the track, Eilish stated, "This is one of my favorite songs I've ever written. I feel very vulnerable putting this one out because I hold it so close to my heart. This is about many different situations that we've all either witnessed or experienced. I hope I can inspire change. Try not to abuse your power."[3] In her 2021 British Vogue cover story following the release of her single, the 19-year-old star talks her new song's "open letter to people who take advantage," body image, and sexual misconduct.[4] In an official Vevo Happier Than Ever interview, Eilish said that she chooses singles because of their lyrics rather than if the song "will be big". Regarding "Your Power", the singer expressed that the song felt like "very kind of middle ground for the album". According to her, she assigns "tang brown" color to both the song, and the album.[5]
Music and lyrics
"Your Power"
A folk ballad, "Your Power" features a minimalist production that consists of acoustic guitars alongside reverberating vocals from Eilish, who performs with her signature soft singing style.
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"Your Power" is primarily a folk ballad[lower-alpha 1]—for Jordan Darville of The Fader, the song fell under the genre of indie folk.[6] Sung with a falsetto vocal register,[7] it has a minimalist production that emphasizes Eilish's vocal performance[8] and starts with a seven-note melody.[9] Her voice has a reverberating effect,[10] and acoustic guitars serve as the song's instruments.[11]
Critics observed a difference between its stripped-back sound and the sound of Eilish's older works.[10][12][13][14]The Guardian's Alexis Petridis contrasted the production to what he described as the "electronic horror-movie soundtrack approach" of When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? (2019), Eilish's debut studio album. He argued that "Your Power" drew stylistic influences from the music of Mazzy Star and Lana Del Rey.[10] Other critics compared it to songs by the band America[15] or singer Phoebe Bridgers based on its personal lyrics and subtle production.[14][16]
The song is a plea for people to stop abusing their authority—mainly about men who take advantage of young and vulnerable women,[17] but also about exploited teenage boys.[18] "Your Power" explores the topics of domestic abuse,[18] sexual harassment,[19] and statutory rape.[20] Its verses narrate an encounter that a high school student has with an older man, with whom she has sex.[12] Four lines from the song read: "Does it keep you in control? / For you to keep her in a cage? / And you swear you didn't know / You said you thought she was your age."[21] Eilish questions if the man feels any sense of regret about the relationship.[22][23]
Eilish, who received significant levels of abuse during childhood,[24] stops talking in third person during two lines to discuss her own experiences with exploitation. She sings about getting gaslit,[25] talking about how she was conditioned to blame herself for someone else's "devil[ish]" behavior.[13][16] "Your Power" also references abusive power dynamics in the music and film industries, as shown by the lyrics "Will you only feel bad if it turns out / That they kill your contract".[26] However, Eilish stressed that the song is not about her, nor is it about a specific person from the music industry who exploited her, highlighting that the mishandling of authority is a ubiquitous phenomenon.[27]
Chart performance
In the United States, "Your Power" entered the Billboard Hot 100 at number 10 as the week's highest debut. The song marks Billie's third top 10 debut on the chart and fifth top 10 overall.[28] The following week, "Your Power" plummeted to number 29, before further falling to number 54 in its third.[29][30] During its first two weeks, the song received over 150 million streams.[31]
Eilish and her brother Finneas O'Connell performing "Your Power" during her Happier Than Ever, The World Tour
On May 11, 2021, Eilish appeared in The Late Show with Stephen Colbert for her first live rendition of "Your Power". Like with the music video, she performed the song in the middle of a desert. Accompanying her was her brother Finneas O'Connell, who played the acoustic guitar and provided additional vocals.[34][35] The two also featured in an official live performance of the song for Vevo that premiered via YouTube on July 18, 2021. Kyle Goldberg directed the video, set in a narrow hallway lined with light brown curtains, and had it filmed all in one take.[36][37]
After the album's release, Eilish performed "Your Power" in Happier Than Ever: A Love Letter to Los Angeles, a concert film that premiered on Disney+ on September 3, 2021.[38] She included it in the set list of the Happier Than Ever, The World Tour (2022), which ran from February 3 to September 30.[39] Eilish, who used the song as the tour's midpoint interlude, sat down with Finneas to sing together and play acoustic guitars.[40] "Your Power" appeared in Eilish's headlining sets for three music festivals: Life Is Beautiful in 2021,[41] and Coachella and Glastonbury in 2022.[42][43]
Eilish also dedicated live performances of the song to express her views on political causes. As part of the worldwide "Stand Up for Ukraine" rally on social media, she sang it with Finneas in support of Ukrainian peoples displaced due to the 2022 Russian invasion.[44][45] During that year's Glastonbury Festival, Eilish performed "Your Power" in defiance of the US Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, a landmark case that had made abortion a constitutional right in the country.[43][46]
Music video
The music video for "Your Power" is set in the deserts of Simi Valley.
A music video directed by Eilish herself premiered simultaneously with the song's release, on April 29, 2021. It marked the fourth time that she acted as director for her own music videos.[47] With a duration of around four minutes,[48] the video is set in a desert, specifically California's Simi Valley.[49][50] It depicts Eilish on her own as she sings the lyrics on a mountainside and the camera slowly zooms in towards her.[11] Later, an 80-pound (36kg) anaconda appears and slowly wraps itself around Eilish,[48][51] as she utters the lines "Does it keep you in control? / For you to keep her in a cage?"[47] Meredith B. Kile of Entertainment Tonight interpreted the scene as a metaphor for how authority can feel constricting.[49]
Darville, Jordan (April 29, 2021). "Billie Eilish shares 'Your Power' music video". The Fader. Archived from the original on October 16, 2021. Retrieved July 19, 2022. The song marks a shift for Eilish towards stripped-down indie folk...
"ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Digital Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Change the chart to CZ – SINGLES DIGITAL – TOP 100 and insert 202118 into search. Retrieved May 10, 2021.
"RIAS Top Charts". Recording Industry Association Singapore. Archived from the original on May 13, 2021. Retrieved May 15, 2021.
"ČNS IFPI" (in Slovak). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiálna. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: insert 202143 into search. Retrieved November 1, 2021.
"ČNS IFPI". IFPI ČR. Note: Select SK SINGLES DIGITAL TOP 100 and insert 20218 into search. Archived from the original on April 1, 2019. Retrieved May 10, 2021.
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