It is heartbreaking to watch the now 19-year-old pop phenomenon share her struggles with mental health, which reached the depths of self-harm, and her anxiety navigating the music industry’s exploitation of young pop stars with soulless, opportunistic meet and greets and demands to “write a hit”.But the two and-a-half-hour, warts-and-all Apple TV+ film is also funny and heartwarming as it spotlights the tight-knit, protective circle formed by her brother and collaborator Finneas and parents Maggie Baird and Patrick O’Connell.Filmed as she recorded her debut album When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? the movie goes deep into the siblings’ unique creative process in producer Finneas’ bedroom in the family’s humble Los Angeles bungalow.Home movie footage show the family at play and Eilish as an aspiring young dancer whose dreams are dashed by a leg injury which flared up during her world tour, causing excruciating pain and tears of frustration and disappointment on stage when she couldn’t jump around.Her family and close friends rally at all times when she is confronted by adversity, but a discussion about future-proofing the teen pop chartslayer from social media pile-ons for her stance against smoking, drug and alcohol abuse, highlighted in her song Xanny, should shock the industry to its core.Billie, her mother and a team member are discussing the song and how she feels about the possibility of her words coming back to haunt her should she fall from grace like so many teenagers who are propelled to overnight superstardom.“I have my moment and then I do drugs and people are like ‘Ha ha ha remember when she said..,’” Eilish says.Her protective mum passionately rejects the idea she should not be authentic in her message now and insists she doesn’t have to fall into the timeworn trap of alcohol and drug abuse as she gets older.“Well, maybe don’t grow up to do that. Do you have to plan right now that every person who does what you do has to grow up and f … k up that way, and you have to plan it so you don’t get hate later,” Baird says.“Why are your parents with you all the time? You have a whole army of people trying to help you not decide to destroy your life like people in your shoes have done before.”Her mother is there when Eilish freaks out and briefly storms off during a chaotic backstage meet and greet session as male industry executives crowd the tiny teen for photo opps.The pop star is later dragged on social media for being “rude” at the meet and greet and her mother apologises on behalf of her team for “failing” to manage the situation better. Perhaps the music industry executives should have checked their entitlement at the backstage door.Fans are given an intimate insight into her songs about bad guys and heartbreak as she tries to maintain her secret relationship with singer boyfriend Q throughout 2019.There are cute scenes of them ice-skating and holding hands but so many instances of frustrating phone calls when he goes MIA at Coachella or goes partying with friends instead of showing up for her.While her Coachella performance is a triumph to everyone else but the singer – Eilish is devastated when her screens don’t work and she forgets the lyrics to one of her new songs.But it is her meet and greet with Katy Perry and Orlando Bloom which will inspire a million memes.She goes out of her dressing room to meet Perry, who pulls her fiance Bloom closer to introduce him to the pop star.The ebullient actor gushes all over the teenager and kisses her on the cheek but when Eilish heads back to the dressing room, she confesses to her family she had no clue who he was and thought the actor was some “random” with Perry.He later bombs her with another enthusiastic hug just as she is about to go on stage and as he walks off she remarks “now I know (him)’ to the camera.Fans of both Eilish and Bieber will be thrilled by the film’s spotlight on their beautiful friendship; the When The Party’s Over singer was such a diehard and hysterical Belieber as a child her mother considered taking her to therapy.Besides the sobbing hug they shared on first meeting in the pit during Ariana Grande’s set at Coachella, there is a gorgeous moment towards the end of the film when he makes the sweetest video call to congratulate her for winning all of the Grammys last year.The World’s A Little Blurry is a compelling testament to her extraordinary talent but also serves as a wake-up call to the industry to better protect their young stars from exploitation and cyber bullying.The World’s A Little Blurry is streaming on Apple TV+ now.
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