My Future

"My Future" (stylized in all lowercase) is a song by American singer Billie Eilish, released on July 30, 2020. Eilish co-wrote it with her brother Finneas O'Connell, who also handled the production. Described as an uptempo lo-fi and R&B-based ballad with influences of soul, jazz and ASMR videos, the song's lyrics address Eilish contemplating about her past and the effects it had on her outlook on life and the future, discussing how she is ready to put the past behind.

"My Future"
Single by Billie Eilish
ReleasedJuly 30, 2020
Recorded2020
Genre
Length3:28
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Finneas
Billie Eilish singles chronology
"Ilomilo"
(2020)		 "My Future"
(2020)		 "Therefore I Am"
(2020)
Music video
"My Future" on YouTube

An animated music video for "My Future" was directed by Australian director Andrew Onorato, and released on Eilish's official YouTube channel on July 30, 2020. The video depicts Eilish walking away from a relationship and thinking about her future, and was praised by music critics for its animation.

Background and release

On January 20, 2020, Eilish confirmed that she was recording a new album and revealed plans to release a documentary at some point in 2020, the latter of which started being filmed in July 2018.[1][2][3] On July 24, 2020, she took to her Instagram page to post a picture of herself standing on a balcony with the skyline of Los Angeles in the background, wearing a black face mask and a grey jogging suit. The post featured the caption "'my future' out thursday".[1] On July 27, Eilish promoted the track by sharing the cover art, which features a drawing of herself sitting under a tree while looking at the moon.[4] On July 29, Eilish shared a 20-second audio clip of "My Future" on Instagram, captioned with the word "tomorrow".[4][5] "My Future" was inspired by Eilish being alone in quarantine during the COVID-19 pandemic.[6] In an interview with Apple Music's Zane Lowe, Eilish states: "We wrote the song in like two days, this is the most we've ever worked in one period of time. But we record, we wrote it like a month into quarantine probably. And it was pouring rain. It was such a perfect setting. And then we recorded the vocal in Finneas' studio, which is just in his basement in his house".[7][8] "My Future" was written by Eilish along with her brother Finneas O'Connell, while production was solely handled by the latter. The track was mastered by John Greenham and mixed by Rob Kinelski, both of whom also served as studio personnel.[9] It was released for digital download and streaming as a single on July 30, 2020, via Darkroom and Interscope Records.[10][11]

Composition and lyrical interpretation

"My Future" received mixed reviews from music critics. They described "My Future" as an uptempo lo-fi and R&B-based ballad with influences of soul and jazz.[12][13][14][15][16] It shows Eilish "moving beyond teen stardom to stand in satin alongside vocal stylists like Sabrina Claudio, Jorja Smith and Corinne Bailey Rae – skilled and serious artists as interested in the history of the chanteuse as they are in current trends."[12] The song starts off slow and gloomy, having a melancholic melody, and later changes into a confident and upbeat search for a bright future.[17] Coco Romack of MTV mentions the track beat "kicks up with a peppy, summery beat" and is supported by "cooing backup voices [by] [Finneas]" and that "My Future", "claps back at the notion that one must be validated by outside affection".[18][19] Noah Yoo of Pitchfork states "My Future" features "mellow electric" piano, drums and guitar.[20] Craig Jenkins of Vulture says the track "blends nostalgic Disney-soundtrack melodicism with soulful blue notes".[21] "My Future" has been compared to Eilish's cover of Bobby Hebb's "Sunny".[21]

Lyrically, it is about a powerful ode to self-love and personal power.[18] As the song starts off, it begins almost entirely a capella as Eilish decides to walk away from a relationship, putting herself and her future first. "Can't you hear me?/I'm not comin' home/Do you understand?/I've changed my plans/I'm in love with my future".[22] But by the time song gets to a minute and 45 seconds, a percussive beat kicks in, speeding things up.[23] “I'm in love with my future/Can't wait to meet her/I'm in love, but not with anybody else/Just want to get to know myself”. Eilish sings through jazz-inspired vocals as a "funky" bass line also appears.[24] "I know supposedly I'm lonely now (Lonely now)/Know I'm supposed to be unhappy without someone (Someone)/But aren't I someone? (Aren't I someone? Yeah)/I'd (I'd) like to be your answer (Be your answer)/'Cause you're so handsome (You're so handsome)".[24] The song ends on voice and keyboards, with the lyrics: "I'll see you in a couple years."[12]

Critical reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
The Daily Telegraph [25]
NME [26]

Upon release, "My Future" received critical acclaim from music critics. William Hughes of The A.V. Club, called it "sleepy" and "somnambulistic".[13] Gary Dinges of USA Today commended the lyrical content, which he described has "raw lyrics" and "stellar vocals".[22] Samantha Hissong and Brittany Spanos writing for Rolling Stone, described "My Future" as Eilish's "most uplifting song to date".[24] Romack praised the song as "dreamy".[18] The staff of Teen Vogue commented that the song "shows continued growth in how Billie is looking at the world", while the staff of DIY called it "something of an understated feminist anthem".[14][16] Jenkins depicted the track as "a reminder that even though the present looks scary, there are better times on the other side".[21]

John R. Kennedy of iHeartRadio labeled "My Future" as a "poignant" song.[27] The song was praised by The New York Times' Jon Caramanica, who called it "textured" and "uncomplicated" and felt "Eilish's ease is the dominant mode — worrying about yourself first makes for no worry at all".[15] Jessica Mckinney of Complex praised the song as one of Eilish's most "rare upbeat and sunny records".[28] Sam Prance of PopBuzz said the track is one of Eilish's "most personal songs to date".[29] Writing for The Independent, Isobel Lewis regarded the song as a "haunting piano ballad" with "strong guitar and Eilish's signature electronic style".[30] Reviewing for Slant Magazine, Alexa Camp cited the track as a "dreary but gorgeous dirge, with Eilish's soulful, layered vocals stacked on top of atmospheric keyboards".[31] Mike Wass of Idolator praised the production of "My Future", which he describes has "reflect[ed] the positivity of the lyrics".[6]

Writing for Hollywood Life, Jason Brow commented that the song was a "beautifully positive dance tune".[32] Evening Standard's Jochan Embley noted the track has a starts off slow, with a "shimmering" intro, and that it "springs to life with a funky, low-key groove".[33] The song was placed at number 12 on Inisder's Every Billie Eilish song, ranked list, with Callie Ahlgrim describing the song as "gorgeous", "poetic", and an "extremely timely ode to independence", and further praised the production, saying it "remains appropriately gentle", and never "feels glib or over-the-top optimistic". She concludes saying Eilish's vocals "have truly never sounded better", and remarked them as "effortless" and "hypnotic" that are "noticeably more drawn-out, elaborate, and confident."[34]

Year-end lists
"My Future" on year-end lists
Publication List Rank Ref.
Billboard The 100 Best Songs of 2020 33 [35]
Dazed The 20 Best Tracks of 2020 10 [36]
Stereogum The Top 40 Pop Songs Of 2020 25 [37]
Slate Top 20 Singles 17 [38]
USA Today The 10 Best Songs of 2020 1 [39]

Commercial performance

Following the release of "My Future", the song debuted at number 6 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart dated August 15, 2020, becoming Eilish's third top 10 hit in the United States and her highest debut on the chart, surpassing "Bad Guy", which debuted at number 7.[40][41] The track also topped the US Billboard Hot Rock & Alternative Songs chart, rising from number 18 to number one during the issue dated August 15, 2020, becoming Eilish's first number one hit on that chart.[41] It also peaked at number 1 on the Alternative Rock chart.[41] On the US Alternative Digital Song Sales chart, "My Future" became Eilish's fifth number one.[41] She is currently tied with Twenty One Pilots for the second-most leaders on the Alternative Digital Song Sales charts history.[41] Imagine Dragons leads the chart with six number ones.[41] The track was streamed 20.9 million times and had 15,000 downloads in the US through July 31 and Aug 6, 2020.[41] It drew more than 1.3 million streams and sold 3,000 in the week ending July 30.[41] It ranked up to 7.4 million downloads on radio during the week dated Aug 9, 2020.[41]

On the UK Singles Chart, the song reached number 7, becoming Eilish's fifth top 10 in the United Kingdom.[42]

Music video

Background

An animated music video for "My Future" was directed by Australian director Andrew Onorato, and released on Eilish's official YouTube channel the same day the single was released.[12][23] It was produced by Australian animation company Studio Chop.[43] The video was animated by Alex Dray, Onorato, Annie Zhao, Cliona Noonan, Ian Ballantyne, João Monteiro, Josh Trotter, Keith Kavanagh, Maddie Brewer, Nancy Li, Sarah Schmidt, and Sean Anderson.[44] The video has been described as "anime in nature".[45]

Synopsis
The animated video for the track depicts Eilish contemplating her future.

The visual tells a story of a young woman “coming into her own".[14] In it, an animated Billie, wearing a necklace with her "Blohsh" logo, with neon green-tinged hair, symbolizes a relationship she's walking away from. She wanders alone through a Studio Ghibli-inspired, psychedelic forest in the rain as she contemplates about her future.[13][22][46] When the second verse comes around, the sun comes out and the forest begins to bloom, as trees engulf Eilish and lift her up to the sky, showing a sign of her hopeful future.[19][23][47]

Reception

The animated video was positively received by music critics upon its release. Jackson Langford of NME called it a "gorgeous animated affair",[23] while Ann Powers of NPR stated Eilish was a "fairy tale heroine" and that the song "dwells within the magic cultivated by an autonomous young woman who's ready to claim her future as it comes".[12] Ronia Aniftos writing for Billboard commented that "[as] [the] sun comes out and the greenery begins to bloom exponentially, [so] [does] Eilish's career continues to do in real life".[19] Kirsten Acuna of Insider viewed the visual as a "beautifully animated music video".[17] Jessica Wang writing for Bustle magazine compared the visual to the works of Hayao Miyazaki, with movies such as: Spirited Away, My Neighbor Totoro and Kiki's Delivery Service.[44]

In a less enthusiastic review, Time Out magazine writer Emma Steen, noted the video "lack[ed] the finesse of a Ghibli anime", but said it was a "mesmerising visual".[43]

Live performances

Eilish made her debut performance of the song on the third night of the 2020 Democratic National Convention.[48]

Personnel

Credits adapted from Tidal.[9]

Charts

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[86] Gold 40,000

Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history
Release dates and formats for "My Future"
Region Date Format Label Ref.
Various July 30, 2020
[10]
Australia July 31, 2020 Contemporary hit radio Universal [87]
United Kingdom
  • Darkroom
  • Interscope
 [88]
Various September 18, 2020 7" picture disc
[89]

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