Her name is Olivia Christina Ciaramella Bergström, known professionally as BILLIE B. I'm a French-Swedish singer and songwriter born in Grenoble South-Eastern France. In 2017, I was discovered by the Swedish Label "Komp Music" and started working with record producer & songwriter, K-PROD (Khosro Sharifi). My debut single, “Until We Die”, was released in 2019. Naivety and melancholia are key leads through my creative process. My musical preference is pop, with the influences of electronic and hip-hop/r&b.
Billie B's "Until We Die" was a recent Radio Airplay song contest winner and can be heard playing to thousands of listeners per day in Jango Radio's Top 100
Billie B's "Until We Die" was a recent Radio Airplay song contest winner and can be heard playing to thousands of listeners per day in Jango Radio's Top 100
Can you describe Billie B's sound in one ramble-on sentence?
Airy deaf sound with big space, passionate and emotional.
What's your earliest music-related memory growing up?
I grew up in a punk rock and electro music environment in the tattoo shop of my stepfather where I spent all my days. I loved the Ramones, David Bowie, and Laurent Garnier. My first love was Billy Idol! At 12, I started to listen to the French singer and songwriter Daniel Balavoine. I connected with his lyrics, which was full of sadness, revolt, despair, pain, and hope. It influenced my vision of the world.
If you were to cover another band/artist's album, which would you pick and why?
I think I would pick Beauty Behind The Madness. That is how I discovered The Weeknd. I connected directly with his world and the sound he uses is exactly what inspires me.
Do you write/compose your own songs? Briefly describe your songwriting process. How did "Until We Die" come about?
When I have a new melody popping into my head, I usually record it on my phone. That is the funny thing with inspiration, you can't decide when it’s coming. For “Until We Die,” I had the two first sentences “How you think its gonna end, you and me we are the same.” You can hear on the original recording that I was doing the dishes at the restaurant when I had this idea. After that everything became real when I went to the studio and showed it to K-PROD. He just went to his piano and composed the melody. It was like he was in my head; it was magical. He gave me the microphone and we wrote the song the same day.
Does anything, in particular, inspire you to write? What gets your creative juices flowing?
I write about the things that I can't talk about; the past, and emotions that I have, that I need to get out. It’s like another language. I go deep into my world. But the most inspiring moments is when KPROD plays the piano or when he just picks a cool dark sound. For me, the magic happens when you blend your world with the world of someone else and create something unique.
What has been a highlight for you in the past year? (Either personally or for your music career.)
My first song came out and I can share it with people. Finally, they get to see my work.
What do you like more: Performing live or recording in the studio?
Those are two very different experiences. In the studio, you have to be super focused, you are alone with yourself. Live, you have the energy of the people in the room. You give something and you get something, you connect.
What are some artists/bands that you're into at the moment? Or any particular song you find yourself listening to over and over?
Billie Eilish! Such a prodigy for me. She is the future of Pop! #teambillie
Any embarrassing on stage/in studio moments you'd like to share? C’mon, don’t be shy.
The day that a famous Swedish producer came in the studio to listen to my songs and I was so tired that I just fell asleep on the sofa, I don't think I impressed him by that, haha…
What's one thing people should know about you?
I’m gonna make it.
What do you enjoy doing outside of making music? Does your hobby rejuvenate your creativity?
Eat! More seriously I am a social animal. I love to meet people, going out, go to concerts. Art in all its aspects is something that feeds my soul, books, painting, cinema, theater, etc… I am a curious kind of person that needs to understand everything. But I also need some time alone to create and connect with myself. Doing sport is also a need, also love dance and boxing.
If you had one message to give to your fans, what would it be?
Be you, be pure, be naive and don't let anyone change you!
What's next? Can you give us a hint for what's to come the remainder of 2019?
I will try to get my first three songs ready asap, so I can perform them live!
Billie B's Links: