Billie Eilish Was Once Bedridden Due to a Hip Injury. Almost 12 Years Later, Singer Says Moment Saved Her Life
Billie Eilish Was Once Bedridden Due to a Hip Injury. Almost 12 Years Later, Singer Says Moment Saved Her Life
Rachel McRadyTue, May 5, 2026 at 12:16 PM UTC
0
Billie Eilish on April 28 and as a teenCredit: Karwai Tang/WireImage; billieeilish/Instagram -
Billie Eilish was working towards becoming a professional dancer before sustaining a life-changing hip injury
The incident coincided with the release of the song “Ocean Eyes” on SoundCloud, which quickly gained unexpected traction
Eilish credits the injury with redirecting her path to music and ultimately launching her successful career
An injury that took Billie Eilish away from performing actually marked the start of her music career.
During an appearance on Amy Poehler's Good Hang podcast on Tuesday, May 5, the “Birds of a Feather” singer, 24, opened up about starting off her pre-teen years with the dream of being a professional dancer.
However, things went awry in the final rehearsal before her very first competition.
“I have a solo in each combo,” she recalled. “I was so excited. We were done with rehearsal. We were about to leave. And our teacher was like, ‘Wait, let's do one more just to film it.' And so we did one more, And we filmed it, and in the middle of my little twerk — literally 12 years old — my hip is like [pops out], and I got injured.”
Billie Eilish performs while laying on the stage in Miami on Oct. 9, 2025.Credit: Arturo Holmes/Getty
The injury left Eilish “lying on the floor” unable to walk or dance.
“Definitely couldn't do anything and was basically like bedridden for at least a week, and then I was on crutches, and I literally never danced again,” she recalled.
Advertisement
— sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
Billie Eilish on Amy Poehler's 'Good Hang' podcast.Credit: Good Hang with Amy Poehler/YouTube
But that heartbreaking moment coincided with Eilish and her brother Finneas putting their song “Ocean Eyes” on SoundCloud where it got lots of traction.
“Then that week I went to all these meetings in my crutches. Met with InterScope [Records], I met with all these different booking agents, I had my crutches, and I was so sad,” Eilish recalled.
However, looking back on that difficult time, Eilish realized that the injury was actually a blessing in disguise.
“When you think something is ruining your life, and it's really actually saving your life,” she said.
Billie Eilish attends the Grammy Awards on Feb. 1.Credit: Neilson Barnard/Getty
In fact, originally Eilish recorded her first hit “Ocean Eyes” as a song for her choreographer, who wanted something to dance to.
“We only put it on SoundCloud to send an easier link to the dance teacher,” Eilish said. “And so we did. And then that week I was getting ready for competition and then a week later Finneas called me, and he was like, ‘Billy, ‘Ocean Eyes' has 1,000 streams, 1,000!' And we were cheering and we were screaming and I was like, ‘This is the most amazing thing that's ever happened to me.' ”
on People
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
