Watch (Billie Eilish song)

"Watch" (stylized in all lowercase) is a song by American singer Billie Eilish from her debut EP Don't Smile at Me (2017). Written and produced by Eilish's brother Finneas O'Connell, the song was released for digital download and streaming through Darkroom and Interscope Records on June 30, 2017, as the third single from the EP.

"Watch"
Single by Billie Eilish
from the EP Don't Smile at Me
ReleasedJune 30, 2017 (2017-06-30)
GenrePop
Length2:56
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Finneas O'Connell
Billie Eilish singles chronology
"Bored"
(2017)		 "Watch"
(2017)		 "Copycat"
(2017)
Music video
"Watch" on YouTube

A pop ballad, the lyrics of "Watch" address Eilish leaving a toxic relationship. The song received platinum certifications in the United States, Australia and Canada by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) and Music Canada (MC), respectively. A music video for the track was released on September 18, 2017, and was directed by Megan Park. In the visual, Eilish sets the remnants of a toxic relationship on fire and dumps her former lover. "Watch" was performed live by Eilish during her 2019 When We All Fall Asleep Tour.

Background and composition

"Watch" was released on June 30, 2017, as the third single on Eilish's debut EP Don't Smile at Me.[1] The track was written and produced by Eilish's brother, Finneas O'Connell. Mastering and mixing was handled by the studio personnel, John Greenham and Rob Kinelski, respectively.[2] The song was originally titled "Watch & Burn", before becoming two separate tracks, one being "Watch" and the other being "&Burn", a collaboration with Vince Staples.[3][4]

According to sheet music published by Hal Leonard Music Publishing at Musicnotes.com, "Watch" has a moderately fast tempo of 80–84 beats per minute (BPM) and is played in the key of C Major, while Eilish's vocals range from G3 to C5.[5] The song was described as a pop ballad by music critics.[4][6] The song starts with the strike of a match and continues throughout the song as its main beat.[4][7] In the lyrics, Eilish writes a missive to her former lover, saying she is leaving their toxic relationship behind: "If we were meant to be, we would have been by now/See what you wanna see, but all I see is him right now."[7][8] As the chorus comes in, Eilish sings about not wanting to be in the relationship anymore: "I'll sit and watch your car burn/With the fire that you started in me/But you never came back to ask it out."[4][7][8] Finneas later explained in an interview with Pitchfork saying: "This is me just lighting a bunch of matches in the bathroom. It became the snare essentially for [the] song. There were all these references to starting a fire and that’s a more inventive way to use a sound than to just be like, 'Yeah, we’re gonna start with the sound of the waves rolling in or something.'"[9]

Reception

"Watch" was met with generally favorable reviews from music critics. Insider's Claudia Willen wrote that the song "provided a mere glimpse of the greatness to come in Eilish's career."[7] Nicole Almeida of Atwood Magazine commended the production, which she described as "meticulous" and "amazing".[4] Avery Stone of Vice described the chorus as "sweeping".[8] It was ranked number 28 by NME's Sam Moore, who compared it to Lorde's compositions and affirmed it was a "stepping stone towards bigger and better things".[6] The track has been awarded several certifications; including platinum certifications in Australia, Canada, and the United States by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA), Music Canada (MC), and the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), respectively.[10][11][12]

Promotion

A music video for "Watch" was released on September 18, 2017, and directed by Canadian actress Megan Park.[8] In the video, Eilish sets the remnants of a toxic relationship on fire and dumps her former lover.[8] The singer stated in an interview with Vice that Park came up with her sitting in a bedroom during the video: "You see that room is right across from the ladder where I'm burning. And I get up and I walk over to the other 'ladder.' who represents the old me, who's hurt and heartbroken by this boy, and can't do anything without thinking about this person. And the new me is kind of over it. So I go up to the old me like, 'Screw you, I'm going to light you on fire now.'"[8] In March 2018, Eilish and Finneas performed an acoustic version of "Watch". The track was also performed live during Eilish's North American 1 by 1 tour. It was also included on the setlist of her When We All Fall Asleep Tour (2019).[13][14][15]

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Don't Smile at Me.[2]

  • Billie Eilish – vocals
  • Finneas O'Connell – producer, songwriter
  • John Greenham – mastering engineer, studio personnel
  • Rob Kinelski – mixer, studio personnel

Charts
2019 year-end chart positions for "Watch"
Chart (2019) Position
Portugal (AFP)[16] 782

Certifications
Certifications and sales for "Watch"
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[10] Platinum 70,000
Canada (Music Canada)[11] Platinum 80,000
Mexico (AMPROFON)[17] Gold 30,000
Poland (ZPAV)[18] Gold 10,000
United Kingdom (BPI)[19] Silver 200,000
United States (RIAA)[12] Platinum 1,000,000

Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References
  1. "watch by Billie Eilish on Spotify". Spotify. Archived from the original on January 31, 2019. Retrieved January 30, 2018.
  2. Don't Smile at Me (booklet). Billie Eilish. Darkroom/Interscope Records. 2019. B0030752-02.CS1 maint: others (link)
  3. Spruch, Kristen (December 12, 2019). "10 Billie Eilish Songs Every Superfan Should Know". Billboard. Archived from the original on June 26, 2020. Retrieved August 14, 2020.
  4. Almedia, Nicole (February 16, 2018). "Music You Should Know: Confidence & Boldness on Billie Eilish's Debut EP 'Don't Smile at Me'". Atwood Magazine. Archived from the original on March 13, 2020. Retrieved May 25, 2020.
  5. "Billie Eilish 'Watch' Sheet Music". Musicnotes.com. Archived from the original on July 16, 2020. Retrieved May 22, 2020.
  6. Smith, Thomas; Moore, Sam. "Every single Billie Eilish song ranked in order of greatness". NME. Retrieved October 15, 2020.
  7. Ahlgrim, Callie; Torres, Libby; Willen, Claudia (March 18, 2020). "Every Billie Eilish song, ranked". Insider. Retrieved April 5, 2020.
  8. Stone, Avery (September 18, 2017). "Watch Billie Eilish Set Fire to a Bad Relationship in New Video for 'watch'". Vice. Archived from the original on March 13, 2020. Retrieved April 5, 2020.
  9. "Finneas Explains How He Builds Songs For Billie Eilish | Critical Breakthroughs". Pitchfork. April 22, 2020. Archived from the original on June 24, 2020. Retrieved June 21, 2020 – via YouTube.
  10. "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2019 Singles". Australian Recording Industry Association. Archived from the original on February 20, 2019. Retrieved November 22, 2019.
  11. "Canadian single certifications – Billie Eilish – Watch". Music Canada.
  12. "American single certifications – Billie Eilish – Watch". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved November 22, 2019. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Single, then click SEARCH. 
  13. Trendell, Andrew (February 12, 2019). "Watch Billie Eilish perform 'Bury A Friend' and 'When I Was Older' live for the first time". NME. Archived from the original on October 1, 2019. Retrieved May 25, 2020.
  14. "Billie Eilish Announces North American 1 By 1 Tour". Universal Music Group. Retrieved June 22, 2020.
  15. "Billie Eilish - Watch (Acoustic) - Up Next". YouTube. March 28, 2018. Archived from the original on December 8, 2019. Retrieved December 12, 2019.
  16. "Top AFP - Audiogest - Top 3000 Singles + EPs Digitais" (PDF) (in Portuguese). Associação Fonográfica Portuguesa. Archived (PDF) from the original on August 9, 2020. Retrieved July 3, 2020.
  17. "Certificaciones" (in Spanish). Asociación Mexicana de Productores de Fonogramas y Videogramas. Retrieved January 14, 2020. Type Billie Eilish in the box under the ARTISTA column heading and Watch in the box under TÍTULO
  18. "Polish single certifications – Billie Eilish – Watch" (in Polish). Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved November 18, 2020.
  19. "British single certifications – Billie Eilish – Watch". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved May 8, 2020. Select singles in the Format field. Select Silver in the Certification field. Type Watch in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
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