A CONVERSATION WITH... billianne.
Meet Billianne: a singer-songwriter and one of the most captivating new voices in folk-pop by day. By night, she’s a stationary lover and Taylor Swift lyrical analyst.
Credit: Ruby Boland
I’ve heard that you’re a stationary lover and a fan of old-school pen and paper.
Yes! Though my keyboard player is making fun of me cause in my bag, I had like 2 notebooks, 3 books, and 3 different pens. They all have different purposes. I have one pen that’s a typical ballpoint pen, tapered at the top, and that’s good for writing in my journal. But then I have this fine point pen, always a trusty one. And then I have an erasable pen because I was actually looking for a pencil. I wanted to annotate my book. So, I had to explain why I came all the way from Canada with all of that in my bag.
But it’s worth the heavy bag to perform over here for The Great Escape. So what originally drew you to a life filled with notebooks filled with song lyrics and music?
I was always a creative kid in that way. One of the stories I always tell is that my parents built the front porch, and I started using it as a stage. I was that kid that would be seeing the grass as my audience. I would sing for the neighbours, too. So, my love for music started with performing. I was in a bunch of bands in high school, and I played trombone in the concert band and the jazz band. I sang in the punk band and the acappella group. I was also going to be a part of the musical before it was cancelled because of COVID. I still wonder if I could have done it. I didn't get a chance to memorise the lines, so who knows? I've always just had the love of songwriting and dissecting other people's lyrics. And so that kind of came very naturally to me once I started dipping my toes more into that world.
Are there any lyrics from when you first started writing or now that still captivate you?
That's a hard question. I feel like there's a lot. When I was younger, a lot of them were Taylor Swift stuff, especially with her mic drop lines. It could be something so casually snuck into the second verse, and it’ll be the best songwriting you’ve ever heard.
In ‘gold rush’, she says “Falling feels like flying til the bones crush.” That’s art. The whole evermore album really inspired me. That album and1989 album are Taylor Swift to me.
It's the lyricism of it all and the playfulness of 1989. I love including playful lyrics in my music. Of course, there’s the folksiness of evermore and folklore with their extreme metaphors. I love doing that, too. Taylor is one example, but she’s a strong example.
With all these different inspirations and different paths to create music, what pushed you to go for making it a full-time adventure for you?
Credit: Ruby Boland
It's funny, because sometimes it feels like it kind of just happened. Over the last two years, I started taking it seriously. I was doing what was fun, posting on TikTok, and my music just happened to go viral. It was a stroke of luck going viral. But when I had that, it was confirmation to me that people were interested. That was my first experience reading comments from millions of strangers saying, “I love your voice. I want to hear an album. I want to hear music.” And I thought to myself, “I could do that.” So, I did do that. That Halloween was a turning point for me.
How has it felt since getting pushed into viral fame and now continuing that streak of eyes on you and your music?
It felt really good. There's definitely been a lot of nerve-wracking moments and uncertainty. That's a thread throughout all of this. You have to really trust yourself and trust your gut. The entire thing about being a woman in music and being new to the music industry is that you’re constantly learning to trust yourself. It's like I’m having my second coming of age in my 20s. I'm learning about myself, learning what I like, and learning how to trust myself. It has been a big process. 80% of it is just fun all the time and I love playing shows. Like the showcase we just did! I love it. I love playing with the band. It’s one of the best feelings in the world to do the show with them and celebrate with them after.
When you talk about the second coming of age, how would you describe who you are now as an artist and as a person?
I'm always constantly learning and I'm very introspective in myself, which can be overwhelming sometimes.
One of the things I'm learning right now is that it's OK to be bossy. I think women, a lot of the time, are called like bossy quicker in this industry. It's OK to be bossy and it's OK to know what you want. There are all these life lessons that are really intertwined with my job in the industry and my life outside of it. I'm proud of myself for learning that.
Speaking of music: in 2025, is there anything that you can share about your upcoming album?
What could I say? There will be at least one more single before it happens, so that's something to give you. It’s going to be like a folk pop album. But there are like rock elements, too. We really dip our toes into everything. I'm very excited for it to come out. Since I'm learning what I like and learning what I want to do, I get to have fun with my music. I really think the fun part of music is you can kind of do whatever you want, as long as you're staying true to yourself. I did that with this album.
Off that album or not, what would be a song you’d want people to hear first and be their introduction to you?
People could start with my song ‘Future Emma’, which is one of my most recent releases.
Credit: Ruby Boland
It shows the emotional side of my songwriting and it’s a very personal story to me. It's a story about my friend. She was going through a really hard time in life, with family members being in the hospital. We were talking about how I wish that we had “normal problems”, whatever normal problems are for a 20-year-old girl. Like a boy not texting you back and the bus not coming, those sort of things. Not like, “Will someone live or die?” It's a heavy concept, but I'm proud of the song and being able to put it down into words. She really likes it, too.
What’s a moment of joy you’ve had on all these adventures you want to end with?
Honestly, the top of the list is playing with my band. They're my friends and I just feel so honoured that they came out with me and they're excited about playing the songs. Those moments on stage when we're all grooving, we're all locked in. That's joy for me.