"I've got famous, famous, at 13."
With those words, multiple-Grammy award winner Billie Eilish introduces us to the first episode of Origins, a new podcast available on Audible.
"People are incredibly cruel," Eilish goes on to say.
"It's so weird to be scrolling through TikTok and then there's a video that says, 'I really hate Billie Eilish as a person, but this song is really good.'
"And I'm like, 'Do I know you? Do I know you?'"
In reflecting on her origin story, Eilish said she finds it odd that her music is referred to as depressing.
"It was so weird to me when I was first coming up," she said.
"And the thing everybody said was, 'Billie Eilish's music is so depressing and it's so sad and it's too dark,' and I was like, 'What are you talking about?'
"Have you listened to The Beatles and As My Guitar Gently Weeps, and Yesterday and Lana Del Rey? Like, what the hell?
"It was so surprising to me that people thought anything I was creating was dark. I mean, it's real."
Produced by Fresh Produce Media, the eight-part series is in its debut season and features Eilish, Grammy winner Doja Cat, Audio-visual artist and rapper Tobe Nwigwe, Grammy Award-winning producer, filmmaker, composer and rapper Flying Lotus and Grammy-nominated country music star Mickey Guyton, among others.
'I can do so much more than be a pop star'
The elements of her childhood Doja Cat reveals on the podcast give insight into the star she is today.
But she thrives to be more than just a pop star.
"I can do so much more than be a pop star," Doja Cat said.
"I can write something meaningful and open up a world for people to escape to.
"I think that's the epitome of art in my opinion, when you see an artist who can create a world, and a story.
"I want to do that the best that I can, as it will make me feel whole."
Growth is always uncomfortable
As a consummate rapper, Tobe Nwigwe's path could have been very different.
His ambition was to play sport, but a major setback led him to his true calling.
"All parts of my growth has been uncomfortable in some way shape or form," Nwigwe said.
He tells his story in a humorous and engaging manner, saying his goal is to "die empty".
"I don't want to leave any potential on the table in life," he said.
"Whatever it is I'm supposed to do, I want to do it all, so when I die, you could be like, 'Man, he did it all'… I don't want you mourning the fact that, 'Oh man he had so much to do.'
"That will never be my story."
Audible is perhaps best known for hosting audiobooks, but it also has a range of original podcasts available to its members, its content including more than 760,000 audio programs.
