Robyn hails Billie Eilish as a 'great example' of artistic integrity

Pop visionary Robyn has praised Billie Eilish for her refusal to use her body as a marketing tool, calling the 24-year-old a "great example" for young women in music.

In a candid interview with The Guardian published on Friday, the Swedish star looked back on her own early career in the mid-1990s, describing a "disgusting" culture where adult male executives would openly discuss her styling and sexuality.

Robyn, now 46, admitted that the pressure to show "more skin" led her to adopt a defensive "armour" that made her afraid to experiment with her image.

"Billie Eilish is a great example of how it’s still possible and needed to shut that down," Robyn noted, adding that Eilish’s ability to maintain her integrity is something she deeply admires.

The interview coincides with the highly anticipated release of Robyn’s ninth studio album, Sexistential, which arrived on Friday via her own Konichiwa Records.

Produced by longtime collaborator Klas Åhlund and pop mastermind Max Martin, the record is being hailed as her most "ecstatic" work to date—a "spaceship crash-landing" back into the club-ready euphoria of her Body Talk era.

Following the album's debut, Robyn confirmed a massive world tour starting in June 2026, which includes a 10-date residency at Amsterdam’s Johan Cruijff ArenA supporting Harry Styles, followed by headline shows at London's O2 and Brooklyn's Barclays Center.

While Robyn reflects on the past, her "example," Billie Eilish, is also breaking new ground in 2026. Eilish is set to make her big-screen acting debut in Sarah Polley's adaptation of The Bell Jar and recently announced her own immersive 3D concert film, Hit Me Hard and Soft: The Tour, co-directed by James Cameron.

Robyn expressed that seeing artists like Eilish succeed on their own terms makes her hopeful for the future of the industry, even as she continues to unpick the "existential" effects of her own early fame.