With the BBC broadcasting the concert live on TV, this was a chance for young fans to catch Billie in action and for parents and casual viewers to see what the fuss was all about. Despite some technical issues (which she said was the reason for her angry face), she didn’t disappoint and she threw herself into a memorable show. She made an immediate impression as she took to the stage in a Stella McCartney-designed T-shirt-and-shorts ensemble emblazoned with cartoons, including the Beatles’s Yellow Submarine Blue Meanie characters, and complete with a bandana, white sunglasses, a surgical mask, and black muscle-support tape. She proceeded to rock the assembled masses with the same spirit she had shown all summer and completely stole the show in the English countryside, just as she had done in the Californian desert.
In the middle of the set, she recalled her first headlining show in London, when she had performed for two hundred people, and how amazing that felt, before adding, “It’s like the whole world is looking at me right now.” She wasn’t wrong. It had been some summer.
Chapter Fourteen
Finneas
At the end of September 2019, a two-week gap appeared in the packed When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? schedule.
Billie and her team had played at every major festival across Europe and were due a break. One member of the team, who had perhaps worked harder than any of them, had other plans. Billie’s brother, Finneas, picked this moment to release his first solo EP, which was called Blood Harmony.
Finneas had always been prepared to let the spotlight fall on Billie. Dedicated fans knew of the massive input he had on the songwriting and sound and recognized his spot-on harmonizing, but the massive success of When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? had brought Billie’s self-effacing brother to the fore. And it was high time.
Standing six feet tall, with short, light brown hair (with a reddish tinge, like his mother’s), the same piercing gray-blue eyes as his sister, and a well-groomed beard and moustache, Finneas cuts a handsome figure in his designer suits. Just like his sister, Finneas is likable, funny, and articulate in interviews. The sensible older sibling, he uses fewer swear words and less teen slang than she does but expresses similar ideas about the power and freedom of creativity.
Finneas had, of course, grown up with music. He, too, was swept along by the family Beatles sing-alongs, his mom’s songwriting classes, and his dad’s mixtapes. He taught himself the piano and guitar, as well as spent time singing with the Los Angeles Children’s Choir. In an interview with Ones to Watch, he said, in a characteristically witty and humble way, “I asked my dad how to play a Jon McLaughlin song so I could impress a girl. It didn’t work . . . and instead I fell in love with music.”
By the time he was eleven, Finneas’s passion had been sparked by the band Green Day. He described seeing them, in what was his first-ever concert, as a life-changing moment. Inspired by them and other guitar bands like My Chemical Romance and the Strokes, he formed his own bands with friends. Who knows where the Slightlys might be now if “ocean eyes” had never taken off?
Songwriting was the same creative outlet and pleasure for Finneas as it was for Billie. He claims to have written more than two hundred songs before “ocean eyes” (and swears they will never see the light of day!). As Billie’s career took off, sweeping Finneas along as her cowriter, he never stopped writing his own songs. When he wrote with his sister, they were Billie Eilish songs—dark and quirky, following her vision and using her language and ideas. His own were more conventional singer-songwriter compositions. They were emotional love songs built around a traditional verse-chorus structure with the guitar or piano figuring prominently.
Songwriting was the same creative outlet and pleasure for Finneas as it was for Billie.
In August 2016, nine months after “ocean eyes” had first appeared and just days before Billie signed her record contract, her brother released his first single, “New Girl,” just using the name Finneas. It was a seductive pop song with his velvety vocals combining with clever lyrics and a jaunty melody. It was well received by Billie’s early fans and new-music blogs, but Finneas wasn’t seeking stardom—he just wanted to put his music out there.
Fast-forward a year and, at Billie’s first appearance in New Zealand, she stepped aside midshow to introduce Finneas. He played his soon-to-be released second single, the tender ballad “I’m in Love Without You.” This midshow acoustic cameo would continue through Billie’s 2017 and 2018 tours, during which time Finneas had released a string of singles, each one written, performed, and sung by him—even the backing vocals, which were sometimes choral.
They revealed how deft a songwriter he was and what a lush voice he possessed. He wrote and sang from the heart. His songs differed from those he cowrote with Billie in that his were straightforward lyrics about romance, love, and pain, albeit with wit and charm. Similarly, although the production was exquisite and crafted, it was less audacious or experimental.
What the songs did share was an authenticity and a willingness to cross genres. Some, like “Heaven,” sung with a whispery voice to dark and echoing beats, or the catchy “Landmine,” which employed staccato electronic pulses and layered vocal distortion, have that Highland Park bedroom feel. Others would present something very different, such as the piano-accompanied ballad “Break My Heart Again,” the Frank Sinatra-esque crooning of “Hollywood Forever,” or the singer-songwriter-style “Life Goes On” and “Luck Pusher.”
What the songs did share was an authenticity and a willingness to cross genres.
Whether writing from personal experience or from an understanding of the human heart, Finneas clearly had the ability to touch a nerve. “Break My Heart Again” was an unrequited-love song inspired by a series of text messages; “College” was a retort to bitter posts from an ex who had moved away; while “Let’s Fall in Love for the Night” is a fantasy of the most romantic one-night stand ever.
“Break My Heart Again” was an unrequited-love song inspired by a series of text messages.
As Finneas turned twenty-one in August 2018, these songs were getting noticed—combined Spotify and YouTube plays would be hundreds of thousands within the month. It’s hypothetical to wonder whether his music would receive such attention without the connection to Billie, but some of those listening to Finneas made it clear he was their favorite O’Connell sibling.
Finneas had his own favorite fan . . . In October 2018, he had started a new relationship and it became very clear that he was head over heels in love. The girl he was dating was Claudia Sulewski, an incredibly popular social-media influencer who posted vlogs about beauty and fashion. She had around two million subscribers on YouTube and more than a million followers on Instagram.
After just a few months dating her, he had released a single titled “Claudia,” a lively pop song set to a soft beat with earnest and self-conscious lyrics about her effect on him. Amazingly, it emerged he had written the first verse of the song and sent it to her on the day he met her. How’s that for a romantic soul? Near the single’s release date he revealed all this on Twitter and added: “When ya know, ya know.” For her part, Claudia loved his sentimental gesture. She even provided the artwork for the single, an accomplished painting of an angel falling into a rose, which was animated for the video.
In 2019 Finneas began to play a few headline gigs in his own right. He was used to being onstage with Billie, but it was daunting to step out alone. He told the NME how fun and easy it was playing along with Billie and Andrew, but that this was something completely different: “I’m sweating, and wearing a suit, and tripping over myself,” he told them. “It’s super nerve-wracking.”
Among his first solo headliners was a sold-out show at Baby’s All Right, in Brooklyn, New York—coincidentally the first New York headliner his sister had played too. It wasn’t that different. His appearances were greeted with screams and, initially to his surprise, the type of fan sing-alongs that he had grown accustomed to hearing at Billie Eilish shows. When it ca
me to choosing a performer to open for Billie’s 1 by 1 Tour, it must have been a no-brainer. They had a perfect warm-up act already on the bus.
Never having had the luxury of working in a fully equipped recording studio, Finneas had the advantage of being able to pack up his “studio” and take it on the road with him. Now that Billie had a full support team traveling with her, Finneas found he had time to devote to his own songs. He even said he got more done as he didn’t have the distractions of home life. He would work in dressing rooms and hotel bedrooms in Berlin, Dublin, Texas, or Tokyo, sometimes walking straight offstage after a show to focus on a new song.
Now that Billie had a full support team traveling with her, Finneas found he had time to devote to his own songs.
Finneas had worked on Blood Harmony at the height of the festival frenzy of summer 2019, releasing a few of the tracks as singles in the months before the October launch. It was a true indie production—released on Finneas’s own OYOY label, distributed through AWAL, and available on vinyl too—and yet it was silkily produced, commercial, and wholeheartedly pop.
The tracks on Blood Harmony continue where his 2018 singles left off, with a focus on melody, Finneas’s soulful voice, and the emotional punch of his lyrics. While synths, pulses, and effects are used, they are incidental rather than the mood-making orchestration of Billie’s songs. Instead, we are treated to beautifully crafted guitar- and piano-based instrumentals backed by simple soft beats or handclaps.
Whether in ballads or his midtempo songs, it is Finneas’s often anguished voice and his poetic, metaphor-laden lyrics that stand out. It was clear that Finneas often wrote from personal experience, both good and bad; and he talked of how he would distill his diary and events of his life into song. This is especially evident in the humility and emotional honesty of “I Lost a Friend,” the painful denial of “I Don’t Miss You at All,” or the forensic examination of his infatuation in “Lost My Mind.”
The most popular track on the EP was the exuberant, guitar-driven song “Shelter,” which Finneas said he originally wrote for the mercurial Swedish DJ Avicii (who sadly died in 2018), simply because he liked the title. The video accompanying the song was a one-shot film of Finneas in a vest and a tie, striding along the dried-up Los Angeles riverbed (familiar to anyone who’s seen the original Grease movie). He is joined by a horde of dancers in uniform blue joggers and turtlenecks whose choreography becomes aggressive as they turn on him, grabbing and shoving him around.
As the video clocked up a million views within a month of being uploaded, the Blood Harmony EP was also receiving critical acclaim and commercial success. It reached Number 11 in the Billboard Heatseekers chart for new acts, made the iTunes Top 50 in Brazil, Australia, Canada, and Spain, and the Top 100 in the UK, Germany, France, and Italy.
Blood harmony
The “blood harmony” theory suggests that some siblings have an innate ability to sing perfect harmonies with one another. Perhaps it is genetic, perhaps some kind of sixth sense. It is not a theory particularly supported by science, but pop-music history offers some strong evidence with the likes of the Louvin Brothers, the Carpenters, the Bee Gees, the Chicks, or First Aid Kit all proving the point. What is most likely is that siblings just have a chance to sing together from an early age and plenty of time to practice. This is certainly true of Finneas and Billie, who not only grew up in a family who loved singing but also, having the freedom that homeschooling facilitated, had more opportunities to sing together than most. Is “blood harmony” a real thing? Perhaps not, but it makes for a great album title!
Finneas was twenty-two, and he had truly come of age as an artist in his own right. Just a month after the release of his EP he left the family home and along with it his bedroom studio (although he reserved the right to go back there if he needed that certain ambience and sound!). He and Claudia had bought a house in Los Feliz by the Hollywood Hills in LA, just seven miles from Highland Park. Claudia even documented the move in a vlog. The large Spanish-style house had plenty of room for a new studio and, equally excitingly, for a new dog—a pit bull named Peaches.
The studio was essential. Finneas was now in demand as a producer and songwriter. Alongside the requests from Billie wannabes for him to produce them (which he politely declined), he also had some interesting invitations to work with various performers. As a producer he had learned from working with Billie. He had perfected the art of layering vocals, creating beats, or mixing real instruments and computer-created sounds. As a songwriter he now had an understanding of how to work with an artist, to get inside their mind, and create a song that they felt completely comfortable with.
At first, Finneas was content to work with upcoming artists such as Alice Kristiansen, R & B singer Evalyn, UK electro-pop trio Flawes, and Australian electronica singer Wafia. As his reputation grew, bigger names—Khalid, Tori Kelly, Sabrina Claudio, Ashe, and John Legend—came calling. His biggest coup came when his name appeared on the credits for Selena Gomez’s massive global hit “Lose You to Love Me.” Because he and Billie are on the same label as Selena, he was called in at the last minute to see if he could contribute anything to the song’s production. According to Selena, he added the final touch that made all the difference to the track.
As a songwriter, he seemed to appeal to female singers. He says it is due to the vulnerability expressed in his lyrics being something that women were prepared to display more than men. Camila Cabello had turned to Finneas to help with a song on her 2019 album, Romance. He was already a big fan and found that, like Billie, Camila had her own visual ideas about what she wanted in her songs. For her part, Camila admired how he was moved by the details, the delicate moments of life. Together they wrote “Used to This” about how her friendship with Shawn Mendes turned into love.
Finneas was living the dream. He was collaborating with massive stars whose work he had always valued and was part of one of the most successful acts in the world. However, unlike Billie, he generally avoided many of the less attractive aspects of fame. He could walk around town or go to restaurants and only occasionally be recognized. He didn’t need the heavy security that accompanied Billie everywhere. Then came the GRAMMYs . . .
At the 2020 show, the most prestigious in the world, Finneas took home five awards for his songwriting and production on “bad guy” and When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? Although he still had to play second fiddle to his sister, who also picked up five GRAMMYs, he was in every newspaper looking typically dapper on the red carpet in his Gucci suit. Remaining anonymous was going to be a lot harder from then on.
At the 2020 show, the most prestigious in the world, Finneas took home five awards for his songwriting and production on “bad guy” and When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?
Through pure talent and hard work, Finneas had managed to reach the pinnacle of all aspects of his profession. His contribution to Billie’s success had been fully recognized, his solo Blood Harmony Tour in late 2019 had sold out venues, and his production and songwriting skills were in demand from the great and good (with rumors that Shawn Mendes and James Blake were eager to team up). However, in his acceptance speech at Variety’s Hitmakers brunch in December 2019, Finneas addressed all this in one sentence. Standing next to Billie, he said, “There’s been a lot of articles now about me being more than just Billie Eilish’s brother, but just being Billie Eilish’s brother is all I ever want to be.”
Chapter Fifteen
Happy Now . . .
How do you celebrate a triumph like Summerfest? If you’re Billie, you change your hair color!
A few days after wowing the world at the festival, Billie’s Instagram posts revealed her dramatic new look. At first, she appeared to have a spot of bright green where her hair was parted, but as she lifted the top layer of chestnut-brown locks she revealed the neon-green roots coming down past her ears. She complemented this with green-tinged shades, a black-and-green bandana, and a luminous-green necklace. The future (for now a
t least) was green!
An all-conquering hero, Billie returned home to LA to play back-to-back dates at the Shrine Expo Hall, where in 2015 she had witnessed her first-ever concert. During the show, she pointed to the very spot near the back where she and Finneas had watched the Neighbourhood. But there was no doubting who the fans there had come to see. Word had spread fast and green hair, hoodies, and beanies were everywhere—including the merch stand, where fans excitedly lined up for the Blohsh hoodies and T-shirts. For her part, Billie looked fabulous, tying her hair back to reveal the full glory of the green and adding unmissable long, sharp, clawlike, matching green fingernails.
Billie looked fabulous, tying her hair back to reveal the full glory of the green and adding unmissable long, sharp, clawlike, matching green fingernails.
She tore down the house—as she would night after night when the When We All Fall Asleep World Tour set off again in August. Fans in Austria, the Czech Republic, Moscow, Saint Petersburg, and Ireland, many of whom had followed Billie since the start, were now given a chance to witness her perform live as the tour took her to new cities and countries. It had reached Spain in early September, when she posted the question, “Haven’t you been waiting long enough?” and encouraged fans in New York to go and watch the famous Times Square screens at four in the afternoon.
The screens teased the video for “all the good girls go to hell,” which appeared on YouTube the following day. Director Rich Lee, who had previously distinguished himself with videos for Eminem, Maroon 5, and Lana Del Rey, created a suitably apocalyptic scenario that picked up from the scene in the “bury a friend” video where multiple syringes were plunged into Billie’s back. Here, the injections stimulate the growth of a huge pair of wings, with Billie playing the part of a fallen angel. The video, which is dominated by darkness and fire, sees Billie fall into an oily pit and, with tar-bound and burning wings, struggle through a flaming town. Save for silhouetted figures dancing amid the flames, she is all alone.
Billie Eilish, the Unofficial Biography Page 12