Since the dawn of Billie Eilish’s career, her brother Finneas has been her creative partner. The pair got off to a hot start with Eilish’s breakout 2015 single “Ocean Eyes,” which immediately made the young singer somebody to keep an eye on. The single broke out online immediately, but it wasn’t as much of an instant hit in Eilish’s home. In a new NPR interview, Eilish and Finneas admit that their parents weren’t blown away by the song after hearing it for the first time.
Eilish described Finneas asking her to sing on the song, which he initially wrote for his own band. Speaking about the version of the track with her vocals, she continued, “Right away we just fell in love with that version and I remember we went into the living room and our parents were like having an argument about, like, taxes and we were like, ‘Guys, shut up! Listen to this song!’ [Laughs.] And we sang them the song and then we recorded and put it out right away.”
The pair was then asked how that listening session went, and Eilish and O’Connell actually didn’t get quite the reception they were hoping for. The two spoke over each other telling the story, saying:
O’Connell: “They under-reacted. They were like, ‘Cool.’”
Eilish: “We got to give them credit, they’ve always supported us and been so supportive, but that was one of those ones where they were like, ‘Yeah, cool.’”
O’Connell: “No, they’ve always supported and been present. But, you know, when you’re a kid and you try your first bite of something and you’re like, ‘I don’t know.’ And you’ve had that meal like twice more and you’re like, ‘This is actually my favorite food.’”
Eilish: “The best food in the whole world.”
O’Connell: “Our parents are like that with a lot of our songs. Like, ‘We’ve written this song, we love it, check it out!’ And our parents sit there and they’re like, ‘Hm.’ And we’re like, ‘Love it! You guys have to love it!’ And they’re like, ‘Yeah, it’s really good.’ And then like, two weeks later…”
Eilish: “But they never ever ever… They literally have never insulted anything we’ve done.”
O’Connell: “No, but their first impression is like…”
Eilish: “…so Finneas is just butt-hurt that they didn’t give him more of a reaction.”
Check out the full interview here.