Inside Billie Eilish’s close bond with famous brother Finneas

Billie Eilish’s collaboration with Charli xcx was a big deal. Not just because it was a great update to the track “Guess”, but it was also Billie’s first collaborative effort with another artist in six years.

She said of the new experience: “I was really nervous because I was like, wow, I haven’t worked with anyone but Finneas in six years, right? And I hated it back in the day. I really, really hated it. I hated studios. I hated collaborating. I’ve never done a feature,” telling Apple Music’s Zane Lowe that it was actually “really fun.”

Typically, the “What Was I Made For” singer prefers to work with Finneas O’Connell, who has produced all three of her albums – and all other projects in between.

But their relationship isn’t just collaborative, as Finneas is Billie’s older brother. In fact, he’s the very reason she became the star she is today.

Here’s everything you need to know about Finneas and his relationship with Billie.

Finneas is a musician within his own right

© @finneas

Outside of his work producing for his sister, Finneas is the lead singer and songwriter of the band The Slightlys. On his own, he’s well known for songs like “Let’s Fall in Love for the Night”. In 2019, he headlined sold-out shows in New York and Los Angeles.

As if his solo work didn’t speak for itself, he is one of 12 artists who featured on Ringo Starr’s 2021 EP Zoom In. He has also produced songs for the likes of Selena Gomez and Camila Cabello.

He got Billie making music

© Lia Toby

Billie famously started writing songs with Finneas aged 13, when he had already been writing and producing within his own right for years. They first recorded “She’s Broken” and “Fingers Crossed”, putting them on SoundCloud “just for fun.”

It was when Finneas wrote “Ocean Eyes” for his band and gave it to Billie that the duo saw their work flourishing. Once uploaded to SoundCloud, the song received hundreds of thousands of listens in a two week period, which led to Finneas’ manager reaching out to discuss Billie’s potential.

© Variety

Since then, the duo have worked together solidly. Billie prefers to work with Finneas as she doesn’t enjoy the typical studio experience where they “pretend to be a therapist for a couple hours.”

He is her best friend

Billie has called her older brother her “best friend forever.” As he turned 26, she posted to Instagram a loving birthday tribute where she said she “will never love anyone as much as i love you @finneas happy birthday you are the best thing i have.”

The singer has a girlfriend

© Axelle/Bauer-Griffin

Finneas has been dating YouTuber and TikTok artist Claudia Sulewski since 2018, and she has inspired a number of his songs, such as “Claudia” and “Mona Lisa, Mona Lisa”.

Claudia, tends to omit Billie from her videos, because she is “very famous, obviously, to the point that anything about her gets reposted everywhere, and I don’t want that kind of attention, because I don’t want people to think that that’s what they get when they come on my channel.”