Billie Eilish and Finneas reach out during live-stream to small business that 'changed both of our lives'
On Wednesday evening, superstar siblings Billie Eilish and Finneas performed a special and intimate concert direct from Finneas’s home for Pay It Forward Live, Verizon’s weekly streaming entertainment series in support of small businesses affected by COVID-19. And between songs and their charming banter, Eilish took a moment to give a shoutout to a small business especially near and dear to her heart: the Revolution Dance Center in Montrose, Calif., which set her on the path to becoming a history-making Grammy-winner. She even called up the studio in the middle of the live-stream for a sweet surprise virtual reunion.
“Basically, [Finneas] and I both grew up as dancers, but I got into the company and it was like a whole thing. I did competitions, and my whole life was dance. And we had a teacher named Fred, who still is a teacher there, and he's amazing. And he knew that me and Finneas made music. … He asked us to make a song just to choreograph a dance to, so we could do it for the end-of-year recital. I was like, ‘Cool, what do you want it to sound like?’ And he was like, ‘I don’t know, whatever you want — just kind of alternative and whatever,’” Eilish reminisced while casually kicking back on Finneas’s couch.
That song, which Billie and Finneas had finished by the next day, was “Ocean Eyes,” and it became Eilish’s first viral hit after it was uploaded to SoundCloud in October 2015; she was only 13, and Finneas was 18 at the time. Once “Ocean Eyes” was officially released, it went on to sell 3 million copies. But back then, Eilish had no idea where that song would take her in life.
“We didn't even mean to put it out, really. We just like were like, ‘Hey, this is an easy way to send them a link. Why don't we just put it out on SoundCloud?’ And we sent [Fred] the link and he was like, ‘Great’ — and then it became huge. And then, here we are. That dance studio really kind of deserves all the credit for the beginning of this career journey, so we love them a lot. They're amazing. They changed both of our lives.”
Billie and Finneas’s Pay It Forward Live concert was a true family affair. Along with the sweet Revolution Dance Center moment, Finneas also performed two of his solo songs, and the siblings’ mother, Maggie Baird, got some camera time to discuss her vegan COVID-19 initiative Support + Feed. The entire concert can be viewed on demand here for one week.
Over the course of Pay It Forward Live, viewers are encouraged to tag their favorite local businesses and do what they can to support them — shop online, make a purchase in advance for when the crisis is over and the businesses reopen, or order a meal. More information can be found at Verizon.com/PayItForwardLive.
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