Billie Eilish Says ‘Ocean Eyes’ ‘Wouldn’t Even Exist Without’ Lana Del Rey After Coachella Duet

Hannah Dailey
·2 min read
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When Billie Eilish called Lana Del Rey “the reason for half of you b—-es existence, including mine” during her surprise appearance at the “Summertime Sadness” singer’s Coachella set over the weekend, she wasn’t kidding.

While reflecting on the festival’s opening weekend on Instagram Stories Thursday (April 18), the 22-year-old pop star revealed that her debut single “Ocean Eyes” never would’ve materialized if not for the influences of the 38-year-old alt-pop crusader. “This song wouldn’t even exist without her,” Eilish wrote, sharing a video of her singing the track on Friday (April 12) with Del Rey for thousands of festival-goers.

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“Literally a hallucination,” the two-time Oscar winner added of the experience.

The post comes nearly a week after Eilish took the main stage at Coachella to sing “Ocean Eyes” as a duet with Lana — as well as help the headliner perform her own Born to Die single “Video Games.” At the time, Del Rey told the crowd that the dreamy, Finneas-produced track was her favorite song of Eilish’s and called the Swarm star the “voice of our generation.”

Eilish replied at the time, “[She] is the reason for half you b—-es existence, including mine.”

The “What Was I Made For?” artist has previously praised Lana’s impact, telling Dua Lipa in August that Born to Die “changed music.” “[The album] especially changed music for girls and the potential of what is possible,” she added on the “Levitating” singer’s At Your Service podcast.

In the eight years since she kickstarted her career with “Ocean Eyes,” Eilish has released two Billboard 200-topping LPs, won nine Grammys and built a fanbase that includes well over 100 million followers on Instagram. Her third studio album, Hit Me Hard and Soft, arrives May 17, as announced earlier this month.

“finneas and i truly could not be more proud of this album and we absolutely can’t wait for you to hear it,” she wrote at the time. “love you love you love you.”

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