Billie Eilish claims ‘Ocean Eyes’ wouldn’t exist without Lana Del Rey
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After performing on-stage at Coachella with Lana Del Rey last week, Billie Eilish took to Instagram to credit the singer with inspiring one of her earliest hits, ‘Ocean Eyes’.
During Del Rey’s headline set, Eilish joined her to perform a track from her debut EP, ‘Ocean Eyes’. Released in 2016, the song remains one of her signature hits, but the pop star has now admitted that it might never have existed without the influence of Del Rey.
On Instagram stories, Eilish posted a video of the pair singing at Coachella, stating, “This song wouldn’t even exist without her,” via Billboard. The experience of performing alongside Del Rey was clearly a surreal one for Eilish, who added, “Literally a hallucination.”
The pair also performed Del Rey’s 2011 debut single and classic song, ‘Video Games’, which featured on her beloved Born to Die album.
Eilish didn’t limit her enthusiastic comments about Del Rey’s influence to Instagram stories. She gushed over the singer while on-stage alongside her, declaring her “the reason for half you b—es existence, including mine.”
Her comments are founded in truth. Del Rey certainly has had a mammoth influence on our current music industry, extending far beyond Eilish, although it has rarely been reflected in award show success.
In 2023, Del Rey released her ninth record, Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd, to huge critical acclaim and commercial success. It was nominated for two Grammys at the awards ceremony earlier this year, ‘Album of the Year’ and ‘Best Alternative Music Album’, but took home neither.
Meanwhile, Eilish took home a Golden Globe, an Academy Award and several Grammys for her 2023 song ‘What Was I Made For?’, which featured on the Barbie soundtrack.
Now, Eilish is gearing up for the release of her third record, Hit Me Hard and Soft, which arrives on May 17th. The star recently teased the album on her close friend’s Instagram story, allowing all of her followers to see the content. The stunt gained her millions of new followers.
Hit Me Hard and Soft will mark Eilish’s first album in three years, following the release of Happier Than Ever in 2021. The album spawned some of Eilish’s most well-loved songs, including the titular track.
Listen to ‘Ocean Eyes’, the song Billie Eilish said wouldn’t exist without Lana Del Rey, below.
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