Finneas.Photo: Kevin Mazur/Getty
Billie Eilishis one of the biggest pop stars on the planet — and her brother and collaboratorFinneasis more than happy to let her take most of the spotlight.
In an interview oniHeartRadio’sSong Storiespodcastshared exclusively with PEOPLE, the musician and producer laments the pitfalls of uber-fame, something Eilish, 20, has dealt with as her popularity has exploded.
Together, the siblings have released two No. 1 albums (When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?in 2019 andHappier Than Everin 2021), won multiple Grammys and eventaken home an Academy Award.
“Billie gets to play these arenas and whatever, but her day-to-day life is more challenging than mine,” he tells host Jordan Runtagh. “My ability to walk down the street and go into a grocery store and sit at a coffee shop and whatever is uninhibited. Maybe a kid or two that day comes up to me and goes, ‘Hey, I love you,’ or something, but it’s not a challenge.”
As far as he’s concerned, that’s the ideal situation; Finneas says that when it comes down to it, he has no interest in achieving that level of fame and recognition, and would “avoid it” if he could.
Still, he acknowledges that at the end of the day, it’s all about the music, and he understands that sometimes, a certain level of notoriety is required for his music to hit as many ears as possible.
Billie Eilish and Finneas.Steve Granitz/WireImage
Finneas, who released hissolo debut albumOptimistin October, says he recently read Dave Grohl’s memoirThe Storyteller, and related to the rocker’s feelings of living in relative anonymity even at the height of Nirvana, as frontman Kurt Cobain soaked up most of the attention.
RELATED VIDEO: Finneas O’Connell Says Relationship with Sister Billie Eilish Is ‘Bullet Proof’
He says going through the process alone and without Eilish to lean on was “scary,” moreso than the album cycles he works through with his sister.
“I don’t know if maybe it is for her, but maybe it’s not because it’s the two of us,” he says. “But doing this completely alone, it was like climbing a mountain without a rope or something. Like, ‘Oh man, it’s only me here. I do not have somebody helping me.’ But rewarding, too.”
Song Storieswill launch on July 20 on the iHeartPodcast Network.
source: people.com
