Finneas is fully on board with the Billie Eilish “expansion pack” title for him. The Grammy winner has leaned into the label, crediting his little sister for bringing him to a global audience. As Eilish’s big brother, Finneas, writes, produces, and shapes the sound alongside her.
Finneas explains why Billie Eilish’s success benefited his career
Finneas has opened up on how Billie Eilish’s rise to global fame became the launchpad for his own career.
During a 2026 Tribeca Festival talk with composer Anthony Willis, Finneas O’Connell, known professionally as Finneas, looked back on his early work with Eilish.
“I think that Billie is so popular and has so many fans that I’m like a little expansion pack,” he joked, per PEOPLE. “That’s just the way that I think about my life,” Finneas further shared. “It’s mainly to instill a real gratitude for the amount of exposure that the work I’ve gotten to do with my sister has garnered. I feel lucky that that exposure has bled over to me a little bit.”
However, Finneas was quick to add that he meant it as a compliment. “I don’t say this as some kind of self-pity thing. I just feel really grateful to be riding the coattails,” he explained.
The conversation covered songwriting, film scoring, childhood influences, and his creative process. The 28-year-old also fielded audience questions and went deep on the mechanics of composing. Additionally, He also previewed two scenes from Netflix’s BEEF Season 2, which he scored.
When questioned if teaming up with Billie Eilish launched his own path, Finneas was quick to respond.
“Yeah, the short answer is yes. It’s absolutely helped,” he said. “The early portion of my professional life, so to speak, Billie and I started making music when we both still lived at home. I’m 18, she’s 13. That’s when we started collaborating with each other. We started putting things on SoundCloud.”
The Oscar awardee further credited church choir singing as a surprise influence on his musical development. Finneas explained that those early years shaped how he hears and writes harmony.
Originally reported by Sibanee Gogoi on Mandatory
