Paul McCartney’s Opinion on Billie Eilish and Finneas O’Connell

Even after decades at the center of popular music, Paul McCartney has never stopped paying attention to what younger artists are creating. Rather than looking only to his own generation, the former Beatle has repeatedly praised emerging musicians, including Billie Eilish and her brother and collaborator, Finneas O’Connell.

McCartney has spoken warmly about the siblings’ songwriting and production, particularly their ability to create music outside the traditional studio environment. His admiration for their work became especially clear when he discussed Billie’s breakthrough album, When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?, released in 2019 and recorded entirely in her bedroom.

Paul McCartney admired what Billie and Finneas created from a bedroom

In a 2020 interview with Howard Stern, McCartney reflected on Billie and Finneas’ approach to making music.

“I think for them it’s brilliance and, you know, what they produced from the bedroom is really very special,” he said. “I listened to their stuff and I think it’s really great.”

At the same time, McCartney admitted that his own memories of recording in professional studios were something he would never trade. He recalled the excitement of going to EMI and Abbey Road as a young musician and learning through that experience.

“It’s so exciting and you’re sort of learning as you go along, so I wouldn’t swap that for anything,” he said.

McCartney also recalled an unexpected conversation with Billie and her family. His daughter Stella McCartney had connected with Billie through FaceTime after Billie wore some of Stella’s clothing during her appearance at Glastonbury.

“Stella FaceTimed me with Billie and her family,” McCartney recalled. “It was great to sort of chat with them and stuff.”

The connection between McCartney and Eilish was particularly notable because both artists have contributed songs to the James Bond franchise. McCartney wrote “Live and Let Die” for the 1973 film of the same name, while Eilish and Finneas created “No Time to Die” for the 2021 film starring Daniel Craig.

McCartney praised Billie’s Bond theme

When GQ asked McCartney in 2020 to name his favorite Bond theme aside from his own, he chose Shirley Bassey’s “Goldfinger,” from the 1964 film.

But he also had plenty of praise for Eilish’s “No Time to Die,” which had not yet appeared in the film at the time of the interview.

“I thought the Billie Eilish song was good actually,” McCartney said. He admitted he had wondered whether Billie and Finneas could successfully create the track in their bedroom, but said he thought she “did really well.”

McCartney was also impressed by Finneas’ contribution to the arrangement, particularly what he described as the Bond-style chord added at the end of the song.

“I love the way, at the end of it, Finneas flings in a Bond chord. ‘Ding!’ – there it is,” he said.

“I’m more like the grandad”

McCartney’s appreciation for younger artists extends well beyond Billie and Finneas. He has also praised Taylor Swift, Sabrina Carpenter and Olivia Rodrigo.

During a 2026 interview with BBC Radio 2, McCartney was asked whether he would offer advice to younger musicians if they came to him for guidance. His answer reflected both his affection for the new generation and his reluctance to assume they need his help.

“I’m like the older brother to (this new generation), more like the grandad, actually,” he said.

McCartney recalled meeting several of today’s major young artists at a party hosted with the help of his wife and daughter Stella.

“There was Taylor, Billie Eilish, Olivia Rodrigo, Sabrina Carpenter,” he said. “They are really cool people, they are very good. I like their voices.”

As for whether they needed advice from him, McCartney added: “Yeah, I would be happy to give it. But I don’t think they do.”

Billie Eilish credits The Beatles and McCartney for her love of music

The admiration is very much mutual.

Eilish has spoken openly about the influence The Beatles and McCartney had on her relationship with music. In a 2022 interview with NME, ahead of her Glastonbury headline performance, she described the band as a major part of her musical upbringing.

“My love for music I feel 95 per cent owes to the Beatles and Paul,” she said.

For Eilish, sharing a festival bill with McCartney was difficult to comprehend. She recalled seeing Kendrick Lamar headline a festival when she was 14 and being amazed by his status at the time. Years later, she found herself headlining the same festival alongside Lamar and McCartney.

“My name next to theirs… it’s bonkers,” she said.

She also reflected on the significance of becoming a Glastonbury headliner while being the first headlining artist born after 2000.

“It doesn’t matter how old you are, where you’re from, what you look like or who you are: you can do this shit,” Eilish said.

Billie’s favorite Beatles songs

Eilish’s admiration for The Beatles has also appeared in her own performances. Over the years, she has covered songs including “I Will,” “Something” and “Yesterday.”

When Slow Zoom asked her in 2021 to name her favorite Beatles song, Eilish struggled to choose just one.

“I love ‘Something’. I love ‘Julia’, I love ‘You Never Give Me Your Money’, I love ‘Anna (Go To Him)’, I love ‘Maxwell’s Silver Hammer’,” she said, before adding, “I love The Beatles.”

Her connection to McCartney became even more personal when Stella McCartney once introduced them through FaceTime.

Eilish recalled the moment during a 2019 appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, explaining that her parents were overwhelmed by the encounter.

“I was even in a meeting with Stella McCartney and she facetimed her ‘dad’, which is Paul McCartney. So, my mom cried, my dad cried,” Eilish said.

The relationship between the two generations of musicians continued years later. McCartney and Eilish were seen together at the Oasis reunion show in Los Angeles in 2025, adding another chapter to a musical connection that began with a FaceTime call and grew from mutual admiration for each other’s work.