Billie Eilish Says ‘Ocean Eyes’ Would ‘Not Even Exist Without’ Lana Del Rey

Billie Eilish is continuing to celebrate her full-circle performance with Lana Del Rey at Coachella last weekend.

In an Instagram Story post on Wednesday, Eilish wrote that singing 2012’s “Video Games” and her breakthrough hit “Ocean Eyes” felt like “literally a hallucination,” and credited Del Rey for being the reason behind her Don’t Smile At Me track.

 “This song wouldn’t even exist without her,” she wrote about “Ocean Eyes,” posting a video of Del Rey at singing the track at the music festival. On stage last Friday, Eilish declared that the Lust for Life singer was “the reason for half of you bitches’ existence, including mine.”

Eilish has long been an avowed Lana fan, and when the two spoke to each other for Interview magazine last year, Eilish told her: “You really paved the way for everyone. People have been trying to look and sound like you since you first started. I talk about this with Finneas. You changed the way the music industry hears and sees music, and you changed the way people sing.”

In the same conversation, Del Rey recalled, “I remember seeing the first videos of you singing and I said to my managers, ‘She’s the one… This is the girl. She isn’t just talented. You can tell she’s kind.’ It didn’t feel like you were aspiring to be anything. It’s crazy to have that magical quality.” At Coachella, Del Rey called Eilish “the voice of a generation.”

Del Rey’s headlining Coachella set is one of several festival gigs she has scheduled around the world this year, though the only other U.S. date on her itinerary is Hangout Fest in Alabama in May. Last year, Del Rey released her ninth studio album, Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd, and she recently teased her next LP, Lasso, a country record that’s expected to arrive in September.

As for Eilish, she just announced her third album, Hit Me Hard and Soft, which will be released May 17. (She also announced its track list on Thursday.) The album follows 2021’s Happier Than Ever, and comes on the heels of Eilish’s second Oscar win for her hit Barbie ballad, “What Was I Made For?”

From Rolling Stone US.