Dave Grohl says Billie Eilish has “started a revolution”
Foo Fighters singer Dave Grohl’s finger remains firmly on the pulse, and despite being middle-aged, Grohl makes a concerted effort to stay abreast of current trends. While many have decried the state of the modern music scene, the former Nirvana drummer believes it is in safe hands.
The contemporary musician Grohl is throwing his weight behind as the voice of a generation is Billie Eilish. Over the last few years, Eilish has changed the fabric of popular music and pioneered a new brand of pop, a sound that is authentic to its core. Eilish has defied the music industry’s expectations, and instead of using expensive studios, her records have been made DIY-style in her bedroom alongside her brother, Finneas.
The pair were homeschooled with their parents promoting artistry and creative freedom above a traditional education. In 2015, Eilish first made her move into becoming a recording artist. When she asked Finneas to create an original piece of music for her to choreograph for her dance class, Eilish had no idea of the journey it would start.
He fulfilled her wishes by creating ‘Ocean Eyes’, but Finneas felt she should add her voice to the recording because it was more suitable to the track. For ease, Eilish put the recording on to the streaming platform SoundCloud so it could be accessed easily by her teacher. However, shortly after, the song went viral, and suddenly, every major record label was fighting to secure her signature.
Eilish subsequently released her debut album, When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? in 2019, which became a hit in the Grohl household. As a result. Grohl even compared her to Nirvana. Following the release, in conversation with Live Nation CEO Michael Rapino for an in-depth discussion at PollstarLive’s conference, Grohl said: “My daughters are obsessed with Billie Eilish. The same thing is happening with her happened with Nirvana in 1991. People say, ‘Is rock dead?’ When I look at someone like Billie Eilish, rock ‘n’ roll is not close to dead!”
Meanwhile, a few months later, Grohl gave Eilish flowers again while appearing on Josh Homme’s Alligator Hour radio show. On the power of her live shows, the Foo Fighters frontman said they “felt like you were a part of something that was just about to explode”.
Grohl added: “It’s the connection she has with her audience – she’s like Morrissey. It’s like the kids who are there at the show, and not just kids, the people that are there are just like they are so into the scene like that world.”
Three years later, Eilish is still on his mind, and in Grohl’s opinion, she’s the current rebellious face of rock ‘n’ roll. He told The Independent: “I can understand how it’s a different game nowadays for younger bands. There’s a lot of great young bands that are f***ing killing it and have devoted fan bases. They might not be as popular as Nicki Minaj, but honestly, when I see f***ing Billie Eilish, that’s rock’n’roll to me. She started a revolution and took over the world.”
Having been in the crowd for Eilish’s historic set at Glastonbury Festival, which made her the festival’s youngest-ever headliner, I fully support Grohl’s glittering review of her as a performer and believe the sky is the limit for her talents.
