Grammy Winner Finneas O’Connell: Billie Eilish’s Brother Was On This Popular TV Show Years Ago
If you watch the 2020 Grammys, you saw Billie Eilish pull off the impressive feat of taking home all four of the biggest awards. And right there with her was her big brother, Finneas O’Connell. But there’s something very interesting you may not know about the latter. Read on to find out.
Finneas O’Connell is a Grammy-winning producer and songwriter
O’Connell is young, but he has been in the business for years. He was the lead singer of a band called The Slightlys, and has released music on his own as well, including his 2019 EP Blood Harmony. However, he is best known as a producer and songwriter.
In addition to Eilish, O’Connell has worked with Rebecca Black and The Knocks. More recently, he has expanded to working with such renowned artists as Selena Gomez, Camila Cabello, and Halsey. And now, he’s winning awards for his work.
He took the stage with his sister, Billie Eilish, in 2020
Eilish’s debut LP, 2019’s When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?, swept the globe. As the singer-songwriter became a worldwide sensation, she continuously credited her brother for helping her every step of the way and working with her on the album.
Together, they performed her song “When the Party’s Over” at the 2020 Grammy Awards. That night, they took home five awards each, sharing Album of the Year, and Record of the Year and Song of the Year for “Bad Guy.” O’Connell also received the awards for Best Engineered Album and Producer of the Year in the Non-Classical category.
O’Connell appeared on ‘Glee’
The day after the big event, Netflix took to social media to remind the world of an interesting fact. Grammy-winning producer Finneas O’Connell was on the hit Fox musical-comedy Glee in 2015. But we’re assuming that you, like everyone else in the world, forgot this.
O’Connell portrayed Alistair, a ukulele-playing student who Spencer (the jock who just happens to be gay) falls for and convinces to join the (New) New Directions. Their love story takes a backseat to the action, though, as all of this occurs in the final few episodes of the series.
Is he an actor?
O’Connell was mostly there to be a part of the Glee‘s first gay romance that nobody cares about (to demonstrate the way the school has become more accepting, it would appear). And, obviously, for his musical talent. But this wasn’t O’Connell’s only acting gig.
According to his IMDb, he has also been in films such as Bad Teacher and Life Inside Out. In the latter, he portrayed the son of his actual mother, actress Maggie Baird, who also co-wrote the film. O’Connell also had recurring roles on series Modern Family and Aquarius.
The age difference between O’Connell and Eilish
Given his status as a producer, you might expect that O’Connell is significantly older than his Grammy-winning little sister. But that’s not the case. O’Connell is just 22 years old, while Eilish turned 18 at the end of 2019.
As for their last names, that’s simple. Both are the children of Baird and Patrick O’Connell. However, while O’Connell uses his ordinary legal name for his work (though he sometimes goes by just Finneas), Eilish uses the first of her many middle names. Her full name is Billie Eilish Pirate Baird O’Connell.
