Billie Eilish and Finneas urge fans to #PayItForward as they host virtual concert to support small businesses
Following appearances in benefit concerts like 'iHeart Living Room Concert for America' and 'One World: Together At Home', Billie Eilish and Finneas O'Connell have now hosted a benefit concert of their own via Verizon's 'Pay It Forward LIVE' in support of small business impacted by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
Marking 'Earth Day' on April 22, Finneas noted that the siblings would be giving extra focus to "green and sustainable businesses." Introducing the live, he highlighted two businesses: A taco food truck in Los Angeles called 'Plant Food for People' and the all-vegan dessert shop 'Yoga-urt'. He also encouraged viewers to share the names of their favorite small business via Twitter.
One fan tweeted, "Happy Earth day all, and thank you Billie, Finneas and Verizon for this amazing streaming performance. I am paying it forward with a purchase to my local restaurant Bene in Placerville," and another shared, "Also want to say i am supporting Timmys Brown Bag in Placerville, unique and many vegetarian sandwiches i know Billie and Finneas would love #PayItForwardLIVE"
The siblings also spotlighted 'Support + Feed', an initiative launched by their mother, Maggie Baird, that provides assistance to plant-based local restaurants in New York City and LA.
Fans were extremely happy to have a home concert with Billie and Finneas. "Billie and finneas really do make everything better," tweeted one fan, adding, "and I’ll never be able to repay them for everything. endlessly grateful for them."
Another fan stated, "Billie and finneas if you be spying on us and seeing this, thank you for being yourselves and never acting fake, thank you for being so honest and genuine about your feelings. Thank you for being so talented and giving us amazing music that brings us together. We love you both sm".
Another fan tweeted, "The billie + finneas live stream made my quarantine 10x better dude. 53 minutes of a blessing to the ears. lol. #PayItForwardLIVE"
Fans also enjoyed some heartwarming moments from the siblings. One fan said, "Finneas and Billie Eilish’s Live was really cute. I loved their story about the teacher who prompted them to make their first song together."
A highlight of the night was when Finneas took lead and Billie sang backing vocals and harmonies. One fan stated, "We’re all so used to hearing billie sing with finneas’ harmonies but hearing finneas sing with billies harmonies just hit different it was amazing," and another tweeted, "The way it’s like they switched places, finneas’s song, billie harmonizing, but they still sound perfect, they still look perfect, they were just meant to do this together. to told the world in their hands together."
Others are already demanding a song with this setup, tweeting "Okay I actually need a version of one of finneas’ songs with billie harmonizing instead of the other way around like rnnn," as well as "Anyone else hope @billieeilish and @finneas create a song where they both have equal parts to sing, like ft. one another...DO YOU NOT UNDERSTAND HOW FIRE THAT SONG WOULD BE".
Fans also enjoyed the good-natured sibling banter. One fan tweeted, "Finneas not knowing that billie told everyone how he’s traumatized from spirited away kinda sends."
Some were annoyed with Billie, however. One fan tweeted, "Love billie but did you NEED to loudly burp into the mic while finneas was talking about climate change and supporting local businesses," adding, "Like I know she has tourettes and for all I know it is tied to that but it just came off as deliberately disrespectful."
But some came to her defense, stating, "It was Billie being Billie. She is a bundle of nerves and fidgets constantly. so cute tho and those vocals. To thrown in a load burp and a f*ck is everything we wanted."