Seven-time Grammy winner Billie Eilish and eight-time Grammy winner FINNEAS (her brother and collaborator) have plenty of accolades already, but both admitted they were wildly nervous on the red carpet for the 2022 Academy Awards. And while it was understandable – both were slated to perform during the 2022 Oscars telecast at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood and were nominated for best original song – they needn’t have worried.
Following an introduction from Rami Malek (who plays the villain in the latest James Bond film No Time to Die and also won the best actor Oscar for portraying Freddie Mercury in the Queen film Bohemian Rhapsody), the O’Connell siblings began playing the understated, moody intro of “No Time to Die,” the title track to the most recent Bond film.
Wearing a loose-fitting black suit while sitting on a stool, Billie opened the ballad in hushed tones as FINNEAS played along on the piano behind her and occasionally added backup vocals. The two were accompanied by a string section that gradually ramped up the drama, but never threatened to overtake Billie’s melancholy, wounded vocals as she was bathed in shadows and piercing white lights.
Not long after, Eilish and FINNEAS returned to the stage when “No Time to Die” won the Oscar for best original song. Billie Eilish, ecstatic and beside herself with laughter, thanked her “007 family” and “Johnny Marr for taking our song and making it worthy of James Bond.” FINNEAS thanked his and Billie’s parents: “We love you as parents and we love you as real people too.”
Eilish is also nominated for seven Grammys at the upcoming ceremony in Las Vegas on April 3.