Billie Eilish, recently shared that she feels a “protectiveness over” Olivia Rodrigo, who was born 14 months after the “What Was I Made For?” singer.
In an interview with the Los Angeles Times published Tuesday, Eilish revealed that Rodrigo inspired her song “Goldwing.”
“I think everybody’s experiences are so individual,” she told the publication. “Nobody has had anybody else’s life, you know? But I do feel a protectiveness over Olivia. I have a song called ‘Goldwing’ from my last album that’s kind of about her.”
She added, “It’s not only about her. I was just thinking about her when I was writing it. She was coming up, and she was younger than me, and nobody had ever been younger than me.”
“Goldwing,” which featured in 2021’s Happier Than Ever, includes the poignant verse: “They’re gonna tell you what you want to hear/Then they’re gonna disappear/Gonna claim you like a souvenir/Just to sell you in a year.”
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When speaking to the LA Times, Eilish said she could relate to Rodrigo, who seemingly was an overnight sensation while still a teenager. “Olivia was getting big, and she was just, like, this little dainty child,” Eilish said. “I felt so nervous. I was worried about her. She came up in that acting world, and people are so weird. I don’t know — I just felt very protective over her. And I feel that way to everyone.”
Eilish recorded “Ocean Eyes,” a track written by her brother Finneas O’Connell, when she was just 13. In a cover story for Vogue earlier this year, which focused on her climate activism, Eilish reflected on the period before her music gained international attention. “I look back at who I was, when fewer eyes were on me,” she said. “I grieve that. I strive to be that kid again.”