Artist of the Month: Rising artist Finneas becomes five time Grammy winner
January 28, 2020
Blue-eyed Finneas O’Connell, better known as FINNEAS, rose to fame with his distinctive voice, music and talent as a record producer, singer and songwriter.
“It’s all stuff that I would be doing for fun and for free if I had another job,” FINNEAS says in a KROQ interview. “I think to me, it’s just about doing stuff that you’re passionate about. I guess I feel about music the way a lot of kids feel about Fortnite, it’s very hard for me to put a guitar down and stop writing a song.”
At the 62nd Grammy Awards on Jan. 26, FINNEAS won Non-Classical Producer of the Year, Album of the Year and Best Engineered Album for “When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go.” He also won Record of the Year and Song of the Year for “Bad Guy.”
The multi-talented 22-year-old grew up in Los Angeles with his mother, father and sister, Billie Eilish. Growing up, he had a small career in acting. Some of the shows he appeared on include “Glee” and “Modern Family.” Rather than writing and producing his music in a recording studio, he does it all in his two-bedroom childhood home. O’Connell also does some writing and recording while on tour.
“We’re not at a recording studio where different people are there every day and people are down the hall. It’s our house and it’s where we live,” FINNEAS said. “That allows us to make some kind of music that feels wholeheartedly exposed as far as who we are as people and as siblings.”
From piano keys to striking a match in the bathroom (featured in Eilish’s song “Watch”), FINNEAS uses anything he has to create unique sounds. Vocals, lyrics and the alternative/indie beats displayed all over his music are what set him apart from artists today. All of his hard work has led him to receiving and being nominated for numerous awards.
His catchy, emotional and rhythmic lyrics have the power to send goosebumps up and down your arms. At the same time, some of his songs make it easy to get up and dance to, each containing their own story. His debut EP, “Blood Harmony,” released on Oct. 4, 2019. FINNEAS’s most popular songs off the EP include “Let’s Fall in Love for the Night,” “Shelter” and “I Lost a Friend.”
Back in 2014, he won Best Music-Original Score and Songs category at the Blue Whiskey Independent Film Festival for the movie “Life Inside Out,” as well as winning Best Actor in a Feature Film for “Life Inside Out” at the Woods Hole Film Festival.
He’s currently nominated for Songwriter of the Year and Producer of the Year for the 2020 iHeartRadio Music Awards. FINNEAS revealed that he and his sister wrote the theme song for the movie “No Time To Die.” According to James Bond on Twitter, they are the youngest artist to write and record a James Bond theme song.
FINNEAS and his sister are a duo, music-wise and in life. Only four years apart, the two share a close bond. He’s toured with her and played as her bass man. FINNEAS produced her music and the two wrote songs for her album “When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go.”
At the beginning of his song, “Angel,” the sound of birds chirping fade into the lyrics, “Congratulations
You’ve been pretending to be human
So well
Might even fool the neighbors
Reading your Sunday papers.”
He sings each lyric with a soft and slightly raspy voice. In the background, a repetitive piano ballad can be heard throughout the song. As he sings the chorus,
“You’re an angel
In disguise
You’re an angel
In my eyes,” his voice goes from low to holding a high note.
Along with writing music for himself and Eilish, he’s worked with famous singers such as Selena Gomez and Camila Cabello. He helped produce Gomez’s song “Lose You to Love Me,” produced and co-wrote “Used to This” from Cabello and helped produce her song “First Man.”
“As a co-writer and a producer working with other people, you have to just channel a lot of empathy,” FINNEAS said in a KROQ interview. “I spend hours just sitting with them and asking about their relationship with their mom and what their friendships were like growing up and what their favorite relationships were.”