Billie Joe Armstrong says it was an “honour” to perform with “pretty awesome young lady” Billie Eilish.
The 52-year-old rocker’s band Green Day duetted with the ‘Birds of a Feather’ hitmaker on their 2009 track ‘Last Night On Earth’ at the FireAid benefit concert for victims of the Los Angeles wildfires at the Kia Forum on January 30.
And pop punk veteran Armstrong has now spoken about being a huge fan of the 23-year-old pop megastar and how they bonded over their shared name.
He told Billboard: “It’s funny, when [Eilish] first started coming out, I saw some footage of her on Instagram – I saw some merch, and there was a headband that said ‘Billie’ with an ‘ie’, and I said, ‘I have to have that!
“And then so she sent me a bunch of merch that had ‘Billie’ on it, and I was like, ‘Yes!’”
He added: “I saw her play a couple of times and she was fantastic, and you just knew something special was gonna happen with her. But the fact that we got to play together… she’s a pretty awesome young lady, and it was an honour to be able to share the stage with her.”
The pair previously interviewed each other for Rolling Stone magazine in 2019, during which the ‘Boulevard of Broken Dreams’ hitmaker explained why he is so drawn to the ‘Bad Guy’ hitmaker’s music.
He told her: “I know this sounds [weird], but I always gravitate toward music that sounds like freedom.
“And that’s what I get from your music. It’s like an earnest person that’s expressing themselves and incorporating new sounds. Some of it sounds like jazz to me, if that’s cool to say?”
Meanwhile, the FireAid concerts have raised more than $100 million for those impacted by the devastating disaster in California.
The gigs were held at the Inuit Dome and Kia Forum, with Lady Gaga, Olivia Rodrigo, Joni Mitchell also among the superstars performing for the cause.
The huge sum comes from ticket and merchandise sales and donations from the public as well as hefty contributions from stars including the Eagles and U2, who handed over $1 million dollars to the relief fund.
Los Angeles Clippers owner Steve Ballmer and his wife Connie Snyder pledged to match all donations made throughout the night.
In a statement about how the funds will be used, FireAid’s organisers said: “The FireAid Grants Advisory Committee, composed of longtime L.A.-region philanthropic leaders with deep relationships in the non-profit community, have been working to identify key areas of need, for maximum impact. Led by the Annenberg Foundation, the committee has been listening daily to affected communities, assessing local resource gaps to ensure aid reaches those most in need, and researching the handling of other fire disasters, such as those in Maui and Northern California. The first phase of grants are expected to be awarded by mid-February.”
More money has also been raised by the Grammy Awards, which brought in around $9 million on the night of the ceremony, as well as $15 million from MusiCares events which were held in the week leading up to the big show.