Westlife’s support act Keelie Walker is inspired by Billie Eilish.
The 15-year-old urban pop singer’s first ever show was opening for pop superstar Jason Derulo at The SSE Arena, Wembley, last October, and now she is on the road with the British boyband on their ‘Twenty Tour’ – which comes to The O2 arena in London on June 13, 14 and 15 – to mark the ‘Flying Without Wings’ hitmakers’ 20th anniversary.
Keelie says that seeing the ‘Bad Guy’ singer reach dizzying heights of success as a teenager has been hugely influential to her.
Speaking exclusively to BANG Showbiz, Keelie said: "She is really inspiring. There are a lot of inspiring artists that I look up to and Billie Eilish is definitely one of them."
The rising US star also admitted that she hadn’t heard of Irish chart-toppers Westlife – comprised of Shane Filan, Mark Feehily, Kian Egan and Nicky Byrne – before being invited to join them on the extensive arena run, but she soon did her research and has enjoyed delving into their back catalogue.
On how the tour came about, she said: "They saw my Instagram and my music on YouTube and reached in."
Asked if she had heard of them before the offer came in, she replied: "No. But once I found out, I started listening to their music and I really liked it."
Keelie has already been in the studio with top producers Bryan Todd (Miley Cyrus, Jordin Sparks, Kelly Clarkson) and Wideboys (Craig David, Kylie Minogue, Rihanna) and she has teased that after the Westlife tour, she is set to support another mystery artist.
She said: "There is another tour that I can’t really say anything about it now."
Keelie is currently touring with Westlife. Her new single ‘Not You’ is out July 5th and available to pre-save now: https://foundation-media.ffm.to/notyou
Catch Keelie supporting Westlife on the following UK dates:
June 1st Utilita Arena, Newcastle
June 3rd SSE Hydro Arena, Glasgow
June 4th SSE Hydro Arena, Glasgow
June 5th SSE Hydro Arena, Glasgow
June 6th FlyDSA Arena, Sheffield
June 8th FlyDSA Arena, Sheffield
June 10th First Direct Arena, Leeds
June 11th First Direct Arena, Leeds
June 13th The O2, London
June 14th The O2, London
June 15th The O2, London
June 18th Motorpoint Arena, Nottingham
June 19th Motorpoint Arena, Nottingham
June 21st Birmingham Arena
June 22nd Birmingham Arena
June 23rd Birmingham Arena
June 25th M&S Bank Arena, Liverpool
June 26th M&S Bank Arena, Liverpool
June 28th Manchester Arena
June 29th Manchester Arena
July 1st Motorpoint Arena, Cardiff
July 2nd Motorpoint Arena, Cardiff