Billie Eilish gushed that Damon Albarn ‘changed my life’ as he joined her for a surprise duet of Gorillaz’s ‘Feel Good Inc.’ at Coachella.
The singer, who at 20 is the festival’s youngest ever headliner, couldn’t contain her excitement when the Blur rocker came out to perform his band’s 2010 hit at Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California.
In a touching tribute to the 54-year-old Britpop legend and his three bands, she told the packed crowd: ‘This is the craziest s*** I’ve ever experienced’.
Collaboration: Billie Eilish gushed that Damon Albarn ‘changed my life’ as he joined her for a surprise duet of Gorillaz’s ‘Feel Good Inc.’ at Coachella
‘This man changed my life in a lot of ways and changed my complete view of what music could be, and what art could be, and what creation could be.
‘My first favourite band ever was The Good, The Bad and the Queen when I was six and Blur changed the world and Gorillaz changed the world, and this man is literally a genius, and that’s that.’
Billie was also joined by Khalid for ‘Lovely’ and her brother Finneas came out for ‘I Love You’ and ‘Your Power’.
Days before bringing Damon out on stage, Billie shared an Instagram Story of herself making faces in a Gorillaz T-shirt on Wednesday.
Dream come true: The singer, who at 20 is the festival’s youngest ever headliner, couldn’t contain her excitement when the Blur rocker came out to perform his band’s 2010 hit
Star struck: In a touching tribute to the 54-year-old Britpop legend and his three bands, she told the packed crowd: ‘This is the craziest s*** I’ve ever experienced’
The star poked her tongue out as she larked around while wearing a back-to-front baseball cap.
Damon previously praised the singer, describing her as ‘exceptional,’ telling the Los Angeles Times why he is such a fan of Billie.
He said: ‘A really interesting songwriter is Billie Eilish and her brother.
‘I’m more attracted to that than to Taylor Swift. It’s just darker — less endlessly upbeat. Way more minor and odd. I think she’s exceptional.’
Idol: Billie said of the Blur legend: ‘This man changed my life in a lot of ways and changed my complete view of what music could be, and what art could be, and what creation could be’
Damon – who received death threats from Taylor’s fans – suggested his remarks had been sensationalised to attract readers and apologised ‘unreservedly and unconditionally’.
In the interview, the ‘Parklife’ singer insisted he wasn’t ‘hating’ on Taylor but suggested collaborating with other songwriters was ‘very different’ to taking sole responsibility for her work.
He said: ‘She doesn’t write her own songs. Co-writing is very different to writing. I’m not hating on anybody, I’m just saying there’s a big difference between a songwriter and a songwriter who co-writes.’
Vibes: Days before bringing Damon on stage, Billie shared an Instagram Story of herself making faces in a Gorillaz T-shirt on Wednesday
Lovefest: Damon previously praised the singer, describing her as ‘exceptional,’ telling the Los Angeles Times why he is such a fan of Billie