Katy Perry has revealed that she initially snubbed Billie Eilish, turning down an opportunity to collaborate with the latter before she found stardom.
During an event hosted by KIIS FM, Perry recalled being clued on to Eilish by a colleague at her Capitol Records imprint Unsub, who saw potential for the pair to link up.
Perry explained: “She sent me an email one time that was, ‘Hey check out this new artist, I’d really like us to work with her’… and it was a song called ‘Ocean Eyes’ and it was just a blonde girl, and I was like, ‘Meh, boring.’”
“Big mistake,” Perry added as her audience laughed. “Huge mistake! Don’t let this hit the Internet.”
@1027kiisfm #KatyPerry tells the story of first hearing BillieEilish’s Ocean Eyes! 😱 #oceaneyes #oceaneyesbillieeilish #katyperryfan #losangeles
‘Ocean Eyes’ went on to become an early hit for Eilish, making its way onto the soundtrack for the 2017 film Everything, Everything and racking up 21 Platinum certifications across seven countries. It also became a favourite for other artists to cover, with the likes of Shamir, Alicia Keys and Machine Gun Kelly all putting their own spins on it.
In 2021, Eilish reflected on her early experience with fame on the back of ‘Ocean Eyes’, admitting she was initially thrown off by the surge in attention: “I hated going outside. I hated going to events. I hated being recognised. I hated the internet having a bunch of eyes on me. I just wanted to be doing teenager shit.”
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Earlier this month, Eilish filed a restraining order against a fan who allegedly broke into her house several times. In a statement, she explained that the stalker had caused her and her family “substantial anxiety, fear, and emotional distress”.
Meanwhile, Perry said last September that she could be starting work on a brand new album “soon”, following up on 2020’s ‘Smile’.