Billie Eilish has an original sound that nobody has even come close to and that is because she has never heard of some of music’s most influential figures.
The 17-year-old appeared on “Jimmy Kimmel Live” on November 22 where she played an interesting game with the much older Jimmy Kimmel. The late-night talk show host said that he was 17-years-old in the year 1984 and admitted that he was not as successful at the time as Billie is.
Kimmel decided to read off several names of musical artists that were huge in the early 80s. Billie knew the likes of Madonna and Cyndi Lauper but was clueless about artists like Huey Lewis, and Run DMC. The most shocking answer came when Jimmy asked about this legendary guitarist.
“Can you name a Van Halen?” Kimmel asked while firing off names for Eilish.
“Who?” Eilish quickly replied, giving the impression that she was completely in the dark when it came to naming Eddie or Alex Van Halen.
Kimmel was floored by the answer and replied, “I’m gonna start crying.”
Fans were also stunned after the young star admitted to not knowing one of the greatest guitarists of all time.
“I honestly don’t know how she can’t answer these questions, me and my bruvs are all 18 and answered each of these,” one shocked fan commented.
Another fan wrote, “Billie Eilish didn’t know who Van Halen was, I’m sobbing.”
Van Halen was formed in 1974 and Billie was born in 2001. This leaves a 27-year gap between the time when Eddie started rocking with David Lee Roth and Eilish’s first breath. There hit songs “Jump”, “Hot for Teacher”, and “Panama” topped the charts in 1983 and 1984.
Billie’s fans came out in droves to defend the musical genius for not knowing a group that broke up before she was born.
One older fan came to her defense and said, “When I was 17 in 1985 (and listening to artists like Van Halen & Rush) I did not know artists like Billie Holiday, The Ink Spots, or the Andrews Sisters. Forty years is a HUGE gap in music. Give her a break.”
Another fan wrote, “Ha ha, yes she’s young and doesn’t know everything about years she wasn’t living in. So funny.”
I'm not. I'm 50, so I grew up with VH.
When I was 17 in 1985 (and listening to artists like Van Halen & Rush) I did not know artists like Billie Holiday, The Ink Spots, or the Andrews Sisters.
Forty years is a HUGE gap in music. Give her a break.
— Deep Time (@rstackjr) December 2, 2019
Eilish’s young fans were quick to bring Jimmy down a notch for acting like an old man.
“Jimmy: naming 80’s things
Billie: ok boomer,” a disgruntled fan commented.
One user wrote, ” There’s a lot of boomer energy emanating from Kimmel?,” while another said, “I hate how the first thing he says to her is “I was listening to your album with my kids” like he won’t say he listens to it himself. Such a boomer tho.”
A “Boomer” is a term used to describe older people that are known as “Baby Boomers” and has recently become a popular derogatory term used by the younger generations and online.
One fan thought that Jimmy was trying to poke fun at the 17-year-old and did not appreciate the bit.
“Jimmy kimmel interviews are so awkward. He asks people weird questions and just makes fun of them and he’s a ??????. And he’s just trying to make Billie look uneducated,” the angry fan wrote.
Billie and Jimmy seemed to get along fine after the game so it does not appear to be any ill will between the two celebrities.
