Are Billie Eilish and Ariana Grande friends?

Billie Eilish and Ariana Grande are two celebrated pop icons in the music industry. Despite their age difference, with Grande being 30 and Eilish younger, they share a common trajectory of starting their careers at a young age. Grande's career began with her appearance in Broadway Musical at just 15 years old, similar to Eilish.

Over the years, Billie Eilish and Ariana Grande have developed a close bond over their mutual respect and admiration for each other's works. They are friends and have openly supported and praised each other at various award shows and public platforms.

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Billie Eilish acknowledged Ariana Grande's thank u, next in her first Grammy acceptance speech

Eilish gained prominence in the music world several years after Grande, and their friendship grew through their mutual admiration for each other's music.

As reported by MTV in May 2020, during an episode of me&dad radio with her father Patrick O'Connell, he talked about Eilish religiously singing Grande's songs, saying:

"Before you were the Billie Eilish thing, you would sit in your room and do Ariana Grande songs."

The 62nd Grammy Awards marked an iconic moment in Eilish and Grande's friendship. In the award show, both artists were nominated for the Album of the Year award—Eilish for her debut album, WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO? and Grande for her fifth studio album, Thank U, Next.

As the results were announced, Billie Eilish ended up winning the award alongside her brother, co-writer, and producer, Finneas. However, when she was invited on stage to accept the award, the Ocean Eyes singer started her acceptance speech praising Grande and her work, saying:

"Can I just say that I think Ariana deserves this? Thank U, Next got me through some sh*t. And I think it deserves more than anything in the world. I love you so much."

As Eilish was praising Grande on stage, the Side to Side singer looked teary-eyed in the audience, gesturing no with her hands, mouthing what seemed like "take your moment, girl!" and then sending flying kisses her way. The entire exchange between the two singers stood as a testament to their friendship.

Four years later, when Eilish's What Was I Made For? was nominated for the Best Original Song award at the 96th Academy Awards, Grande's reaction to her performance, which appeared genuinely moved, caught a lot of media attention.

Later at the award show, Ariana Grande was invited to announce the winner of the Best Original Song. When she revealed that Eilish won the award on stage, Grande appeared genuinely happy to announce it and hugged Eilish twice as she entered the stage to accept the award.

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Eilish has several celebrity friends besides Ariana Grande

While Billie Eilish and Ariana Grande are friends, the Love Me Harder singer isn't her only famous friend. Over the years, Eilish has made many celebrity friends who not only admire her music but also acknowledge her as a person and are protective of her.

Justin Bieber, whom Billie fangirled obsessively as a teenager, happens to be one of them. The Sorry singer not only applauds Eilish for her talent but also vows to protect her and be there for her whenever she needs it in an interview with Zane Lowe.

Then there's Olivia Rodrigo, a pop singer who arrived in the industry after Eilish and is probably the only famous singer younger than her. This is probably why Billie was protective towards her in the same way Bieber felt for Eilish.

Another singer-songwriter that Billie grew up admiring and later became friends with is Lana Del Rey, with whom she performed live at Coachella 2024. In 2023, Eilish interviewed Del Rey before the release of her ninth studio album. During the interview, the Lovely singer revealed how she had Del Rey's picture as her first iPhone wallpaper, further calling her "coolest of the cool."

Other famous friends of Billie Eilish include Shawn Mendez, T-Pain, Katy Perry, Avril Lavigne, Melissa McCarthy, XXXTentacion, Khalid, Noah Cyrus, and more.