Billie Eilish calls Rihanna “the greatest of all time” and her dream collaborator

Billie Eilish has shared her admiration for Rihanna in a new interview, saying that she sees the singer as “the greatest of all time”.

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The comments come after Rihanna praised Eilish in an interview back in October, and told Access Hollywood that she would love to collaborate with the ‘Birds Of A Feather’ singer in the future.

Speaking to Complex about the comments, Eilish said: “I literally thought it was AI, first of all… I’ve never met Rihanna. She’s literally my idol. She’s the greatest of all time. She’s my complete dream collab.”

The comments also come as the 22-year-old singer took to social media after hearing Rihanna’s comments, and shared how she would love to hear from either her or her team to organise a project together.

“I’ve never heard from her and I’ve never had any interaction with her, so why would I have ever even thought about it? Then she said, ‘If only I could work with Billie,’” Eilish said in an Instagram Story at the time (via Rolling Stone).

“I was like, ‘Well, bitch, I’ve been sitting here this whole time!’ What the fuck is she even talking about? Honestly. What do you mean, ‘If only?’ It’s, like, as if I’ve been saying, ‘No.’ Rihanna! Riri!? I’ll literally do anything you want. That’s insane.”

Elsewhere in Rihanna’s discussion with Access Hollywood, she recalled other artists she has been feeling inspired by in recent times. Alongside Eilish, she named Tom Odell, Sufjan Stevens, Patrick Watson, and Mitski as some of the artists she’s been listening to while on tour.

New music from Rihanna has been a growing topic of discussion in recent years, and the singer recently addressed her future in music while launching her latest Fenty beauty products.

“Music was the thing that got the attention, but God had other plans for me,” she said. “And I was able to create in ways that were very sincere and genuine, or organic and authentic to the things that I love.”

The appearance added fuel to the ongoing fan discourse on whether Rihanna – whose last album was 2016’s ‘Anti’ – is indeed done with music. For the past few years, Rihanna has gone full businesswoman mode with Fenty Beauty, and, save for a Super Bowl performance last year, has mainly shied away from making and performing music.

As for Eilish, her hit 2024 single ‘Birds Of A Feather’ was named as the 12th best song of 2024 by NME. “Is ‘Birds Of A Feather’ a pure love song, an attempt to undo a breakup, or a vision of her death?” NME wrote. “The Billie Eilish of a few years ago might have leaned into the darkness, but here, every element wants to pull her into the light – resulting in the most gorgeous melodies of her career.

She has also been nominated for Record of the Year, Album of the Year and Song of the Year at the 2025 Grammys, with ‘Birds Of A Feather’ also up for Best Pop Solo Performance.

Her most recent album, ‘Hit Me Hard and Soft’, was also named in NME’s list of the Best Albums Of 2024, coming in at Number Nine.