Billie Eilish fans defend the singer after she reveals she doesn't know who Van Halen are

3 December 2019, 13:47

Nicky Idika

By Nicky Idika

The internet had the strangest reaction to 17-year-old Billie Eilish revealing to Jimmy Kimmel that she has no idea who Van Halen are.

Billie Eilish turns 18 this December, making her one of the most successful young artists dominating the charts right now. Despite her meteoric rise and current level of success, Billie still gets flack about her youth in ways that are specifically designed to make her seem especially naive.

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This week, Billie Eilish was a guest on Jimmy Kimmel Live! and she was quizzed on a number of subjects, including her knowledge of popular culture from decades past. She was asked if she knew who Madonna was (she did), if she'd ever played with a Cabbage Patch doll (she had not), and quizzed on whether she could "name a Van Halen" ("who?").

It was her answer to the question about Van Halen that sent the internet into debate mode as some folks simply struggled to believe that Billie didn't know Van Halen.

Watch from 3:14 to hear Jimmy's illuminating line of questioning.

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Some people were pressed about a 17-year-old not knowing a rock band formed nearly 30 years before she was born.

But others were quick to her defence, pointing out how silly it is to expect people to be experts in music released decades before they'd ever even drawn their first breath of air.

As if this argument couldn't get any more surreal, Wolfgang Van Halen, son of Eddie Van Halen, stepped in to defend Billie.

The Van Halen bassist summed it up nicely, writing: "If you haven’t heard of @billieeilish, go check her out. She’s cool. If you haven’t heard of @VanHalen, go check them out. They’re cool too. Music is supposed to bring us together, not divide us. Listen to what you want and don’t shame others for not knowing what you like."

That settles that then!