Finneas O’Connell (who goes mononymously by Finneas) is a lot like King Midas: every song he touches turns to gold, or platinum, or double platinum, for that matter. Composing since the age of 12, Finneas, now 27, has worked behind the scenes with some of the biggest names in the music industry, including Drake, Selena Gomez, Rosalía, and, most notably, his younger sister, Billie Eilish, whose co-written single “What Was I Made For?”—featured in Greta Gerwig’s Barbie—made the siblings the youngest two-time Academy Award winners ever. Finneas is also the youngest person to win a Grammy for Producer of the Year. His latest solo studio LP, For Cryin’ Out Loud!, has beckoned the songwriter out of the shadows and into the spotlight. To celebrate the album’s release, the artist shares his least favorite things. —Carolina de Armas
Least favorite number: 58.
Least favorite color: Salmon.
Least favorite team: The home team.
WORST FORM OF TRANSPORT:
Being thrown.
Least favorite James Bond: Lego.
Preferred deadly sin: Wrath.
Food that makes you gag: Tuna.
Book you never finished: The Code Breaker.
Film you walked out of: The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland.
Song you never want to hear again: “7 Years,” by Lukas Graham.
Character from history you most dislike: Mitch McConnell.
Preferred form of revenge: Blackmail.
Favorite curse word: Busted.
Least favorite habit (in you): My lazy eye.
Least favorite apology: “Not only have I let you down, but I’ve let myself down.”
Least favorite present you’ve received: Anything I had to keep alive.
Worst New York City moment: 9/11.
Person you’d least like to share a lifeboat with: Rudy Giuliani.
Words you’d hate to have spoken behind your back: “I’m sneaking up behind him.”
Thing you said but wish you hadn’t: I told John Batiste I loved him the minute I met him, and it freaked him out.
Thing you didn’t say but wish you had: I’ve never not said too much.
Worst advice you’ve ever got: “Buy NFTs.”
Worst advice you’ve ever given: “Don’t give up on your dreams.”
Last words before execution: “Do you even know who I am?”
Finneas’s Inessentials
