Billie Eilish had a special surprise for her fans attending the second of her three “Hometown Encore” shows at Los Angeles’s Kia Forum on Thursday (Dec. 15.) “You guys, I would like to invite a friend of mine up,” Billie, 20, told the crowd, before bringing out Dave Grohl. Dave, 53, walked out with an acoustic guitar in his hand and sat down with Billie to perform a duet version of the Foo Fighters’ song “My Hero.” Following the March 2022 death of drummer Taylor Hawkins, “My Hero” has become the band’s tribute anthem to their beloved friend, and Billie was happy to celebrate Taylor’s life alongside Dave.
Before the performance, Dave spoke about how Billie honored Taylor at the 2022 Grammy Awards. Billie performed “Happier Than Ever” while wearing an oversized black t-shirt with Taylor’s image on the front. “Earlier this year, all of the Foo Fighters and our families gathered together at my house to watch the Grammys,” Dave told the packed Kia Forum. “And when Billie came out for her performance in the Taylor Hawkins T-shirt, the room was filled with real tears of love and gratitude.” Dave then thanked Billie on behalf of the Foo Fighters’ families and on the behalf of the Hawkins family, who were on hand for the concert.
Billie spoke about Taylor’s impact when she and her bother, FINNEAS, spoke with Access Hollywood ahead of the 94th Academy Awards. “Taylor was such a legendary player,” said FINNEAS, per Blabbermouth.net. “We were admirers of his work years before we got to meet him. And we only met him a handful of times — I wish we got to spend more time with him — but he couldn’t have been a kinder, cooler, more generous person as well. And such a deeply inspiring person. We’re just heartbroken.”
“It was incredibly heartbreaking,” Billie said of the death of Taylor. “It was right before we went on stage. And we got the news, and it really, really tore us all apart. It’s horribly, horribly tragic.”
Taylor was discovered dead in his hotel room in Bogota, Colombia, on Mar. 25, 2022. He was 50 years old. Many celebrities paid tribute to Taylor following his untimely passing. And the band held two memorial concerts, offering fans a chance to come and grieve the loss of the iconic musician.