The man who sat beside Billie Eilish at the Grammys originally had no idea who she was, but now says he’s ‘such a fan’

• A British man who won the golden seat next to Billie Eilish at the Grammys told Insider he originally thought the singer was an Irish comedian.
• “When I heard the name over a year ago, I thought it was Billie Irish and it was a standup comedian from there,” seat-filler Terry George said.
• The 54-year-old added that people around him assumed he was the star’s grandad, which he called “kinda funny.”
• George added that Eilish, who took home five Grammys on the night, told him: “I hope I don’t win.”
• “I could sense she was overwhelmed,” he added.
• Visit Insider’s homepage for more stories.

A British man who was seated next to Billie Eilish at the Grammys said he only discovered who she was just a few days before the event, but is now “such a fan.”

Terry George from Leeds was given the opportunity of a lifetime when he was chosen to be a seat-filler at music’s biggest night, then he struck gold again when he was put right next to the 18-year-old star.

“It was just serendipity really, I didn’t know that that was going to be where I would be sitting and on top of that I didn’t even know that she was going to be up there claiming those awards at the same time,” George told Insider.

But until recently, the Leeds businessman said he didn’t understand why Eilish was so big.

“When I heard the name over a year ago, I thought it was ‘Billie Irish’ and it was a standup comedian from [Ireland],” George told Insider.

After spending the night rubbing shoulders with the star – who took home five Grammys – and even engaging in a celebatory dance with both her and and her brother/producer Finneas O’Connell, he now fully supports her.

“The amount of young people who have been messaging me and saying ‘I can’t believe you’ve touched Billie Eilish, you’ve met her, you’ve been next to her,’ they’re absolutely in awe of me,” he said.

“I’ve created a whole new fan base of young relatives and friends who all want to ask me about Billie Eilish, and she appeals so much to the generation of today. I didn’t realize she was so big and now I’m such a fan.”

He added that she “seemed very, very ordinary, very grounded and quite chuckly.”

The British seat-filler also said she looked very overwhelmed with her awards, which included album of the year.

“She was kind of embarassed to win all of them, and when it came to the next one, and certainly the third one, she was clenching her hands and thinking ‘oh not me, not me, not me,'” George told Insider.

Eilish even turned to him for support.

“I could sense she was overwhelmed and she looked around to me and I said ‘What are you gonna do if you win this?’ and she said ‘Oh my god, I hope I don’t win,’ and that’s how she was.” George said.

Footage from the event on Sunday showed the singer mouthing “please don’t be me” right before taking home the top gong. George can also be seen smiling at her and jumping up in celebration following the announcement.

George also said he was asked by other audience members whether he was Eilish’s grandad – perhaps due to his constant chatter and giggles with the star, and also being an older-than-normal seat-filler.

George didn’t take it to heart, though, and instead thought it was “pretty cool” people assumed he was related to her.

“I dont know whether they were being a bit facetious or just having a bit of fun or being genuine but they said, ‘Oh are you Billie’s grandad?’ and I laughed and said ‘No, no, I’m not related to her,’ and that was kinda funny,” George said.

Unfortunately, following her album of the year win, Eilish left the awards via stage exit, so George didn’t have a chance to say a proper goodbye and congratulations to her.

However, on his flight back home he finally listened to her music.

“Having had this whole experience on the way back from airplane, I listened to her whole album and absolutely love her stuff,” he said. “I think she well deserved winning this award.”

Read more:

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Billie Eilish was spotted mouthing ‘please don’t be me’ before winning her 4th Grammy of the evening

11 things you probably didn’t know about 18-year-old pop star Billie Eilish