Katy Perry opens up on 'huge mistake' of turning down Billie Eilish's hit song

They say ‘you live and you learn’ and that’s probably what Katy Perry is feeling right now.

The Grammy-nominated pop icon admitted she made a ‘huge mistake’ by declining to work with Billie Eilish because she thought her debut song was ‘boring’.

Eilish released the indie pop ballad ‘Ocean Eyes’ through SoundCloud in November 2015. It was later re-released through Darkroom and Interscope records as a commercial single the following year.

The acclaimed song - written and produced by her brother and frequent collaborator, Finneas O'Connell - received a positive reception from critics.

However one person who wasn’t immediately impressed was the ‘Never Really Over’ hit maker, who recently revealed how she first came across Eilish’s music.

In a TikTok shared by Los Angeles radio station 102.7 KIIS FM on Friday (29 January) the American Idol judge spoke to an audience about snubbing Eilish.

Perry was sent an email about a new artist for Perry’s record label Unsub Records.

“It was a song called ‘Ocean Eyes’ and it was just a blonde girl and I was like ‘Meh, boring.’

“Big mistake. Huge mistake.”

She then joked: “Don’t let this hit the internet.”

Eilish, 21, has gone on to win seven Grammy awards so far and most recently released her acclaimed second studio album Happier Than Ever in July 2021.

Some fans in the comments agreed with Perry’s initial decision, one person said: “That’s what I thought of Ocean Eyes when I first heard it too lol.”

However others said Perry’s snubbing was probably for the best, otherwise the ‘Bad Guy’ singer’s music would’ve turned out ‘too pop’.

One commenter replied: “I’m glad that collab didn’t happen because it allowed Billie to build her own identity and sound as an artist.”

Someone else wrote: “Katy would’ve made Billie a little too pop so she was better off lol.”

Another TikTok user penned: “Imagine if they did collab and the song blew up, everyone would forever say Katy gave Billie a career or Katy discovered her, no thanks.”

“At least she was honest,” a TikTok user wrote alongside a crying emoji.

“You could never get this information out of me,” admitted another.

Eilish recently shard that she ‘grieves’ her 13-year-old self, the age she was when she released ‘Ocean Eyes’ on SoundCloud.

Speaking to Vogue earlier this month, the global pop icon said: "I was 13 when I put stuff out for the first time.

"I look back at who I was, when fewer eyes were on me. I grieve that. I strive to be that kid again."