Billie Eilish and brother FINNEAS Slated to Receive ASCAP Vanguard Award

The 36th annual 2019 ASCAP Pop Music Awards is shaping up to be a can’t-miss event on the music industry calendar. The slate of hitmaking talents that will be lauded at the invitation-only celebration in Beverly Hills on May 16 includes iconic songwriter and ELO mastermind Jeff Lynne, who will receive the ASCAP Founders Award, and punk/pop pioneers Debbie Harry, Chris Stein and Clem Burke of Blondie, who will accept the ASCAP Golden Note Award. Additionally, pop/alternative phenomenon Billie Eilish and her collaborator/producer (and brother) FINNEAS will take home the ASCAP Vanguard Award.

ASCAP Chairman of the Board and President Paul Williams commented: “It is so exciting to have legendary music heroes and groundbreaking talents of all eras sharing our Pop Music Awards stage and recognized for their distinctive contributions to music.”

Williams continued, “Jeff Lynne has led a singular career and we are all fortunate that his musical genius has been felt so widely. His legendary stature is well-deserved and ASCAP is very proud to present him with our highest honor.”

“Debbie Harry, Chris Stein and Clem Burke electrified an underground music scene and later mainstream listeners when they married punk and pop with Debbie’s enviably cool lyrics and voice. Their experimentation with nearly every genre — rock, punk, reggae, rap, disco— anchored by their roots in great songwriting, is what truly sets them apart.”

“Billie Eilish and Finneas O’Connell are mesmerizing the pop world with their inventive songs and sounds that speak for a new generation of music listeners. Their music shows us how classic themes of love and desire can manifest themselves in song in endlessly fresh and compelling ways.”

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