When the 2022 Grammy Awards ceremony goes down next year, Finneas won’t just be up for awards for his work with sister Billie Eilish. That’s because the singer and producer, who released his debut album Optimist in October, is also up for the Best New Artist award. Filled with expertly written ballads that ride the wavelengths of the pop music spectrum, the album shows just how polished Finneas is on his own.
“Only A Lifetime” is one of the more pensive songs on the album and in the new single-take video, Finneas ruminates on the words as he walks through the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach. He asks, “How do you know if you’ve done everything right? Is it the love you have in hand or the cash you kiss at night?” while passing groupers and anemones in their massive tanks. The song is very forwardly about seizing the time that we have before us and he speaks like a comforting therapist as he sings “So don’t waste the time you have, waiting for time to pass. It’s only a lifetime, it’s not long enough, you’re not gonna like it without any love, so don’t waste it.”
And as his lyrics begin to conclude, the camera pulls back it reveals the surprise, that he’s actually there with his family. Eilish, their momma, Maggie Baird, and pop, Patrick O’Connell. They look on at the fish and it drives home the point of the song, like a wholesome new-age Norman Rockwell painting come to life.
Watch the video for “Only A Lifetime” above.
