Billie Eilish has received widespread praise for her song What Was I Made For? as Variety named it the best song of 2023. It was written for the Barbie movie soundtrack.
The 22-year-old music artist – who appeared on Saturday Night Live this month – topped the magazine’s list, with boygenius Not Strong Enough and Drake’s First Person Shooter in second and third place respectively.
The outlet described the ballad, created by Billie and her brother Finneas, as “the best movie theme since their own No Time to Die,” which was written for the 2021 James Bond film of the same name.
Elsewhere in the write-up, the tune was praised for its witty double-meaning lyricism and stripped-down delivery.
The haunting song debuted last July and was accompanied by a music video that saw Eilish transform into a platinum blonde doll-like figure.
Billie Eilish has received widespread praise for her song What Was I Made For? as Variety called it the best song of 2023
In an Apple Music interview with Zane Lowe, the singer revealed that she and her brother were in a stagnant creative state when they were approached to contribute to the Barbie soundtrack last December.
Billie noted that she thought collaborating on a song for the album was unlikely as it had taken months to write the Academy Award-winning No Time To Die.
Director Greta Gerwig invited the songwriting siblings to watch a rough cut of the film, starring Margot Robbie as the titular character and Ryan Gosling as Ken.
“I went into it not thinking anything would necessarily come out of it. I thought, ‘I just want to see this movie. This is so cool. I’m honored that I’m even being considered,” she recalls.
Billie said Gerwig and screenwriter Noah Baumbach stopped the screening several times to explain the context of the scenes.
“She literally said, ‘I don’t care. If you’re inspired, please create something. And if you’re not, that’s fine. It is fine. It would be my dream,” the pop star shared. .
She added, “Finneas started playing the piano, and… those first few lyrics, ‘I used to float, now I’m just falling down,’ just came out… ‘I used to know, but I know now not sure what I was’ made for.”’
The superstar also revealed that she “didn’t think about myself once during the writing process.”
The 22-year-old music artist topped the magazine’s list; depicted in the song’s music video
In an Apple Music interview with Zane Lowe, the singer revealed that she and her brother were in a stagnant creative state when they were approached to contribute to the Barbie soundtrack last December.
Billie revealed she thought collaborating on a song for the album was unlikely as it had taken months to write the Academy Award-winning No Time To Die.
But when she thought about the final product, she realized, “I’m writing for myself and I don’t even know it. It’s one of the most incredible things I’ve had the privilege of experiencing in my life.”
“It was honestly the trippiest thing I’ve ever experienced in my life,” Eilish echoed.
Not content with co-writing the lyrics and starring in the video, Billie also decided she wanted to direct the video.
“I’m really proud of it,” she said of her directorial debut. ‘It was literally just an image. It was just me, turned to the 45 degree angle, left profile, blonde Barbie wig, yellow dress, some sort of sage green background, desk.
‘Doing something on the desk, I don’t know what it is, that’s all I see. And that was the idea.’
