With Her Barbie Win, Billie Eilish Just Made Oscar History
One of the many mood-setting songs on the "Barbie" soundtrack was "What Was I Made For?" by Billie Eilish and her brother/co-writer Finneas O'Connell. Tonight at the 96th Academy Awards, the duo and their tune took home the Oscar for Best Original Song as Miss Eilish made Oscar history.
This is Eilish and O'Connell's second Oscar win; they previously won Best Original Song in 2022 for "No Time To Die," the anthem from the eponymous James Bond movie. With these two almost back-to-back wins, the 22-year-old Eilish is now the youngest two-time Oscar winner in history. I'd bet good money this year's golden statue won't be the last she'll display on her shelf.
Eilish is the latest musical goth it-girl of the moment, following in the footsteps of her cited influences like Avril Lavigne. Her whispery singing can be sad and/or creepy depending on what lyrics she's letting out. "No Time to Die" (a personal favorite of mine, I'll admit) fit right in with the more mournful Bond songs of the Daniel Craig era like Adele's "Skyfall."
Even when Eilish doesn't make her songs for movies, they've been finding their way in. There was a time in 2019-2020 or so when Eilish's "Bad Guy" was everywhere in movie trailers. You may have also heard her hit "Bury A Friend" as the theme song for "True Detective: Night Country" this year.
Two Oscars for Billie Eilish and Finneas
"What Was I Made For?" is specifically about Barbie's (Margot Robbie) existential crisis; she's literally wondering why she exists after her conceptions about how Barbie dolls have shaped the world get upended. The sound is a sonic contrast from the earlier song, the upbeat "Pink" by Lizzo, about Barbie's docile morning routine before the thoughts of existential dread seep in.
At Eilish and O'Connell's acceptance speech, the former opened by admitting, "I had a nightmare about this last night" but, with tears in her voice, said she still felt surprised and lucky: "I'm grateful for this song, and this movie, and the way that it made me feel, and this goes out to everyone who was affected by the movie and how incredible it is." The siblings then rattled off all their thanks, from the expected (Margot Robbie, Greta Gerwig) to the surprising (Billie's childhood best friend who played Barbie dolls with her).
It should be noted that these two Oscars are far from Eilish's only awards. She also has nine Grammys (two of them, Song of the Year and Best Song Written for Visual Media, which she earned for "What Was I Made For?"). At 22, Eilish should have decades ahead of her to evolve as a musician. With the awards she's already won, do we have a future EGOT winner (if you haven't seen "Tár," someone who has an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony) on our hands? Stay tuned.