Billie Eilish received widespread praise for her song What Was I Made For? 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 coming in second and third.
The outlet described the ballad, which Billie and her brother Finneas came up with, as “the best movie theme since their own film No Time to Die, written for the 2021 James Bond film of the same name.”
Elsewhere in the description, the song was praised for its witty, ambiguous lyric and stripped-down delivery.
The haunting number was released last July and was accompanied by a music video in which Eilish transformed into a platinum blonde, doll-like figure.
Billie Eilish received widespread praise for her song What Was I Made For? Variety named 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 phase when they were asked to contribute to the Barbie soundtrack last December.
Billie noted that she thought collaborating on a song for the album was unlikely, as the Oscar-winning “No Time To Die” took months to write.
Director Greta Gerwig invited the songwriter siblings to watch a rough cut of the film, which starred Margot Robbie as the title character and Ryan Gosling as Ken.
“I went into it not thinking anything would necessarily come of it.” I thought, “I just want to see this movie.” That’s so cool. “I feel honored to have even thought of myself,” she remembers.
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. Please just do something if you are inspired. And if not, that's okay. It's okay. It would be my dream,” the pop star shared .
She added: “Finneas started playing the piano and… those first lyrics, 'I used to float, now I just fall,' just came out… “I used to know, but now I'm not sure anymore, 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 phase when they were asked to contribute to the Barbie soundtrack last December
Billie revealed that she thought collaborating on a song for the album was unlikely as the Oscar-winning “No Time To Die” took months to write
However, as she thought about the finished 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 literally the trippiest thing I've ever experienced in my life,” Eilish repeated.
Not content with writing the lyrics and starring in the video, Billie also decided to direct it.
“I’m really proud of it,” she said of her directorial debut. “It was literally just a picture.” I was just turned at a 45 degree angle, left profile, blonde Barbie wig, yellow dress, sage green background, desk.
“I'm doing something on the desk, I don't know what it is, that's all I see.” And that was the idea.'