Warning: SPOILERS are ahead for Barbie, now playing in theaters.
Ever since I watched Greta Gerwig’s Barbie movie opening weekend, I can’t get Billie Eilish’s “What Was I Made For?” out of my head. The emotional track helps illustrate Margot Robbie’s Barbie's journey from stereotypical doll to human. Not only does it have a lot to say about the movie’s plot, it also addresses finding one’s purpose in life amidst the noise of the world. However, now something is dawning on me after the singer posted about feedback she received for the song: Billie Eilish could actually win her second Oscar because of this track!
Billie Eilish, along with her brother and frequent collaborator Finneas O’Connell, of course, took home their first golden trophy as 2022 Academy Award winners for their Daniel Craig era James Bond theme song “No Time To Die.” With that in mind, I want to quickly talk about the attention their new Barbie song is getting and its 2024 Oscar chances after seeing the singer's latest Instagram post.
The Strong Feedback Billie Eilish Is Receiving For Her Barbie Song
Billie Eilish currently has another big hit on her hands with “What Was I Made For?” debuting on the Billboard Hot 100 this week at No. 34 as a number of other hits from Barbie go viral. To celebrate the success, the 21-year-old singer took to Instagram to pay tribute to the song. Take a look at the second slide in particular:
Eilish shared a screenshot of a text message from a friend that reads “I really can’t tell you enough how much your song is literally ruining my life right now.” Fans in the comments completely agreed, one calling the message “so real” while another said, “ur most painful one yet.” I think emerging artist Gracie Abrams is the one behind the text, considering she wrote this on the post:
I said what I said.
It’s an incredibly powerful song that comes at a pivotal moment in Barbie that really helps underline the messages of the film. Sufficed to say, I totally agree with the statement, it's a big existential song, and I'll never be the same after hearing it. Now, let’s get into Oscar odds.
Let’s Talk About Billie Eilish’s 2024 Oscar Chances
With the idea in mind that we still have about half a year of 2023 new movie releases ahead before we get to Award Season, I took a peak at New Best Picture’s current predictions for Best Original Song and Billie Eilish is all over it! Among staff guesses, “What Was I Made For?” is near the top of everyone’s list. Other contenders for the 2024 Academy Awards Best Original Song also include Ryan Gosling’s “I’m Just Ken” and Dua Lipa’s “Dance The Night,” but Eilish’s song looks to be the clear favorite between the three.
Other movies that could fight with Billie Eilish and Finneas O’Connell for the Best Original Song nomination and award are from The Color Purple, The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, Past Lives, Wonka, Disney’s Wish and Elemental. Though given the early success of Barbie, I could definitely see a Barbie song slotting in – especially Billie Eilish, who is very much respected among the Academy now, given a past win.
If Eilish’s “What Was I Made For?” does get nominated and win an Oscar for Best Original Song the artist will be one of a few artists to win the prize twice and among the youngest artists to take home the prize. As a longtime Billie Eilish fan, this is so exciting for her! She’s already “ruining” our lives with the song in the best way, she might as well get some appreciation for it!
