Billie Eilish Opens Up About the Surprisingly Personal Meaning Behind Her Song 'What Was I Made For?'
Billie Eilish's surprise hit, What Was I Made For?, written for the Barbie movie's end credits, turned out to be an unexpectedly personal journey for the Grammy-winning artist Going beyond the intended theme of the iconic doll, Eilish's introspective lyrics delve into a deeper exploration of self-discovery and purpose
Billie Eilish initially aimed to write the end credits song "What Was I Made For?" for the "Barbie" movie, which featured the popular Mattel doll. However, the Grammy winner ended up with a more personal result than she had anticipated.
"I never imagined that I would be thinking about myself," Eilish revealed in a recent clip from The Hollywood Reporters Songwriter Roundtable. "I was focused on creating a character, and my brother was doing the same."
Eilish, along with her brother and collaborator Finneas, wrote the haunting track that explores finding meaning and purpose in just one night. It wasn't until she shared the song with a friend that she realized it had inadvertently become something close to her heart.
"We were in the car and I just couldn't believe it, this singer was singing about me," she said, chuckling.
Prior to this, Eilish expressed that she finds songwriting to be "challenging" and "honesty in songwriting feels difficult and unattainable for me." She had anticipated the opportunity to write a song that was not based on her own experiences for the Warner Bros. movie, which grossed $1.5 billion globally. (The studio, alongside CNN, is a part of Warner Bros. Discovery.)
The "Bad Guy" singer described the moment she realized the song had a personal meaning as "scary," saying she "felt like it was as if you woke up and someone had taken a photo of you sleeping." Eilish and Finneas released "What Was I Made For?" in July ahead of the theatrical debut of the "Barbie" movie.
Nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Original Song are: "I'm Just Ken" by Ryan Gosling and Mark Ronson, "Road to Freedom" by Lenny Kravitz, "Dance the Night" by Dua Lipa, "Peaches" by Jack Black, and "Addicted to Romance" by Bruce Springsteen.
