What Was I Made For?
"What Was I Made For?" is a ballad by American singer Billie Eilish. It was released through Atlantic, Darkroom, and Interscope Records on July 13, 2023, as the fifth single from the soundtrack to the 2023 fantasy comedy film Barbie. "What Was I Made For?" was commercially successful worldwide and reached number-one in Australia, Ireland, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom, as well as peaking at 14 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States. It received five nominations at the 66th Annual Grammy Awards, including Record of the Year, and won for Song of the Year (which became the first song from a film since Celine Dion's "My Heart Will Go On" from Titanic to win in this category) and Best Song Written for Visual Media. It won the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song at the 81st Golden Globe Awards and it also won the Academy Award for Best Original Song at the 96th Academy Awards.
"What Was I Made For?"
Background and release[edit]
In an interview with Time in early July 2023, Mark Ronson, who served as the music producer of Barbie the Album, announced that there are more surprise guests on the soundtrack than had yet been revealed at that time, describing the artist as having a "very personal, idiosyncratic tie to Barbie". However, he skipped the question if Eilish was going to be one of the two.[3] Eilish previously sparked speculation about a possible appearance when she posted a picture of a Barbie neon sign on her Instagram on June 27.[4]
On July 6, 2023, Eilish announced the single on her social media.[5] In an accompanying announcement, she said that the song "means the absolute" world to her.[6] The singer hoped that the track would "change lives" and told her fans to "get ready to sob".[7] A snippet of the single appeared in a trailer for the film on July 10, 2023.[8] Eilish also teased the single and music video on Twitter on July 12.[9] The song was released the following day on July 13.[10] In the film itself, which premiered the same month, the song plays during a scene where Barbie meets the spirit of her creator Ruth Handler.[11]
Critical reception[edit]
The song received widespread universal acclaim from music critics, many of whom regarded it as one of the best songs of 2023.[14][15] Writing for Stereogum, Tom Breihan noted metaphors in the lyrics that parallels Barbie's plot and compared the song to "Happier Than Ever", but lamented that "It seems like it’s building to a grand, cathartic finale, but that finale never arrives".[10] Jon Mendelsohn of American Songwriter called the chorus "melancholy yet hopeful".[16] Walden Green of The Fader saw the song as a "sly commentary on pop stars 'created' for the profit of record labels".[17]
All credits are adapted from CD liner notes of Barbie the Album.[67]