Finally, not a Taylor Swift song. Not that Swift is not good, but people can agree that there are notable songs that were released in 2023 that deserved such attention as a Swift song. Billie Eilish's "What Was I Made For?" is one.
Good thing, Variety named it the Best Song of 2023.
It was written for the Barbie movie soundtrack.
The magazine's list was headed by the 22-year-old musician, who performed on Saturday Night Live this month. Boygenius' Not Strong Enough and Drake's First Person Shooter came in second and third, respectively.
The song, written by Billie and her brother Finneas, was hailed by the publication as "the best movie theme since their own No Time to Die," which was composed for the same James Bond movie in 2021. The song was praised for its clever, double-meaning lyrics and straightforward delivery at other places in the description.
This past July, the eerie song made its premiere along with a music video that saw Eilish changing into a platinum blonde doll-like figure.
When approached about contributing to the Barbie soundtrack last December, the singer-songwriter admitted to being in a creative rut with her brother in an Apple Music interview with Zane Lowe. Considering that it had taken months to write the Academy Award-winning No Time To Die, Billie stated she doubted she would work with someone on a song for the album.
Greta Gerwig, the director, asked the songwriting siblings to view an early edit of the film, which starred Ryan Gosling as Ken and Margot Robbie as the title character.
"I went into it not thinking that anything would necessarily come of it. I was like, 'I just want to see this movie. This is so cool. I'm honored to even be thought of,'' Eilish recalled.
Billie said Gerwig and screenwriter Noah Baumbach stopped the viewing several times to explain the context of the scenes.
'She was literally like, "I don't care. Please just, if you're inspired, make something. And if you're not, that's fine. It's fine. It would be my dream,"' the pop star shared.
She added, 'Finneas started playing piano, and... those first couple lyrics: "I used to float, now I just fall down,' just came right out...'I used to know, but I'm not sure now what I was made for."'
The superstar also revealed that she 'did not think about myself once in the writing process.'