21-year-old celebrity Billie Eilish was tapped to write down a music for Greta Gerwig’s Barbie film, and produced one thing rather more unbelievable than plastic in “What Was I Made For?”

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“What Was I Made For?” – Billie Eilish

The star-studded authentic film soundtrack is a mercurial phenomenon. Generally they exceed expectations and permit artists to broaden into new or compelling territory—suppose Beyonce’s Lion King: The Present or the Kendrick Lamar-helmed Black Panther report—however extra usually they’re company advert packages designed to get as a lot radio play as potential earlier than being laid to relaxation within the musical graveyard the place Pharrell’s “Comfortable” resides.

It is smart, then, that the soundtrack for Greta Gerwig’s Barbie, a movie with a advertising and marketing marketing campaign so lengthy that the memes already really feel historical, feels recent out of the superbly packaged field. Together with the prerequisite Aqua samples, there may be Dua Lipa and her faux-disco glitter; reigning rap princess Ice Spice dueting with hiphop’s personal Barbie Nicki Minaj; the pastel moods of TikTok sensation PinkPantheress; and even an “Oh, Mickey, you’re so positive” interpolation from Charlie XCX. After which there’s Billie Eilish.

Eilish, whose first foray into music-making for movie (“No Time To Die”) gained her an Oscar, appears to have understood the task otherwise than her musical compatriots. The place the soundtrack’s different individuals have created sizzling pink, sparkly summer season jams, Eilish highlights the darker aspect of Barbie.

When did it finish? All of the enjoyment
I’m unhappy once more, don’t inform my boyfriend
It’s not what he’s made for
What was I made for?

‘Trigger I, ’trigger I
I don’t know really feel
However I wanna attempt
I don’t know really feel
However sometime, I would
Sometime, I would

The monitor itself, written as traditional by Eilish and her brother FINNEAS, feels prefer it may have been lifted from her most up-to-date report, Happier Than Ever; its muted melancholy calls to thoughts singles like “Your Energy.” Over easy piano accompaniment, Eilish’s vocals are delicate and wistful—even by Billie requirements. The title and the music’s repeated chorus, “What Was I Made For?,” straight references Barbie whereas feeling totally private to Eilish and her journey by means of fame.

Assume I forgot, be joyful
One thing I’m not, however one thing I may be
One thing I watch for
One thing I’m made for

The video, directed by Eilish, eschews Barbie pink in favor of a classic yellow and inexperienced palette, calling to thoughts Barbie’s period of conception. Eilish sits alone at a college desk in a big, empty room, wanting like she simply walked off the set of a Nineteen Fifties hairspray advert. Because the monitor performs, Eilish opens a Barbie closet and begins calmly eradicating outfits to hold on a miniature clothes rack. Upon shut inspection, the garments are recreations of outfits Eilish herself has worn in public appearances—for instance, her black go well with with chains from the 2020 Grammys, the yellow sweatsuit from the “Unhealthy Man” music video, and the white Chanel go well with she wore to the 2020 Oscars discover themselves on this Barbie’s closet.

However as she neatly hangs her garments, wind begins to blow and rain begins to fall. Eilish scrambles to maintain the garments dry, to maintain them from blowing away. In the long run, she will’t do it — she wrings out the garments, stuffs them again into the case, and leaves, yellow kitten heels clacking on the moist flooring.

Of all of the singles launched for the film’s soundtrack to date, “What Was I Made For?” is the one ballad,

and the one music that doesn’t really feel prefer it was made for a film—it slots neatly into Eilish’s present oeuvre, however not in a approach that feels egocentric. Unsurprisingly, Eilish as soon as once more cements herself as one of many pop’s most fascinating gamers. Who else however Eilish, a (previously) teen pop star so adept at coping with public scrutiny, may make music about an notorious toy really feel so devastatingly actual.

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“What Was I Made For?” – Billie Eilish

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