Billie Eilish has won the Grammy for song of the year, her second time taking home the Recording Academy’s marquee songwriting prize.
Eilish’s “What Was I Made For?,” co-written with brother Finneas O’Connell, was the emotional centerpiece of last year’s “Barbie,” the box-office success of 2023. They also won earlier in the day for song written for visual media.
“Whoa, whoops, yikes, ohhhh my goodness, damn, that’s stupid guys,” Eilish exclaimed following her win. “I’m shocked out of my balls.”
She also thanked Greta Gerwig “for making the best movie of the year” with “Barbie.”
“It’s hard to feel deserving ever, but we certainly don’t right now,” O’Connell added. “We feel very humbled, very grateful.”
While the acclaimed film was largely a neon-pink romp and inescapable pop culture phenomenon, “What Was I Made For?” was a relatively somber and intimate single, built on sparse piano and existential lyrics that lent emotional depth to the film.
“The whole song was an excuse to say the truth,” Eilish told The Times last year. “When I did meet-and-greets back in the day, [fans] would be talking to me and I literally would think, ‘Oh my God, if you actually knew me, you would not like me.’ It’s very interesting to be an ideal in somebody’s mind, and they actually have no idea who you are.”
Eilish bested Taylor Swift (who struck out for the seventh time in a category the veteran songwriter has yet to win), fellow “Barbie” soundtrack artist Dua Lipa, SZA and Olivia Rodrigo for the Grammy. The ballad may also earn her a second Oscar for original song.
Eilish has been a Grammy favorite throughout her young career, coming into 2024 with seven wins and 25 nominations. She dominated the Grammys in 2020, winning all four top awards including album, song, record and best new artist.
