What were Billie Eilish and Finneas O’Connell made for? Winning awards, perhaps!
The sibling duo won an Academy Award for Best Original Song for “What Was I Made For?” from the Barbie soundtrack on Sunday, March 10, 2024. In doing so, 22-year-old Eilish became the youngest to win two career Oscars.
That history-making win beats an ancient record set by Luise Rainer. In 1938, Rainer won her second Best Actress Oscar at 28, becoming the youngest to achieve such a feat. However, Eilish has taken the crown with her new win. Eilish’s 26-year-old brother and co-writer O’Connell is following closely, becoming the second youngest.
The pair won their first Oscar for “No Time to Die” in 2021. That year, they beat out some impressive names, making the win outstanding. The siblings were against Beyoncé, Van Morrison, Lin-Manuel Miranda, and Diane Warren.
“Thank you so much to the Academy,” Eilish started her speech. “I feel like I just didn’t think this would happen.” “I’m so grateful for this song and for this movie and the way that it made me feel,” she continued. “And this goes out to everyone affected by the movie and how incredible it is.”
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She added, “I want to thank my team and parents. I love you guys so much.” Eilish also thanked her best friend, dance teachers, and choir teachers during her speech. “I want to thank my best friend Zoe for playing Barbies with me growing up,” she said. “And being by my side forever.”
The audience met Eillish’s speech with laughs while she continued, “I want to thank my, like, dance teachers growing up.” “I want to thank my choir teachers. Miss Brigham, thanks for believing in me,” she added. “Mrs. T, you didn’t like me, but you were good at your job.”
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The siblings also performed their breathy “Barbie” hit during Sunday’s awards ceremony at Los Angeles’ Dolby Theatre. Billie Eilish and her brother performed ahead of Ryan Gosling’s high-octane “I’m Just Ken” performance. As stated, Eilish and O’Connell are no strangers to the Oscar stage.
In addition to taking home the trophy for their “James Bond” theme, “No Time to Die,” they performed during the in-Memorium segment in 2020. Furthermore, in the months leading up to the Academy Awards, “What Was I Made For?” has raked in numerous trophies.
The “Barbie” theme won a Golden Globe for Best Original Song and two Grammys in 2024. By our metrics, that’s not bad for a song about an 11.5-inch-tall plastic doll. Ahead of the Oscars, Billie Eilish told “GMA3” the Greta Gerwig-directed film influenced the haunting song.
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“If we hadn’t seen the movie and talked to Greta about it,” Eilish said. “We would not have made that song.” She continued, “We wouldn’t have known the movie had that gut-wrenching aspect to it.”
“Watching it and seeing what it was about made me [go], ‘Oh, this is so much more than we all think,'” the singer added. Billie Eilish and O’Connell are longtime collaborators, with her typically singing and her brother accompanying her on the piano. They also write lyrics and compose music together.
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