As a whole, the Barbie movie is just fine. But when it's good, it's really good, and the soundtrack for the Greta Gerwig film is responsible for a couple of those highlights. When Gerwig approached Billie Eilish to contribute, she asked Eilish to write something that would become "Barbie's heart song." The result was "What Was I Made For?," a ballad about purpose and autonomy devastating both in its sparse composition and contemporary relevance. It's one of my favorite Billie Eilish songs, and yesterday she performed it for the first time during her headlining set at day one of Lollapalooza 2023.
The audience's ecstatic response to the song's opening notes, the tearful shots of their singalongs, and Eilish's totally captivating performance all indicate that "What Was I Made For?" is on its way to becoming a career highlight for Eilish. The track's music video, directed by Eilish herself, is screened in the background while the singer huddles onstage, underlining the song's thirst for authenticity in a deeply inauthentic industry. Watch the full performance above via Stereogum.
