Billie Eilish swooped the Song of the Year trophy for “What Was I Made For?” at the 2024 Grammys on Sunday. Not everyone was surprised, but Eilish herself certainly was.
“Yikes damn, that’s stupid, guys,” the 22-year-old singer admitted, peeking at the audience over gold-rimmed sunglasses. “Whoa, literally like I was looking at everybody’s faces, and I was like, ‘Yo, I just want to say everybody in this category, like, down was a crazy list of incredible people, incredible artists, and I feel crazy right now,'” she continued. Once getting over the shock of winning yet another Song of the Year Grammy, Eilish turned her gratitude to Barbie director: “Thank you to Greta Gerwig for making the best movie of the year.”
Eilish co-wrote the song for the all-star Barbie soundtrack with her brother Finneas. Earlier in the night, the song gained the duo a Grammy for Best Song Written for Visual Media, and the duo even performed an aching rendition of the ballad on the Grammys stage. The song received a total of five Grammy nods and placed ninth on Rolling Stone‘s 100 Best Songs of 2023. During a Hollywood Reporter roundtable with other artists, Eilish revealed that the song’s composition was preceded by a bout of writer’s block.
“I honestly was concerned that it was over for me,” said Eilish, who would go on to direct the one-take music video for the single. “We’d been trying, and it wasn’t doing what it usually would do in me. I was honestly like, ‘Damn, maybe I hit my peak and I don’t know how to write anymore?’”
“What Was I Made For?” was up against a tough field of competitors, including Olivia Rodrigo’s “Vampire,” SZA’s “Kill Bill,” Lana Del Rey’s “A&W,” and Jon Batiste’s “Butterfly.” The list also included Dua Lipa’s “Dance the Night” (also for the Barbie soundtrack), Miley Cyrus’ chart-topping “Flowers,” and Taylor Swift’s massive “Anti-Hero” track from Midnights.
Last year, Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Bonnie Raitt unexpectedly took home the Song of the Year honors for “Just Like That.” Past winners in recent years also include Silk Sonic for “Leave the Door Open,” H.E.R.’s “I Can’t Breathe,” and Eilish’s “Bad Guy” in 2020.
This year’s Grammys also saw some of the biggest names in the industry tapped to present the awards, including Christina Aguilera, Lionel Richie, Maluma, Lenny Kravitz, Mark Ronson, Meryl Streep, and Oprah Winfrey. The songwriting duo accepted the award from Lionel Richie.
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