Premium94th Academy Awards - Billie Eilish and Finneas O’Connell make Oscar history with second win for Barbie song What Was I Made For?
Billie Eilish and Finneas O’Connell triumph once more, becoming the youngest two-time winners in Oscar history.
Last Updated: 07.41 AM, Mar 11, 2024
As they took home the best song award for a second time on Sunday night, Billie Eilish and Finneas O'Connell created history by becoming the two youngest two-time winners in Academy Awards history. They received an award for contributing to the Barbie soundtrack with the song What Was I Made For?
"What Was I Made For?" wins Best Song
The pop-star twins composed No Time to Die, the theme song for the 2022 James Bond film, and had previously received an award for it. Eilish, at 22 years old, has become the youngest two-time winner in Oscar history, surpassing O'Connell who is considered the second-youngest dual winner at 26 years old.
Two Barbie tracks, one being What Was I Made For? received nominations. Mark Ronson and Andrew Wyatt wrote Ryan Gosling's comedic lament I'm Just Ken, for which they also won for their work on Shallow from 2018's A Star Is Born.
While the film did feature a camera-shot performance of I'm Just Ken during the beachfront skirmish and extravagant dance routine, the popular prediction was that Eilish's gentle ballad, a sad meditation on the complexity of human emotions, would emerge victorious. Gretta Gerwig, the film's director, dubbed it Barbie's heart song.
Billie Eilish's stirring performance at the 2024 Academy Awards
Meanwhile, at the 2024 Academy Awards, Billie Eilish gave a stirring performance of What Was I Made For? Eilish sang a heartfelt cover of Barbie by Greta Gerwig, which received eight nominations for the Academy Awards, with the help of her brother Finneas O'Connell, who is also a co-writer and producer.
As O'Connell played the piano, Eilish captivated the crowd with her mesmerising singing. O'Connell accentuated his sister's singing with nuanced harmonies, while a string orchestra accompanied the fragile performance. The sister duet swept the crowd away with their poignant song and philosophical lyrics on the Dolby Theatre stage bathed in bright pink lighting in a Barbie-themed production design.
Eilish and O'Connell have already taken home a Golden Globe, two Grammys (including song of the year), and accolades from the Society of Composers and Lyricists. The fact that the Eilish song had an estimated 633 million streams, which is far more than the 105 million for I'm Just Ken, further increased the odds.