Billie Eilish & Finneas Get Standing Ovation for Elegant ‘What Was I Made For?’ Performance At 2024 Grammys

Katie Bain
·1 min read
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Billie Eilish and Finneas performed one of the year’s most beloved songs at the 2024 Grammys Sunday (Feb. 4), with an elegant rendition of “What Was I Made For.”

The performance was introduced by the show’s host, Trevor Noah, who was posted up in the audience with the brother/sister duo’s parents, jokingly grilling them about “leaving Grammys on the table” by not having more children.

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The performance then began, with Eilish sitting on a stool at the mic, wearing a ’50s headscarf, houndstooth jacket and knee-length dress which altogether evoked the early era of Barbie. The song, of course, comes from the blockbuster Barbie movie soundtrack and was nominated for record of the year, song of the year, best pop solo performance, best song written for visual media and best music video.

The song featured accompaniment from Finneas, who played the song’s spare, delicate instrumentation at a baby grand while dressed in a tux. A string section surrounding the pair came in as the song swelled, with the camera panning behind all the players before returning to a close-up on Eilish — who had by then removed her ’50s-era sunglasses — for the song’s final sentiment: “I think I forgot how to be happy, something I’m not, but something I can be. Something I wait for, something I’m made for.”

The camera then panned to the audience, which had already risen to its feet, zooming in on artists including John Legend, Janelle Monáe, Mark Ronson (the producer of the Barbie soundtrack) all enthusiastically clapping before, naturally, returning to Eilish and Finneas’ very proud-looking parents.

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