Billie Eilish Debuts ‘Barbie’ Ballad ‘What Was I Made For?’ at Lollapalooza

Billie Eilish took to the Lollapalooza 2023 stage on Thursday to perform “What Was I Made For?” from the Barbie film soundtrack for the first time.

Wearing a black Michael Jordan Chicago Bulls jersey and basketball shorts, Eilish took a seat on the stage floor while the music video for the track played in the background. As she delivered the emotional ballad, fans cheered as she sang the last verse and smiled, looking back at the video’s final scene.

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The singer-songwriter officially joined the stacked list of musicians on the film’s album in early July, announcing the collaboration on Instagram. “We made this song for Barbie and it means the absolute worrrrllld to me,” Eilish wrote in all-caps. “This movie is gonna change ur lives and hopefully this song will too. Get ready to sob.”

The video for the track was filmed in one take, and finds Eilish sorting through a collection of Barbie clothes based on her own red carpet-outfits. “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/Something I’m made for,” Eilish sings on the piano ballad, which she recorded alongside her brother Finneas.

Eilish released a statement on social media following the music video’s premiere, and recalled how she and her brother were deeply moved after ‘Barbie’ director Greta Gerwig showed them a few unfinished scenes from the film. “The next day we were writing and COULDNT shut up about it lolll andddddddddd ended up writing almost the entire song that night. to be real with you this all seemed to happen in a time when i really needed it. i’m so so thankful for that,” Eilish wrote.

The record included a mega-star group of artists and was produced by Mark Ronson. Rolling Stone first announced the lineup of musicians in May, including Ava Max, Dominic Fike, Gayke, Haim, the Kid Laroi, and Lizzo.

Eilish is among the 170-some artists performing on the nine stages at Lollapalooza this year, from Kendrick Lamar to Lana Del Rey and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

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