When the cast of Barbie was announced, we knew there would be some major star power at play. But only few could predict the level of buzz that the film’s soundtrack would generate—everyone from Dua Lipa, Lizzo, Ice Spice and Nicki Minaj and even “Ken” himself Ryan Gosling have tracks. As if that weren’t enough, Billie Eilish became the latest big name to enter the Barbie universe on Thursday.
The singer revealed the music video for her song “What Was I Made For?” The piano ballad is a stark contrast from the film’s more upbeat songs like Dua’s “Dance The Night Away” and Ice Spice and Minaj’s “Barbie World.” But, rather unsurprisingly, it is entirely in keeping with Eilish as an artist.
“In January Greta [Gerwig] showed me and Finneas a handful of some unfinished scenes from the film,” the singer captioned an Instagram post. “We had no idea what to expect at all. We were so deeply moved that the next day we were writing and couldn’t shut up about it. [We] ended up writing almost the entire song that night.”
Of course, Eilish dressed up in Barbie attire for the video, wearing a ‘60s-inspired yellow dress and cap-toed heels. Her ponytail was also very reminiscent of Barbie’s signature updo. Eilish is seen playing with doll-sized clothing before it starts raining. Despite the fairly simple set, the clothing Eilish was toying with is actually hers.
The pieces were, in fact, shrunken replicas of a handful of Eilish’s most famous looks over the years. Amongst the several ensembles were Eilish’s black and green Gucci look for the 2020 Grammys as well as her Chanel tweed set worn for that year’s Academy Awards. Hey Mattel, when’s the Billie Barbie dropping?
The video begins with Eilish taking the garments out of a trunk, hanging them on a rack, and ultimately, packing them all up again after a rain storm. Perhaps this is her way of telling us she’s done with her signature baggy look? Probably not, as she just wore an extremely oversized look to the Barbie premiere a few days ago. But still, this feels like the beginning of a new era for Eilish.
“To be real with you this all seemed to happen in a time when I really needed it,” Eilish said. “I’m so so thankful for that. This video makes me cry, it means so much to me and i hope it will mean just as much to you. Don’t have much to say other than that, I think it will speak for itself.”
