How Billie Eilish and FINNEAS Created Oscar-Winning 'What Was I Made For' | Vanity Fair

"When we were writing this we were very much writing about a character…and it wasn't until two days later that I was like, 'This is me.'" Billie Eilish and FINNEAS take us through a very intimate journey inside of their creative minds as they unveil how they created the Oscar-winning original song, "What Was I Made For," for 'Barbie.' From the "physics" involved in the intricate production elements to Billie's "heartbroken" yet powerful delivery, the duo dissects every step behind bringing their hauntingly beautiful song to life.



ABOUT VANITY FAIR
Arts and entertainment, business and media, politics, and world affairs—Vanity Fair’s features and exclusive videos capture the people, places, and ideas that define modern culture.

[teleiar]

I love how Finneas is such a musical genius while billie sings so effortlessly. Such a perfect dynamic duo

[joel]

Dear Vanity Fair, please keep making more interviews like this. I like listening to musicians talking about how they created their music. It’s really interesting to me.

[Randymountaine]

Hearing her say how hard it was to sing, Then seeing her do it flawlessly live at the Grammy's... girl is incredible.

[ScrapperFish]

Finneas is such a massive part in her success. She’s lucky to have him. His knowledge of music is extremely in depth

[Nonbinarymodel]

It’s so wild that Billie can just randomly sing things that she says are hard lol. She’s like “this is super hard” and then just does it perfectly

[treasure_adream]

I’m obsessed with how passionate they are about explaining everything. The little details they were sharing as if they’ve been waiting forever to tell us. It keeps me so interested in the video. Knowing that they love what they do.

[damo]

Going forward, every year, every Oscars, we need a breakdown of each Oscar-nominated original song, like this one. Thank you Vanity Fair.

[Cujo]

The way he looks at her is so sweet. He speaks volumes with a look of "how talented is my sister" and "how great is she". These two have to be one of the best sibling duos of all time. They are both so talented.

[Soleille]

Now that’s what I call an interview!!! A professional interview!!! We don’t need to know their personal lives, give us more of this!!!

[henny]

this is the prime example that billie doesnt just whisper and use Autotune. she can sing for real and its AMAZING

[Penguinsdoexist]

Woah Finneas is incredibly well spoken. Billie too, but Finneas has this way with words that just makes everything sound so intricate and deep. I thoroughly enjoyed this interview.

[blakelycreative]

For me, the vulnerably of the song is captivating. It's like strength and weakness are dancing together. It's jaw dropping.

[goldwingedgl]

people neglect fin too much. his mindset is so interesting and so much less obscure then a regular mind. He's such a musical genius when it comes to producing and lyric writing

[Angelajazzb]

Billie’s vocal choice was spot on for an emotional piece like this. She’s like a cloud singing for the sun ⛅️

[rosalindamartinez]

“Im sad again, don’t tell my boyfriend” hit me way too deeply and I still cry every time

[CassandraMonsterrr]

Love that no one can say she's all auto tune now when she's literally hitting all the notes just casually speaking in an interview.

[SquishSquish]

I LOVE hearing billie and finneas talk about production. Unless you've produced or studied it in some way, you'll never know the full extent of what goes into production and I'm so glad they did this interview to show people that it's not just a few instruments and vocals, it's way more than that ❤

[moon.mp]

00:02:36 Billie humbly saying “I could’ve just given you guys this because it’s easy, but I’ll challenge myself” speaks volumes. Salute to true artistry.

[SrtaLJCarneiro]

This girl is a true and complete artist. She deserves all success in the world.

[anthonyfernandez]

It's mine blowing how layered and rich the production is, especially because it sounds effortlessly simple. The emotional complexity and power of the lyric is perfectly served by all their production choices. This song is their greatest achievement so far. They have so much ahead of them in life, and I marvel at how much more beauty they have yet to create. 🧡