“What Was I Made For?” by Billie Eilish becomes the fastest soundtrack song to reach 100 million streams on Spotify for the Barbie movie.
With a song that targets both the film’s audience of nostalgic adults and Eilish’s growing demographic, it’s clear to see its wide success. Barbie emphasises the collective experiences of being a woman, which Eilish perfectly demonstrates in her delicate ballad “What Was I Made For?”
The lyrics for the song not only capture the ongoing struggles of Margot Robbie’s ‘stereotypical Barbie’ character but of Eilish herself. Eilish talked with Zane Lowe on the Apple Music Show about her writer’s block and struggle for having a passion for music anymore.
Related: Review: Greta Gerwig’s ‘Barbie’ is a Surprisingly Meaningful Masterpiece
However, she goes on to explain how writing for film is something she and her brother, Finneas, are passionate about, and that it feels as though it has meaning. Eilish’s last album was released in 2021.
By having a mainly female star-studded soundtrack, Barbie has managed to reach wider and more potential audiences. With exclusive songs from Lizzo, Dua Lipa, Nicki Minaj and more, fans are more inclined to see a film their favourite artists feature in.
See below for Eilish’s interview with Lowe on the Apple Music Show.
Another way music has been used in films this year would be with James Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. By starting the film off with an acoustic version of Radiohead’s “Creep”, the audience is already prepared to focus on the story of Rocket, who from the first film has always viewed himself as an outsider.
Related: Guardians Vol. 3 Deleted Scene Reveals High Evolutionary’s Fate, Teases Adam Warlock’s Future
By calling back to the classics, like “No Sleep Till Brooklyn” by Beastie Boys, Gunn targets a wider and older adult audience. The ‘Awesome Mix 3’ gained enough traction to debut at #15 on Billboard 200 after the film’s release, leaving a lasting effect on audiences who perhaps weren’t quite ready to leave those characters behind.
Yet the audience is left feeling contempt with the upbeat “Dog Days Are Over” by Florence and the Machine once Rocket is finally free from his past. This is one of only two songs from all three Guardians of the Galaxy soundtracks to be from the 2000s, inspiring a new beginning for these characters and the end of Gunn’s trilogy.
As artists continue to step into the theatrical limelight, there is bound to be more soundtrack success.
