Billie Eilish and Finneas after winning Best Original Song at the Oscars 2024.Photo:PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images
PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images
Billie Eilishis a two-time Oscar winner at just 22 years old!
At the 2024Oscarson Sunday, Eilish and her brotherFinneaswon Best Original Song for the tune “What Was I Made For?” fromBarbie,beating out “I’m Just Ken" also fromBarbie,as well as“The Fire Inside” fromFlamin’ Hot, “It Never Went Away” fromAmerican Symphony, and “Wahzhazhe (A Song for My People)” fromKillers of the Flower Moon.
The award marks Eilish’s second Oscar; shewon her first Oscar for Best Original Song for her James Bond tune"No Time to Die" in 2022.
“I had a nightmare about this last night,” Eilish said after taking the stage and sharing a sweet hug with presenterAriana Grande. “I didn’t think this would happen, I wasn’t expecting this. I feel so incredibly lucky and honored.”
VALERIE MACON/AFP via Getty Images
Eilish and her brother, music producer and songwriterFinneas, wrote “What Was I Made For?” during a period of “frustration in writing,” as she toldApple Music 1 host Zane Lowein a July interview.
“I really don’t mean this to come off in a conceited way at all, but I do this thing where I make stuff that I don’t even know is … like, I’m writing for myself and I don’t even know it,” she said at the time.
“Dude, the next week I was playing it in the car all day and playing it for everybody. And I was like, ‘This is exactly how I feel. And I didn’t even mean to be saying it,’ " said Eilish.
During this year’s awards season, the song had success across the film and music industries, winning bothbest original songat theGolden Globesandsong of the yearat theGrammys.
Also up for the coveted award were “I’m Just Ken” fromBarbie,“The Fire Inside” fromFlamin’ Hot, “It Never Went Away” fromAmerican Symphony, and “Wahzhazhe (A Song for My People)” fromKillers of the Flower Moon.
Warner Bros. Pictures
In July, producer Mark Ronson toldVanity Fairthat Gosling enjoyed the track so much when he first heard it that he requested to perform the song onscreen in the movie, leading Gerwig torewrite an entire scene in order to fit in the performance.
“He really got [that] it had to walk this line of not being funny or parody,” Ronson toldVanity Fair. “But obviously, the song is also kind of ridiculous at times. So he was really amazing, and when he really did start hitting the big notes, I was like, ‘This dude is a vocal powerhouse!’”
Gilbert Flores/Billboard via Getty
Warren, who has written hits with superstars likeTaylor SwiftandCeline Dion, has a long history of nominations at the Oscars dating back to 1987. With “The Fire Inside,” she records her 15th Oscar nomination for Best Original Song. Though she hadn’t won the category, she said“it’s the coolest thing”to be recognized.
“I won already. Whatever happens, happens. It’s just a beautiful thing to get the respect of those I respect,” Warren told PEOPLE at theBillboardPower 100 ceremony in February.
Courtesy of Netflix
Grammy winner Jon Batiste, 37, landed his second Oscar nomination for “It Never Went Away,” co-written with Dan Wilson, from his documentaryAmerican Symphony. The musician previously won Best Original Score in 2021 for his work on Pixar’sSoul.
American Symphonyshows a year in Batiste’s life, exploring his rise to music stardom after the 64th Grammy Awards as well as his wifeSuleika Jaouad’s leukemia diagnosis.
Director Matthew Heineman told PEOPLE the film initially began as a process film for Batiste’s composition of a symphony but became more when “life intervened.”
“American Symphonybecame a beautiful meditation on what it means to be an artist and to persevere during tough times and good times,” Heineman said.
JC Olivera/Getty
Martin Scorsese’sKillers of the Flower Moonhas garnered acclaim from all corners of the industry, landing the director an Oscar nomination and starsLily GladstoneandRobert De Niroacting nods.
In an interview withVariety, George — the first Osage writer to be nominated for an Academy Award — admitted he was reluctant to create the song. “A lot of people get invited to our dances to just look on and see what we do. But they are ceremonials, and we don’t like for them to be filmed, or recorded,” he told the outlet.
“Wahzhazhe” plays at the end of the film as a drone shot captures a birds-eye view of an Osage gathering. Translating the lyrics toVariety, George said, “‘I’m asking my people to stand up.’ The next phrase translates as ‘God made it for us.’ The expression I’m trying to say is, ‘Stand up, be tall and be proud. We’re still here after all of that.'"
Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up to date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
source: people.com
