Billie Eilish talks about 'Barbie' song, hints at new album on 'Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon'

MANHATTAN, NEW YORK CITY: Billie Eilish graced 'The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon' on December 14, delving into the intricate process of crafting her song for the blockbuster film 'Barbie'. She illuminated how her track played a pivotal role in shaping one of the movie's standout scenes.

Eilish, currently in town as the musical guest for the upcoming 'Saturday Night Live' episode, joined Fallon to discuss the creative journey behind "What Was I Made For?" from the 'Barbie' soundtrack. Additionally, she dropped subtle hints about an upcoming album in the works during her appearance.

Fallon shares 'weeping like a baby' while hearing Eilish's song

Fallon kicked off the conversation saying, "Welcome back to the show -I can't wait to talk about "What Was I Made For?" I don't even know why it's even in the competition!"

"It is song of the year. It is song of the year".

Fallon's vision of Eilish instantly recognizing the hit from the opening line didn't quite match reality. However, Eilish mentioned that the experience still "felt good," even though the actual process was more laid-back than Fallon's dream scenario.

He continued praising the song, "It was number one for 14 weeks on the Billboard charts. It's streamed over 2 billion times. It's nominated -- Billion! Nominated for a Critics' Choice Award; a Golden Globe, five Grammys, including Song of the Year and Record of the Year."

"Not too shabby! Not too shabby, Billie Eilish", quipped the host, indicating Eilish's remarkable success. 

Without a moment to spare, Fallon shared his experience with the song before watching the movie 'Barbie'.

He found the song heartbreaking and beautiful, eagerly anticipating it in the film 'Barbie' with his kids. Initially disappointed when it didn't play, he later realized it was intentionally saved for a powerful scene towards the end. The emotional impact of the song moved him to tears during the screening.

He said, "I go -- And then I took my kids to go see 'Barbie' and watched the movie. I'm waiting for your song. And it wasn't in the movie. And I go, 'Huh. I think it'd be probably after the Cannes thing may be able to do that.' And no. I go, 'Oh, it's going to be towards the end', And then when it came on, dude, it knocked me out. It was the perfect scene. And it's just at the end. I was trying to not to cry in front of the whole theater. But, I was weeping like a baby". 

Eilish calls Greta Gerwig 'the sweetest person in the world'

Moving on with the conversation, Eilish shared that her brother and writing partner, Finneas, had a meeting with 'Barbie' director Greta Gerwig at a movie studio in January last year.

Before the meeting, Eilish revealed that "It was so actually random".

She said, "I remember there was, like, a moment last year where Finneas came to me and he was like, 'Dude, would you want to, like, make a song for the Barbie movie?' And I was like, 'What kind of a -- What? Like what?'"

In a meeting last January, Eilish, along with Finneas met 'Barbie' director Greta Gerwig at a movie studio. They watched the initial 30 minutes of the film and other crucial scenes.

As per the American singer-songwriter, Gerwig expressed a wish for "Barbie’s heart song", a concept that resonated with Eilish and Finneas despite facing writer's block for the next 24 hours.

Eventually, they took another shot at the song, with Finneas playing the opening chord on the piano, and Eilish crafting the melody, leading to the creation of the song.

 

Eilish said about Gerwig, "She's so Greta Gerwig. It's absolutely insane. 'If you don't want to make it, go ahead, don't make it. If you do, that's cool.' But it's so sweet. She's real deal. She's the sweetest person in the world. And she was like, 'If you're inspired, that's great. If you're not, it's totally fine.' And we were like, 'Shut up'".

Before crafting the song, Eilish and her team watched a scene toward the end of the film featuring Margot Robbie's Barbie and Rhea Perlman's Ruth Handler (Barbie's original creator).

This scene initially concluded with just a shot of Robbie, lacking the now-famous Real Women Montage. The song they contributed eventually became the soundtrack for this impactful montage in the film.

“They added a scene, that montage, from your song?” Fallon asked.

“Yeah, like all the footage of people living during the song, that was all added after the song,” Eilish confirmed.

'We are almost done with this new album ' 

During the conversation, Jimmy Fallon managed to touch on Billie Eilish's upcoming plans, with the majority of the discussion revolving around her 'Barbie' song. Eilish revealed exciting updates about her third studio album, stating that she and Finneas are in the final stages of its production.

The conversation flowed when Fallon asked, "By the way, you did say that you guys were working on stuff. Does that mean maybe new album?" almost at the end of the show.

He asserted, "You can tell me. I won't tell anybody. It's your old pal. -It's a secret".

Finding some cheekiness in Fallon's statement, Eilish dropped a hint, "Yeah. Yeah, no, we are almost done with this new album we're working on". 

In the immediate future, Eilish is set to be the musical guest for the final SNL episode of the year, hosted by Kate McKinnon. Confirming Fallon's curiosity, Eilish announced that she will be performing "What Was I Made For?" on SNL. 

They both bid goodbye to the audience with Fallon saying, "You're one of my favorites, buddy".