Billie Eilish and Finneas entered the Oscar record books on Sunday (March 10) by winning best original song for their Barbie ballad “What Was I Made For?,” two years after winning with their title song from the James Bond film No Time to Die.
They became the youngest two-time Oscar winners in history – in any category. Eilish, 22, and Finneas, 26, took that distinction from actress Luise Rainer, who won her second Oscar (for The Good Earth) at age 28. Next on the leaderboard are Jodie Foster, who won her second Oscar (for Silences of the Lambs) at 29, and Hilary Swank, who won her second Oscar (for Million Dollar Baby) at 30.
This was also the fastest repeat win in the best original song category by any songwriter since Tim Rice won three times in the space of five years in the 1990s (with different collaborators each time).
Eilish and Finneas are the first songwriting team to win best original song twice in the space of three years since Alan Menken and the late Howard Ashman won with “Under the Sea” from The Little Mermaid in 1990 and the title song from Beauty and the Beast in 1992. Here’s an updated list of all songwriters who have won in this category twice in the space of three years in Oscar history.
Also, “What Was I Made For?,” which won the Grammy for song of the year on Feb. 4, is the first song in a generation to win both the Oscar for best original song and the Grammy for song of the year. The last song to win both awards was “My Heart Will Go On,” the love theme from Titanic. Here’s an updated list of all songs to win both the Grammy for song of the year and the Oscar for best original song.
“What Was I Made For?” is the second winner for best original song from a film that was solely directed by a woman. Greta Gerwig directed Barbie. Ava DuVernay directed Selma, which spawned the 2014 winner, “Glory,” which was written and performed by John Legend and Common. Two films that were…
Read the full article here
