Billie Eilish looking at second Oscar
In a span of five years, Billie Eilish has become one of the most awarded artists of this new generation. She is now only 22 years old, the youngest ever to attain such success and she continues to be on an amazing roll.
With assist from her brother Finneas O’Connell, who is her arranger, producer and co-writer, Eilish has as of this writing, won seven Grammy Awards, two American Music Awards, three MTV Moonmen; three Brit Awards, one Golden Globe and one Academy Award. All of these on her first time out at the tilts.
Eilish won the Academy Award or Oscar for Best Original Song from a Motion Picture last year for “No Time to Die,” the theme from the James Bond movie of the same title. It was also the choice of the members of the foreign press behind the Golden Globes.
Eilish has again won the Globe for Best Original Song in a Motion Picture for her What Was I Made For from the soundtrack of the fantasy flick “Barbie.” She bested Dance the Night by Dua Lipa, from the same movie; Peaches by Jack Black from “The Super Mario Bros.” movie, Addicted to Romance by Bruce Springsteen from “She Came to Me,” and Road to Freedom by Lenny Kravitz from “Rustin.”
Eilish is now looking at a possible second Oscar win in the same category for the truly affecting What was I Made For. Seems like another easy win but it looks like the Academy truly went out of its way this year to nominate all deserving winners. Let us check out the competition.
First off, do not think of I’m Just Ken, also from “Barbie” and composed by Max Ronson and Andrew Wyatt as a non-winner. Ryan Gosling’s rocker just recently won Best Song from a Motion Picture at the prestigious Critic’s Choice Awards.
Wahz Hazhe (A Song for my People) performed by the Osage Tribal Singers with music by rock legend Robbie Robertson, will never make the Hot 100 hit list. However, the tune is from the much-lauded Martin Scorsese masterpiece “Killers of the Flower Moon.” If the Oscar voters find themselves in a guilty atoning mood, they might just add an Academy Award trophy for the Osage tribe.
The Fire Inside is the Latin beat at its most contagious performed by Becky G from the movie “Flamin’ Hot.” Directed by actress Eva Longoria, the picture is about the journey to success of the Frito Lay janitor Richard Montanez, who invented the hot, hot Flamin’ Hot Cheetos.
It Never Went Away composed by Jon Batiste and Dan Wilson and performed by Batiste himself. Now, now this is the nominee that really has me scared for Eilish. Not only because, this song is by Batiste whose music is always great but it is from the documentary “American Symphony.”
This film captures a year, 2022, in the life of Batiste and his wife writer Suleika Jacuad. That was the time when Batiste was nominated for a record 11 Grammys and working on his first symphony while Suleika was diagnosed with leukemia. Ouchy ouchy, a real-life tear-jerker with a song to match.
By the way, come Grammy time on Feb. 4, What was I Made For is also in the running for Record of the Year, Song of the Year, Pop Solo Vocal Performance, Best Song from Visual Media and Video of the Year.
Eilish got seven of those little gramophones on her first time out. Well, competition is stiff this year, what with Miley Cyrus, Sza, Taylor Smith and other biggies in the running, but this girl is not only talented and has a good and innate business sense, she seems to have been born under a lucky star. So maybe she can once again hurdle those other Oscar aspiring tunes come March 10.