Oscar Experts predict ‘What Was I Made For?’ from ‘Barbie’ will win Best Song
Having trouble predicting what will win Best Song at the 2024 Academy Awards? Let’s consult Gold Derby’s Oscar Experts! These savvy prognosticators from major media outlets have chimed in with their predictions, and they say the trophy will go to “What Was I Made For?” from “Barbie.” The other four Academy Award nominees are “I’m Just Ken” from “Barbie,” “It Never Went Away” from “American Symphony,” “The Fire Inside” from “Flamin’ Hot” and “Wahzhazhe (A Song for My People)” from “Killers of the Flower Moon.”
As of this writing, a leading 21 out of our 25 Oscar Experts predict a victory for “What Was I Made For?”: Andrea Mandell (People Magazine), Anne Thompson (Indiewire), Christopher Rosen (Gold Derby), Claudia Puig (KPCC), Clayton Davis (Variety), Eric Deggans (NPR), Erik Davis (Fandango), Jazz Tangcay (Variety), Joyce Eng (Gold Derby), Keith Simanton (IMDb), Matt Neglia (Next Best Picture), Michael Musto (Queerty), Nikki Novak (Fandango), Perri Nemiroff (Collider), Peter Travers (ABC), Ray Richmond (Gold Derby), Susan King (Gold Derby), Susan Wloszczyna (Gold Derby), Tariq Khan (Gold Derby), Thelma Adams (Gold Derby) and Wilson Morales (BlackFilmandTV).
“What Was I Made For?” is a dreamy ballad from the perspective of the titular Barbie (Margot Robbie) as she wonders if there’s more to life than just being a plastic doll. The music and lyrics are by Billie Eilish (age 22) and Finneas O’Connell (age 26), who are angling become the youngest two-time Academy Award winners ever after first prevailing for the song “No Time To Die” from the 2021 James Bond film of the same name.
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Three other Oscarologists — Brian Truitt (USA Today), Sasha Stone (Awards Daily) and Tom O’Neil (Gold Derby) — instead think another “Barbie” song will prevail: “I’m Just Ken.” This comedic tune is about Barbie’s significant other, Ken (Ryan Gosling), who laments about always being the “number two” in his relationship. The music and lyrics are by Mark Ronson and Andrew Wyatt, who are both prior Oscar winners for the song “Shallow” from “A Star Is Born” (2018).
Finally, the last awards pundit — Shawn Edwards (WDAF-TV Fox) — goes out on a limb for “Wahzhazhe (A Song for My People)” from “Killers of the Flower Moon.” The music and lyrics for this authentic Osage Nation piece are by Scott George, who celebrates his first career Oscar nomination.
Currently at Gold Derby, none of our Experts are predicting a win for the other two Best Song nominees: “It Never Went Away” from “American Symphony” (music and lyrics by Jon Batiste and Dan Wilson) and “The Fire Inside” from “Flamin’ Hot” (music and lyrics by Diane Warren). However, many more awards pundits will soon be making or updating their own Oscar predictions, so that could change in the coming weeks.
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