Barbie Director Gerwig Intros Stunning Billie Eilish Performance of ‘What Was I Made For’ On SNL

Barbie director Greta Gerwig made a surprise cameo Saturday Night Live to introduce a stunning performance of the film’s hit “What Was I Made For” which included a poignant film piece featuring cast members as children.

Gerwig is the renowned director who elevated the Barbie movie from a crass toy tie-in to a cultural moment and a box office blockbuster that somehow paired well with Oppenheimer. Both Barbie and Oppenheimer opened on the same weekend this summer, an event that was dubbed “Barbenheimer” and which generated record-breaking grosses for the films and a boatload of hype.

Kate McKinnon returned to her old stomping ground as the guest host on this week’s edition of Saturday Night Live. Billie Eilish was the musical guest, performing the hit Barbie song as well as a rendition of “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.”

When it came time for Eilish’s first performance, the auteur was on hand with McKinnon — who portrayed Weird Barbie in the film — to introduce the song. Variety notes:

The musical performances showed off Eilish’s rapidly growing range as a singer: she brought a deep yearning in the first song and a sultry jazz flavor to the second, with a depth and nuance only hinted at earlier in her career.

“What Was I Made For?” was introduced by Gerwig who appeared on stage alongside host (and “Barbie” costar) McKinnon in a joyful embrace. Eilish appeared in a simple pink polo shirt, jeans and silver-lame hightop sneakers. Her performance was accompanied by a backdrop paying homage to the film’s powerful montage scene, but with childhood home-movie clips and personal photos from Eilish, plus past and present “Saturday Night Live” cast-members Chloe Fineman, Heidi Gardner, Punkie Johnson, Molly Kearney, Ego Nwodim, Kate McKinnon, Maya Rudolph, Sarah Sherman, Chloe Troast and Kristen Wiig.

Watch above via NBC’s Saturday Night Live.