Ah, 2023, the year in which Barbie became the highest-grossing film of the past twelve months and gave us an earworm for years with the Ryan Gosling-led ballad 'I'm Just Ken'.
It's been five months since one of this year's new hit films landed in theaters as part of the cultural phenomenon known as Barbenheimer. But while that movie extravaganza is now just a speck in the rearview mirror Barbie's pastel pink Corvette, Gosling's mega hit song, is still doing well on Spotify and Apple Music.
Indeed, there's enough Ken-ergy to keep it at the top of our playlists for almost half a year – no wonder this popular song has been nominated for seven awards so far, including Best Original Song at the 2024 Golden Globes. wouldn't be surprised (and neither should you, dear reader) if it were to get an Oscar nomination and/or win that gong.
But I digress. As a sequel to Barbie's official streaming debut on Max – it debuted on December 15 on one of the world's top streaming services in the US – we got another one Barbie-centric gift in time for the holidays. The gift in question? A live recording with a festive theme of 'I'm Just Ken'. Check it out below:
If the original version started to annoy you – and why would that be? – this re-recording is right up your alley. Not only do you get to hear Gosling's soft tones live, but the song has also been given a Christmas glow, with jingle bells and the percussive tones of a xylophone adding to the atmosphere. Gosling even ends the live session with a tribute to Mud's 'Lonely This Christmas' as he finishes the song with a Barbieversion of that song's iconic line “Merry Christmas, Donna, everywhere you are.”
The studio where the performance is being recorded is also festively decked out, with Christmas lights and tinsel everywhere you look. And to complement this unexpected gift with the customary bow, Gosling subtly sings the “Can you feel Ken-ergy?” distribute part of the original song over the end credits of the YouTube video. A heart-warming and fun way to end the year, that's for sure. Make sure YouTube's ambient mode is turned on, pick the best wireless headphones, put it on repeat (I listened to it three times while writing this article) and enjoy.
Datum Barbie's domination of the global box office this year – alone The Super Mario Bros. Movie ($1.36 billion), Oppenheimer ($951 million) and Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy 3 ($845 million) came close to grossing $1.44 billion – predictably, Warner Bros.' megahit film. has surpassed (or nearly reached) many outlets' year-end reviews. We'll be posting our best films of 2023 soon, so stay tuned to read about the other films that – spoiler alert – have been added Barbie on our list.
In the meantime, find out if Barbie is included in our best Max movie guide yet and why BarbieThe eventual launch of Max on Max couldn't have come at a better time for the beleaguered streaming giant.