At the 2024 Oscars, Ryan Gosling took the stage with everyone from Simu Liu to Slash to perform “I’m Just Ken” – one of the breakout (and award-winning) songs from Barbie.
In the film, “I’m Just Ken” is a super high number, with the Kens gearing up for an inter-Ken world, essentially representing their idea of the patriarchy coming apart at the seams. The Kens gather to battle each other with sports equipment and hobbyhorses, a grand musical manifestation of their toxic masculinity. Eventually, Gosling’s Ken and Simu Liu’s Ken crash into chests and the sequence merges into one dream ballet, where the two factions of Kens have an aggressive dance-off.
During the show, “I’m Just Ken” started right after the Best Sound award, with Ryan Gosling in a sparkling pink suit singing from behind Margot Robbie. He slowly strolled to the stage, accompanied by a group of dancers in tuxedos, pink sashes and cowboy hats (including fellow Kens, Simu Liu, Kingsley Ben-Adir and Ncuti Gatwa). The dancers continued with a similar mock combat dance, with Gosling karate chopping pink pieces of pink wood. On stage awash in pink light, Gosling continued to sing in a sea of giant Barbie face props, before joining Slash from Guns ‘N Roses and rocking out on the guitar. He then went out into the audience to get the rest of the Barbie cast involved in the action.
It was, in a word, Kennough.
“I’m Just Ken” wasn’t Barbie’s only nominated song. Billie Eilish’s “What Was I Made For?”, the melancholic song that plays at the end of the film when Barbie realizes she wants to be more than just an idea, was also on the selection. Eilish and Finneas O’Connell, her brother and frequent collaborator, performed the song earlier in the evening. Ultimately it was, “What was I made for?” taking home Oscar gold, but ‘I’m Just Ken’ was certainly a good time.