Oscars 2024 Highlight: Ryan Gosling’s “I’m Just Ken” 

No one was more surprised than Ryan Gosling when “I’m Just Ken” — the iconic power ballad from Barbie (2023) that has over 100 million streams on Spotify— won the Critics Choice Award for Best Song two months ago. The actor’s incredulous expression (“Kenfused”, as a YouTube commenter put it) when the award was announced went viral on the internet, raising the expectations surrounding the song’s live performance on Oscars night. Well, reader, we woke up at 4am to watch the show live and we can confirm that in an evening with few high points, the sheer Kenergy of seeing Ryan Gosling and his platoon of Kens on stage was a delight. “I’m Just Ken” may have lost the Oscar for Best Original Song to fellow Barbie nominee “What Was I Made For?” (by Billie Eilish), but it definitely won everyone’s hearts. 

Can You Feel the Kenergy?

For a song with delightfully unserious lyrics like “Is it my destiny to live and die a life of blond fragility?” and “Am I not hot when I'm in my feelings?”, “I’m Just Ken” has resonated significantly with audiences, and Gosling himself. Written and produced by Mark Ronson and Andrew Wyatt, the song paints Ken as a tragic hero, crooning about his pent-up frustration at always being “number two”, and lamenting over his unrequited feelings for Barbie (“Where I see love, she sees a friend”). When director Greta Gerwig first played the song to Gosling, the actor said he could relate to Ken’s pathos and expressed his desire to sing the song himself. In the film, “I’m Just Ken” is an extended sequence in which Gosling’s Ken leads an absurd, slow-mo battle against Simu Liu’s Ken as they vie for the attention of the Barbies. 

Halfway through, Ronson and Wyatt switch up the tone of the song by bringing in a rousing 80s synthwave sound. The riotous beachside battle of “I’m Just Ken” transitions, amid a flurry of sparkles, into a sprawling dance floor divided into the two rival Ken camps. They break out in full, theatrical choreography (there’s a moment that’s reminiscent of the hook step of Beyoncé’s “Single Ladies”), with Gosling and Liu striking exaggerated poses to intimidate each other. 

The Oscar performance may not have been as campy or colourful as the film version, but Gosling still brought his A-game, accompanied by Liu, Ncuti Gatwa and the other Kens (though they had too little to do). Also on stage were Ronson and surprise guest guitarist Slash, who continues to slay at 58. Over the course of the song, Gosling turned the mic to his Barbie besties Gerwig and Margot Robbie, as well as his La La Land co-star Emma Stone. The song ended on a triumphant climax, Gosling belting the final note with panache.

Other Highlights

Gosling also starred in another highlight of Oscar night, when he and Emily Blunt took the stage to present a tribute to stunt performers. What followed was sparring of a verbal rather than physical nature, with Blunt and Gosling roasting one another. Blunt reminded everyone that Gosling sported painted abs in Barbie, while Gosling jibed that the trending term was “Barbenheimer” and not “Oppenbarbie” because Oppenheimer rode on Barbie’s coattails. The two actors will next be seen in the upcoming comedy The Fall Guy. We can only hope that they bring this (K)energy to the film.  

Giving Gosling competition was a near-naked John Cena, who presented the Oscar for Best Costume Design with only the Oscar envelope protecting his modesty. “The male body is not a joke,” he said huffily to host Jimmy Kimmel, while using his body and all its maleness as a punchline. Cena was an absolute delight in this little cameo, proving how good a comic actor he is. Also worthy of applause are the Oscars’ technical crew who swiftly dressed Cena in a toga-like ensemble in darkness, while the nominations for Best Costume Design were played. It might not be quite as shocking as the 1974 incident with the streaker (he was flashing a peace sign) that Kimmel was referencing, but Cena’s performance is going to go down as one of the more memorable moments in Oscar history.