I'm Just Ken

"I'm Just Ken"
Song by Ryan Gosling
from the album Barbie the Album
ReleasedJuly 21, 2023 (2023-07-21)
RecordedMarch 2022
StudioEastcote Studios, London
Genre
Length3:42
LabelAtlantic
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
  • Mark Ronson
  • Andrew Wyatt
Music video
"I'm Just Ken" on YouTube

"I'm Just Ken" is a song performed by Canadian actor Ryan Gosling for the 2023 film Barbie. It was written and produced by Mark Ronson and Andrew Wyatt and appears on the soundtrack album Barbie the Album. As of August 2023, the song had over 100 million streams on Spotify[1] and over 3 million views on YouTube.[2] It won Best Song at the 29th Critics' Choice Awards and was nominated for Best Song Written for Visual Media at the 66th Annual Grammy Awards and Best Original Song at the 96th Academy Awards.

Background[edit]

"I'm Just Ken" is described as a sentimental "'80s power ballad."[3] Ahead of the film's release, marketing and promotional materials often contained the tagline, "She's everything. He's just Ken," an allusion to the song.[4]

Production[edit]

Ryan Gosling recorded "I'm Just Ken" in March 2022.

"I'm Just Ken" was one of the first songs written for Barbie the Album. Producer Mark Ronson was inspired to write the ballad after reading the Barbie script and sympathizing with Ken's character.[4]

I instantly had this idea for this lyric: "I'm just Ken / Anywhere else I'd be a 10." It just seemed funny. It felt a little bit emo, like, this poor guy. He’s so hot, but can’t get the time of day.

— Mark Ronson, on writing "I'm Just Ken" for Barbie the Album[4]

Ronson recorded a demo of "I'm Just Ken" and sent it to director Greta Gerwig, although he was not expecting it to be included in the film. Gerwig, however, loved the song and played it for Ryan Gosling, who plays Ken.[4] Gosling stated that it affected him "deeply"[3] and asked if he could perform it in the film.[5] Gerwig had to rewrite an important scene in the film to accommodate the new addition.[4][6]

Ronson's colleague and fellow producer on the soundtrack, Andrew Wyatt, wrote the rest of the song before Ronson flew to London to record the vocals with Gosling at Eastcote Studios in March 2022.[3][7] In an interview with Vulture, Ronson stated, "In the studio with Ryan, it was really his performance that lifted the whole thing. All these lines that felt a little bit throwaway-ish, delivered by him, suddenly took on much more."[6] Gosling only had two to three hours to record the track.[7][8]

After Gosling recorded his vocals, Ronson sent the track to Guns N' Roses guitarist Slash, who found it "cool" and agreed to play guitar on the song.[8] Guitarist Wolfgang Van Halen and Foo Fighters drummer Josh Freese also played on the track.[6][9]

Release[edit]

Ahead of Barbie's release, Warner Bros. released a clip of Gosling's performance of "I'm Just Ken" on July 10, 2023.[10][11] A "behind-the-scenes" music video mixing rehearsal footage with clips from the actual musical sequence in the film was released on August 21, 2023.[12]

Ken The EP[edit]

Ken the EP
EP by
Ryan Gosling and Mark Ronson
ReleasedDecember 20, 2023 (2023-12-20)
GenrePop
Length13:54
LabelAtlantic
ProducerMark Ronson
Mark Ronson chronology
Barbie (Score from the Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
(2023) 		Ken the EP
(2023)

On December 20, 2023, Gosling and Ronson released an extended play containing three additional versions of "I'm Just Ken" in addition to the original track. A performance video was released for the Christmas version, subtitled "Merry Kristmas Barbie", which features Gosling, Ronson, and Wyatt in the studio.[13][14] The Christmas version was recorded and released within the span of a week.[7]

Ken The EP track listing
No.TitleLength
1."I'm Just Ken" (Merry Kristmas Barbie)3:16
2."I'm Just Ken" (In My Feelings Acoustic)3:59
3."I'm Just Ken" (Purple Disco Machine remix)2:55
4."I'm Just Ken"3:42
Total length:13:54

Accolades[edit]

Awards and nominations for "I'm Just Ken"
Year Award Date of ceremony Category Result Ref.
2023 Hollywood Music in Media Awards November 15, 2023 Best Original Song in a Feature Film Nominated [15]
Best Onscreen Performance in a Feature Film Nominated
Las Vegas Film Critics Society December 13, 2023 Best Original Song Won [16]
Phoenix Film Critics Society December 18, 2023 Best Original Song Won [17]
2024 Academy Awards March 10, 2024 Best Original Song Nominated [18]
Astra Film Awards January 6, 2024 Best Original Song Won [19]
Critics Association of Central Florida January 3, 2024 Best Original Song Won [20]
Critics' Choice Movie Awards January 14, 2024 Best Song Won [21]
Denver Film Critics Society January 12, 2024 Best Original Song Nominated [22]
Georgia Film Critics Association January 5, 2024 Best Original Song Runner-up [23]
Gold Derby Film Awards February 21, 2024 Best Original Song Won [24]
Golden Globe Awards January 7, 2024 Best Original Song Nominated [25]
Grammy Awards February 4, 2024 Best Song Written for Visual Media Nominated [26]
Guild of Music Supervisors Awards March 3, 2024 Best Song Written and/or Recording Created for a Film Nominated [27]
Hawaii Film Critics Society January 12, 2024 Best Song Nominated [28]
Houston Film Critics Society January 22, 2024 Best Original Song Won [29]
Iowa Film Critics Association January 17, 2024 Best Song Won [30]
Latino Entertainment Journalists Association February 12, 2024 Best Song Won [31]
North Carolina Film Critics Association January 3, 2024 Best Original Song Won [32]
North Dakota Film Society January 15, 2024 Best Original Song Nominated [33]
Online Film Critics Society January 22, 2024 Technical Achievements: Original Song Honored [34]
Online Film & Television Association March 3, 2024 Best Original Song Runner-up [35]
Most Cinematic Moment Nominated
Satellite Awards March 3, 2024 Best Original Song Nominated [36]
Society of Composers & Lyricists February 13, 2024 Outstanding Original Song for a Comedy or Musical Visual Media Production Nominated [37]

Live performance[edit]

Gosling performed the song live at the 96th Academy Awards on March 10, 2024. The performance paid homage to the "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend" sequence from the 1953 film adaptation of the stage musical Gentlemen Prefer Blondes starring Marilyn Monroe, as well as the choreography of Busby Berkeley. Gosling was joined by Ronson on bass, Wyatt on piano, and Wolfgang Van Halen and Slash on guitar, as well as his Barbie co-stars Simu Liu, Ncuti Gatwa, Kingsley Ben-Adir, and Scott Evans. The performance was choreographed by Mandy Moore, who also choreographed Gosling in La La Land.[38][39]

Parodies[edit]

On the October 14, 2023, episode of Saturday Night Live, comedian Pete Davidson parodied the song as “I'm Just Pete” to mock his personal life.[40][41]

On March 15, 2024, British comedian Lenny Henry parodied the song as "I'm Just Len" as part of his final year as host of Comic Relief's annual Red Nose Day telethon.[42]

Personnel[edit]

All credits are adapted from the CD liner notes of Barbie the Album.[43]

  • Mark Ronson – songwriter, producer, bass guitar, synths
  • Andrew Wyatt – songwriter, producer, synths, background vocals, choir arrangement
  • Picard Brothers – additional production
  • Slash – lead guitar, rhythm guitar
  • Wolfgang Van Halen – rhythm guitar
  • Josh Freese – drums
  • Mike Richiuti – piano
  • Roger Manning – synths
  • Brandon Bost – programming, engineering
  • Geoff Foster – male choir recording engineer
  • Peter Cobbin – scoring engineer, female choir recording engineer
  • Kirsty Whalley – scoring engineer, female choir recording engineer
  • Daniel Hayden – Pro Tools recordist
  • Alex Venguer – orchestra recording, piano recording engineer
  • Matt Dunkley – orchestral arrangement
  • Ben Parry – choirmaster
  • Ricky Damian – engineering
  • Jake Ferguson – assistant engineering
  • Mike Clink – Slash recording
  • Tom Elmhirst – mixing
  • Adam Hong – engineering for mix
  • Abbey Road Studios Orchestra – orchestra

Charts[edit]

Certifications[edit]

Region Certification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[60] Silver 200,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Ryan Gosling's 'I'm Just Ken' song lands on Billboard's Hot 100". TODAY.com. August 4, 2023. Retrieved August 7, 2023.
  2. ^ Jeffrey, Joyann (August 4, 2023). "Ryan Gosling makes Billboard's Hot 100 chart. He's not the 1st actor to do so". TODAY.com. Retrieved August 7, 2023.
  3. ^ a b c Mendez II, Moises (July 6, 2023). "Mark Ronson Breaks Down the 'Barbie' Soundtrack". Time. Retrieved October 14, 2023.
  4. ^ a b c d e Jarvey, Natalie (July 11, 2023). "Singing "I'm Just Ken" in 'Barbie' Was Ryan Gosling's Idea". Vanity Fair. Retrieved October 14, 2023.
  5. ^ Sherman, Maria (July 17, 2023). "How the 'Barbie' soundtrack came together, according to mastermind Mark Ronson". AP News. Retrieved October 14, 2023.
  6. ^ a b c Curto, Justin (July 19, 2023). "Mark Ronson Went Full 'Batshit' on the Barbie Soundtrack". Vulture. Retrieved October 14, 2023.
  7. ^ a b c @iammarkronson (December 19, 2023). "We first recorded this song back in March 2022 at a studio in North London called Eastcote... I was informed I had 2 hours before he had to return to a grueling rehearsal on set, so I was already feeling up against it" – via Instagram.
  8. ^ a b Sharf, Zack (July 10, 2023). "Ryan Gosling Sings His Heart Out in 'Barbie' Music Video for 'I'm Just Ken': He Was 'Psyched and Satisfied' By the Power Ballad". Variety. Retrieved October 14, 2023.
  9. ^ Wang, Jessica (July 19, 2023). "Wolfgang Van Halen and Josh Freese also bring Kenergy to Barbie Land". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved October 14, 2023.
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External links[edit]

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