After a rousing performance at the Oscars on Sunday night, Ryan Gosling isn’t “just Ken” anymore. Or, at least Ken wasn’t playing second fiddle to anyone on Hollywood’s biggest stage.
Gosling brought his “Barbie” character Ken to nearly larger-than-life status with his performance of “I’m Just Ken,” one of the songs nominated for best original song. Decked out in a Barbiecore pink suit, Gosling began his performance seated behind co-star Margot Robbie, who couldn’t keep a straight face.
Sitting beside Gosling at the start of the song was singer/songwriter Billie Eilish, who eventually won the award for best original song Oscar for her runaway hit for “Barbie,” “What Was I Made For.”
Gosling quickly stormed the stage with a high-energy musical number not usually seen on the Oscars stage. As in the original number from “Barbie,” Gosling’s Ken had a collection of other dapper Kens backing him up on stage — and most of them were the original dancers from the film.
Amid the “Barbie” pink, the performance also paid homage to another iconic musical number in Hollywood history: Marilyn Monroe’s performance of “Diamonds are a Girls Best Friend” from “Gentleman Prefer Blondes,” from Gosling’s diamond-studded pink suit to the set and choreography.
In another callback to another iconic movie, Gosling also connected with Emma Stone, his co-star from “La La Land,” who was in the audience and would eventually win the Academy Award for best actress for "Oppenheimer."
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Stone was so blown away by Gosling’s performance, she blamed her wardrobe malfunction on his “Kenergy.” Apparently, the back of her Louis Vuitton mint-green dress ripped as she got a little too into the show.
“They sewed me back in,” she explained to reporters after winning her Oscar. “I genuinely do think I busted it during ‘I’m Just Ken.’ I was so amazed by Ryan and what he was doing, and that number just blew my mind. And I was right there, and I was just going for it, and you know, things happen.”
It was Gosling’s all-in performance that got the crowd off their feet, but to add to Ken’s rock cred, backing Gosling on guitar were none other than Slash of Guns N' Roses and Wolfgang Van Halen, son of the late Eddie Van Halen, who both performed on the song’s original recording. In a surprise of choreography, Slash appeared suddenly on stage to play the song’s now-famous guitar riffs.
Gosling may not have won the best supporting actor for his portrayal of Ken in “Barbie.” There’s no doubt, however, that the actor and singer won the night with a fantastic show that will go down in Academy Award history.
Here’s the whole glorious performance for you to enjoy!
This story was originally published by Marie Rossiter at Simplemost.
