Current:Home > MyRyan Gosling joined by Slash for epic, star-studded 'I'm Just Ken' Oscars performance -CapitalWay
Ryan Gosling joined by Slash for epic, star-studded 'I'm Just Ken' Oscars performance
View
Date:2025-04-15 00:29:42
Ryan Gosling just proved he truly is "great at doing stuff."
The actor, 43, on Sunday delivered an epic live performance of the song "I'm Just Ken" from "Barbie" at the Academy Awards, and he wasn't alone. Dressed in a bright pink suit, Gosling was joined on stage by a large group of dancers wearing cowboy hats, as well of several actors who played Kens in Greta Gerwig's film, including Simu Liu, Kingsley Ben-Adir and Ncuti Gatwa.
Gosling began the performance seated in the audience behind a visibly amused Margot Robbie before he progressed to the stage and joined the dancers on a set of bright pink stairs. The dancers carried Gosling around surrounded by cardboard cutouts of a Barbie doll before another special guest joined in: Slash on the guitar.
Gosling eventually returned to the audience, and screens in the auditorium encouraged guests to sing along by displaying the song's lyrics. Gerwig, America Ferrera and Robbie joined him, as did Gosling's "La La Land" co-star Emma Stone.
"I'm Just Ken" was one of two "Barbie" tracks nominated for best original song at the Academy Awards, with the other being Billie Eilish's "What Was I Made For?" In the film, "I'm Just Ken" is a musical number performed in the third act after all of the Kens go to war against one another, a distraction planned by the Barbies, only to end up dancing side by side. Eilish's song ultimately won the original song Oscar shortly after Gosling's performance.
Although every nominee for best original song is traditionally performed live at the Oscars, there had initially been uncertainty about whether Gosling himself would be on stage for "I'm Just Ken." After all, he did not perform "City of Stars" when his "La La Land" song was nominated in 2017, with John Legend doing so instead.
Eilish also performed her "Barbie" song live at Sunday's Oscars. Her brother, Finneas, accompanied her on the piano.
Mark Ronson, co-writer of "I'm JustKen," recently revealed that the beloved song was almost cut from the final film.
"I thought, 'God, I hope we don't ruin it,'" he told The Sunday Times in an interview published Sunday. "At that first screening the song wasn’t working. I panicked. The humor wasn’t translating, and Greta (Gerwig) had to fight. The studio asked her how much she really needed it and she said, ‘With every inch of my body.’ And then there was a big swing."
Is Ryan Gosling a singer?
The "I'm Just Ken" number at the Oscars wasn't Gosling's first experience with live musical performances. The actor has also performed with Zach Shields in the rock duo Dead Man's Bones, which released its first album in 2009. Prior to singing in the Oscar-nominated musical "La La Land" or in "Blue Valentine," Gosling got his start on "The Mickey Mouse Club."
veryGood! (422)
Related
- South Korean president's party divided over defiant martial law speech
- Vikings offensive coordinator arrested on suspicion of drunken driving
- Maine’s congressional delegation calls for Army investigation into Lewiston shooting
- Is the max Social Security benefit a fantasy for most Americans in 2023?
- As Trump Enters Office, a Ripe Oil and Gas Target Appears: An Alabama National Forest
- 'Zombie deer' disease has been reported in more than half the US: What to know about CWD
- Tom Brady and Irina Shayk Reunite During Art Basel Miami Beach
- How the Mary Kay Letourneau Scandal Inspired the Film May December
- Former longtime South Carolina congressman John Spratt dies at 82
- LSU QB Jayden Daniels wins 2023 Heisman Trophy
Ranking
- Can Bill Belichick turn North Carolina into a winner? At 72, he's chasing one last high
- Brenda Lee is much bigger than her 1958 Christmas song that just hit No.1
- Technology built the cashless society. Advances are helping the unhoused so they’re not left behind
- Arkansas will add more state prison beds despite officials’ fears about understaffing
- Justice Department, Louisville reach deal after probe prompted by Breonna Taylor killing
- US vetoes UN resolution backed by many nations demanding immediate humanitarian cease-fire in Gaza
- Kylie Jenner's Interior Designer Reveals the Small Changes That Will Upgrade Your Home
- Former Kentucky Gov. Julian Carroll dies at age 92
Recommendation
What do we know about the mysterious drones reported flying over New Jersey?
Police in Lubbock, Texas, fatally shoot a man who officer say charged them with knives
France says one of its warships was targeted by drones from direction of Yemen. Both were shot down
Hundreds of Georgians march in support of country’s candidacy for European Union membership
What were Tom Selleck's juicy final 'Blue Bloods' words in Reagan family
3 people killed and 1 wounded in shooting at Atlanta apartment building, police say
Man who killed bystander in Reno gang shootout gets up to 40 years in prison
Brazil’s Lula takes heat on oil plans at UN climate talks, a turnaround after hero status last year