Ryan Gosling out-Kenned himself at this year’s Oscars performing his hit Barbie song on stage in front of Hollywood’s most glitzy glitterati. The hype leading up to Gosling’s performance of the much-loved “I’m Just Ken” had us pumped for the show, and it did not disappoint.
2023’s Barbie gave us so much when it strutted into theatres around the world, from tear-jerking monologues on the tribulations of being a woman to a Barbie world so pink that there was a shortage of the color worldwide to Margot Robbie’s phenomenal outfits both in and out of the film. On top of all this, we also got Gosling’s Ken and all the spectacular components that came with it, including the beloved banger “I’m Just Ken.”
From the moment Gosling danced onto the screens and into our hearts, many fans hoped the song would be featured at the Academy Awards. Well, it happened, and they really went for it. The performance began with Gosling sitting behind Robbie who struggled to contain her laughter as the actor emerged from her shadow in a sparkly bright pink suit complete with cowboy hat.
In one of the biggest on-stage performances in the Academy’s history, Gosling led 65 fellow Ken’s under the bright pink lights as karaoke-style words on the screen encouraged the audience to join in. The actor was also joined onstage with a surprise appearance from Guns N’ Roses guitarist Slash.
The live audience was enamored with the performance, but so was the audience watching at home drinking up the entire history-making performance through their television screens, phones, and laptop monitors, which led to Gosling dominating X’s trending topics.
It truly lived up to our highest hopes.
Some have pointed out the historical inspiration taking place here.
Many were thrilled to see Gosling and Stone together once again.
Despite not receiving anywhere near as many nominations as some felt it deserved, Barbie still managed to steal the show.
And, of course, we can’t watch this without looking back to where it all started.
The song wasn’t the only spectacle of the evening as wrestler-turned-actor John Cena (almost) bared all when presenting Best Costume Design (which was won by Poor Things‘ Holly Waddington). The performance only cemented Gosling as a firm triple threat in Hollywood as an actor, singer, and dancer. The only question now is: Dead Man’s Bones revival when?
(featured image: Warner Bros.)
