This song is proving to be more than Kenough.
Ryan Gosling just reached a new professional milestone—landing a song on the Billboard Hot 100.
This musical accomplishment is thanks to Barbie‘s “I’m Just Ken,” which features Ryan’s character singing an emotional, 80s-inspired ballad bemoaning his lot in life as only a counterpart to Barbie before turning into an epic, choreographed number including all the Kens (and even featuring Slash and Wolfgang Van Halen on guitar). The song has become a huge hit, with its popularity landing it at number 87 on the chart.
“I’m just Ken / Anywhere else I’d be a ten,” the tormented doll-come-to-life sings. “Is it my destiny to live and die a life of blonde fragility?”
Of course, Ryan’s musical prowess should come as no surprise to fans. Not only has the 42-year-old showed off his singing and dancing skills in 2016’s La La Land, but the actor was also one of two frontmen for the rock duo Dead Man’s Bones along with fellow actor Zach Shields. The group released its first, and only, eponymous album in 2009.
So who penned the now-iconic Barbie ballad? Grammy Award-winning producer Mark Ronson stepped up to the plate, or should we say beach, along with Andrew Wyatt to bring “I’m Just Ken” to life.