What was the most anticipated moment heading into the Oscars? For many, it was the promise of seeing Ryan Gosling perform “I’m Just Ken” with 75 shirtless Kens. And boy, did the Academy deliver on that, and much, much more.
Much like Billie Eilish’s “What Was I Made For?” performance, we could instantly tell what time it was when the Dolby Theatre lit up entirely in pink. But unlike “What Was I Made For?” this performance had a distinctly “dudes rock” energy — or Ken-ergy, some might say. It began with Gosling sitting in the audience, clad in a Pepto-Bismol pink bedazzled blazer with matching gloves, a black cowboy hat disgusing his face. Removing the hat, he revealed his face… still half hidden by sunglasses.
As Gosling approached the stage, he embraced a guitar player, which was only one of many homoerotic Ken moments to come. Sitting on a pink set of stairs on the stage, Gosling was surrounded by a gaggle of Kens in pink and black cowboy outfits, dancing their agonies away.
“What will it take for her to see the man behind the tan and fight for me?” Gosling sang, while tenderly caressing the faces of the two Kens on his right and left.
Things went totally off the rails from there, with many more Kens — including Gosling’s Barbie co-stars Simu Liu, Ncuti Gatwa, Ben-Adir, and Scott Evans — appearing onstage. Gosling karate-chopped two pink wooden boards in half, then was hoisted into the air by his fellow Kens to look as though he was surfing amid a sea of paper cutouts of the classic Barbie face. And then, just as we thought the “dudes rock” energy was reaching critical levels, Guns N’ Roses guitarist Slash showed up.
Gosling hopped off the stage into the audience once more for the end of the song, handing the mic to Barbie director Greta Gerwig, Margot Robbie, and America Ferreira, all of whom were sitting together in the front row. The hot-pink text graphics in the background encouraged the audience to sing along, broadcasting the lyrics to the song in the signature Barbie font. Of course, the performance couldn’t have ended any other way than with pink fireworks erupting in the background.
Although “I’m Just Ken” lost best original song to “What Was I Made For?” Gosling’s rousing rendition of his character’s anthem definitely cements it as one of the all-time great awards show performances. We can definitely feel the Ken-ergy.
Get the best of what’s queer. Sign up for Them’s weekly newsletter here.
