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- Ryan Gosling has reached new professional heights with his Barbie track I'm Just Ken debuting on Billboard's Hot 100 list.
- In Barbie, Gosling's Ken sings the 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.
- In a recent interview, Mark Ronson, who produced the track, said one of the track's lyrics came to him "instantly," given the "hapless but immediately sympathetic" character.
Ryan Gosling may be "just Ken", but it's propelled him to the top of Billboard's Hot 100 list.
The actor reached new professional heights with his hit track I'm Just Ken, which features Gosling'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 in Gerta Gerwig's Barbie.
ALSO READ | 'I'm just Ken' – a brief history of Barbie's boyfriend, from all-American boy to movie star
The song debuted at number 87 on the list, per Billboard and began with 5.2 million US streams and 2 000 downloads sold in its opening week, according to Luminate.
I'm Just Ken was released along with the Barbie soundtrack on 21 July via Mattel/WaterTower/Atlantic Records.
The album is the highest charting soundtrack on the Billboard 200 since Encanto led the list for nine non-consecutive weeks (January-March 2022), Billboard reports. It is also the highest debut for a full-length theatrical film soundtrack since the Beyoncé-led The Lion King: The Gift opened at No. 2 four years ago.
See Ken's performance of the song in Barbie HERE:
The music producer behind I'm Just Ken, Mark Ronson, told Vanity Fair last month that he immediately connected with Barbie's right-hand man – or at least the version Gosling plays opposite Margot Robbie in the blockbuster.
"You really fall in love with this hapless but immediately sympathetic figure," Ronson told the magazine.
The executive producer for Barbie: The Album added that one of the track's lyrics – "I'm just Ken/Anywhere else I'd be a 10 – came to him "instantly."
"It just seemed funny," Ronson said. "It felt a little bit emo, like, 'This poor guy. He's so hot but can't get the time of day'."
In its opening weekend, Barbie brought in a whopping $155 million – making it the biggest premiere of the year so far and setting the record as the biggest opening ever for a film directed by a woman.
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