Barbie Soundtrack Producer Teases Mystery Song From a Major Artist
The anticipation for the Barbie movie is only continuing to grow, with the star-studded ensemble cast and the number of tie-in products continuing to excite fans. One element of the upcoming Barbie film that has really resonated thus far has been its soundtrack, which features a number of new songs from a who's-who of beloved artists. Even as the Barbie tracklisting has been made public and a number of the songs have been released, one element has still puzzled fans — two tracks that were left secret. While one was just confirmed to be a new Billie Eilish song, titled "What Was I Made For", it sounds like the second one will be worth the wait. In a recent interview with Time, Barbie soundtrack producer Mark Ronson teased that the track is from one of the "greatest living artists around", who also has a very close tie to the meaning of Barbie herself. With existing fan theories ranging from Taylor Swift to Lady Gaga, Ronson's comments are sure to only provoke more speculation.
"[They're] one of the f-cking greatest living artists around but also had a very personal, idiosyncratic tie to Barbie as well," Ronson explained.
Who Is on the Barbie Soundtrack?
As was announced back in May, Barbie will feature new songs from Ava Max, Charli XCX, Dominic Fike, Dua Lipa, FIFTY FIFTY, Gayle, HAIM, Ice Spice, Kali, KAROL G, Khalid, Lizzo, Nicki Minaj, PinkPantheress, Tame Impala, and The Kid LAROI, as well as "I'm Just Ken", an original power ballad sung by Ken actor Ryan Gosling. Ronson based his pitch for the album on the reception and backlash around Disco music.
"You just see the Bee Gees so crestfallen and thinking, 'Wait, why does everyone hate us so much?' Which is such a strong parallel to Barbie," Ronson explained in the same interview. "In the film, she just wants to make everybody happy and can't understand why she's so problematic or why people hate her."
How Many Mattel Movies Are in the Works?
According to a new report from The New Yorker, there are a total of 45 Mattel-related movies in the process of getting made, including (but not limited to) Barney, Hot Wheels, Polly Pocket, and He-Man. Other projects that have been announced to be in development over the years include American Girl, Big Jim, Chatty Cathy and Betsy Wetsy, Magic 8 Ball, Matchbox, Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots, Thomas & Friends, Uno, View-Master, and Wishbone.
"Barbie is one of the most iconic franchises in the world and we are excited to partner with Warner Bros. Pictures and Margot Robbie to bring her to life on the big screen," Ynon Kreiz, Chairman and CEO of Mattel, said in a statement when the film took shape. "We look forward to building on this collaboration with Warner Bros. Pictures as we tell the stories of our beloved brands. Mattel Films is on a path to demonstrate the enormous potential of our brand portfolio, as we continue to execute on our strategy of transforming Mattel into an IP-driven, high performing toy company."
What Is the Barbie Movie About?
In Barbie, to live in Barbie Land is to be a perfect being in a perfect place. Unless you have a full-on existential crisis. Or you're a Ken. From Oscar-nominated writer/director Greta Gerwig comes Barbie, which hits theaters on July 21st. Barbie stars Oscar-nominees Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling as Barbie and Ken, alongside America Ferrera, Kate McKinnon, Michael Cera, Ariana Greenblatt, Issa Rae, Rhea Perlman, and Will Ferrell. The film also stars Ana Cruz Kayne, Emma Mackey, Hari Nef, Alexandra Shipp, Kingsley Ben-Adir, Simu Liu, Ncuti Gatwa, Scott Evans, Jamie Demetriou, Connor Swindells, Sharon Rooney, Nicola Coughlan, Ritu Arya, Grammy Award-winning singer/songwriter Dua Lipa and Oscar-winner Helen Mirren. Gerwig directed Barbie from a screenplay by Gerwig & Oscar nominee Noah Baumbach, based on Barbie by Mattel.