Barbie star Ryan Gosling’s “I’m Just Ken” is accomplishing something extraordinary this summer. The Washington Post just reported an oral history of the Billboard Hot 100 song. Stunningly, “I’m Just Ken” has managed to catapult Gosling to 12.9 million monthly listeners on Spotify. For those playing along at home, that’s more than Jason Aldean, who had a #1 hit recently with a controversial song and indie darling Phoebe Bridgers. There have been more than 41 million streams of the Barbie musical number as of Wednesday. All of these numbers should come as a complete shock to anyone that’s been paying attention. Barbie is a legitimate phenomenon, after passing 1 billion dollars at the box office.
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However, those ticket sales don’t necessarily lead to chart or streaming performance in the same way. The Little Mermaid debuted this year and no one requested Halle Bailey’s version of those classic Disney songs on the radio. (Radio Disney aside!) The Super Mario Bros. Movie spawned similar social media buzz for Jack Black’s “Peaches.” But, those streams aren’t exactly matching up the same either. Gosling might want to keep those vocal chords loose because he and the Bowser actor will probably have to perform these songs at The Oscars. (That is if the actors and writers can get their needs met by the studios in the current work stoppage…) Still, Barbie continues to have the world absolutely transfixed.
Barbie Also Ended Up Boosting Matchbox Twenty
Another musical benefactor of the “Barbie-bump” has been Matchbox Twenty of all people. A lot of fans got a kick out of hearing “Push” come rumbling out of those theater speakers during the movie. That popular song was also performed by Gosling in the film. Streams have creeped up on the ballad in multiple different places as well. The immortal Rob Thomas talked to USA Today about when he got asked for permission to use the song. He realized it could come off as a joke at Matchbox Twenty’s expense. But, the response has been super positive and that means it worked out for everybody.
“When I got the call for Barbie, they told me, ‘Ken’s by the fireside, he’s playing the song and it’s his favorite band.’ So, I did this thinking I’d be the butt of the joke, and I was fine with that. I’m pretty thick-skinned,” Thomas explained to the paper. “But Julie Greenwald (from Atlantic Records) came to the Hollywood Bowl a month or two ago. She had just seen the movie and was like, ‘You come out of it loving Ken and loving ‘Push.” And I was like, ‘Aww. Alright, really good!’”
Aqua Gets Their Barbie Girl Moment in 2023
Barbie‘s soundtrack and score have been all over the place since Greta Gerwig’s movie hit the big screen. One of the most fan-requested songs was “Barbie Girl” by Aqua. While the original song isn’t completely in there, Nicki Minaj and Ice Spice did manage to collaborate with the band on their “Barbie World” on the soundtrack. Aqua was interviewed by The Guardian about this surreal moment for them. Lene Nystrøm and René Dif are just happy that people are enjoying their work and Mattel finally reached out to them.
“We thought it would be like butter on bacon. We totally understood that they wanted something fresh and new,” Nystrøm began. “And then, just two months ago, we were asked to do the [Nicki Minaj and Ice Spice] collab. It happened really quickly.”
Dif appreciated Mattel approaching the band after all that drama decades ago. They said, “It’s just nice to have Mattel come to us and say: ‘Hey, that’s cool.’”
How Does Barbie Set Up That Big Moment For Ken?
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 hit 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 .
Is “I’m Just Ken” your favorite song from Barbie? Let us know in the comments down below!
