RYAN Gosling’s song I’m Just Ken, which expresses the sentiment of always being in second place to Barbie, made its debut on the Billboard Hot 100 chart at No. 87.
Penned by renowned British music producer Mark Ronson, the 1980s-inspired ballad originates from the immensely popular Barbie film, featuring the talented Australian actress Margot Robbie in the role of the iconic doll.
The song, which was released on July 21 in conjunction with the Barbie film, began its journey with 5.2 million streams in the United States and 2,000 downloads sold in its first week, according to Luminate.
Simultaneously, it makes a striking entrance at the fourth position on the Hot Rock Songs chart and the fifth spot on the Hot Rock & Alternative Songs chart, while securing the 39th position on the Digital Song Sales chart.
During an interview with Vanity Fair magazine, Ronson, 47, said he immediately connected with Ken upon reading the Barbie script.
“You really fall in love with this hapless but immediately sympathetic figure. I instantly had this idea for this lyric: ‘I’m just Ken/Anywhere else I’d be a 10.’”
The seven-time Grammy nominee also commented on the actor’s performance: “He was really amazing, and when he really did start hitting the big notes, I was like, this dude is a vocal powerhouse.”
While I’m Just Ken marks Gosling’s Hot 100 debut, it’s not his first chart appearance. His song City of Stars from the 2016 film La La Land previously reached No. 1 on the Jazz Digital Song Sales chart as a solo version, and a duet with Emma Stone peaked at No. 8 on the Hot 100’s Bubbling Under, as well as reaching No. 45 on Digital Song Sales.
The musical brilliance doesn’t stop there, it has also been revealed that the renowned Guns N’ Roses guitarist Slash makes a notable appearance on the Barbie soundtrack.
Speaking to Variety, Ronson described Slash as his “all-time hero”, adding: “I sent him the song and he was like: ‘This is a good song. Cool, I’ll play on it.’ He kills it, he plays the solo at the end and the rhythm parts. It’s wonderful.”
