The “Barbie” star and Best Supporting Actor nominee wowed the 2024 Academy Awards on March 10 with a live rendition of his acclaimed anthem, “I’m Just Ken.”
Originally appeared on E! Online
Ken's job is just beach — but the world was his oyster at the Oscars.
Ryan Gosling transformed back into a Ken doll at the 2024 Academy Awards on March 10, performing the nominated song "I'm Just Ken" from the Barbie movie alongside his Ken costars.
Gosling, 43, started his performance from the audience wearing a hot pink suit, matching gloves and sunglasses, prompting Margot Robbie and Billie Eilish to suppress giggles as he sang the emotional ballad.
Get top local stories in DFW delivered to you every morning. Sign up for NBC DFW's News Headlines newsletter.
"'Cause I'm just Ken, anywhere else I'd be a 10," he sang at the Dolby Theatre. "Is it my destiny to live and die a life of blonde fragility?"
The song was nominated for Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures (Original Song) at the 2024 Oscars alongside fellow "Barbie" track "What Was I Made For?" performed by Billie Eilish, as well as "American Symphony" song "It Never Went Away" performed by Jon Batiste; "Flamin' Hot" song "The Fire Inside" performed by Becky G; and "Killers of the Flower Moon" song "Wahzhazhe (A Song for My People)" performed by Scott George and the Osage Singers.
Stars Who Were Almost Cast in "Barbie"
"What Was I Made For?" took home the statue in the end.
While Gosling has previously performed on movie soundtracks including "La La Land," he was surprised to see his Barbie track get an Oscar and a Grammy nomination. The "Drive" actor even earned his first-ever spot on the Hot 100 with "I'm Just Ken," calling its success on the charts "so surreal."
One person who never doubted he was Kenough? Partner Eva Mendes, who recently defended Gosling from "hate" over his role.
"So many people trying to shame him for doing it," she wrote on Instagram in January. "Despite all the #Notmyken ridicule and articles written about him, he created this completely original, hilarious, heartbreaking, now iconic character and took it all the way to Oscars."
She added, "So beyond proud to be this Ken's Barbie."
