For most of the movie, while Barbie is busy on her journey of self-discovery and self-love Ken, played by Ryan Gosling, is constantly preoccupied with trying to make Barbie fall for him.
And in one scene Ken, very appropriately, breaks into song to explain just how it makes him feel. In the song, entitled I’m Just Ken, he sings: “Doesn’t seem to matter what I do, I’m always number two, no-one knows how hard I tried, I have feelings that I can’t explain driving me insane.”
The catchy chorus goes on to say: “’Cause I’m just Ken, anywhere else I’d be a 10, is it my destiny to live and die a life of blond fragility?
“I’m just Ken, where I see love, she sees a friend, what will it take for her to see the man behind the tan and fight for me?”
While the song and Ken’s overall clinginess weren’t enough to get him the attention he sought, the song itself is getting plenty of love. I’m just Ken, sung by Ryan Gosling, has officially made the Billboard Hot 100 list, debuting at number 87 on the chart.
Talking about the song to Vanity Fair, Mark Ronson, who produced the soundtrack, shared: “I instantly had this idea for this lyric: ‘I’m just Ken / Anywhere else I’d be a 10.’ It just seemed funny. It felt a little bit emo, like, this poor guy. He’s so hot, but can’t get the time of day.”
As for Gosling’s performance, he only had compliments to share. “He really got [that] it had to walk this line of not being funny or parody,” Ronson told Vanity Fair, adding, “But, obviously, the song is also kind of ridiculous at times. So he was really amazing and, when he really did start hitting the big notes, I was like, this dude is a vocal powerhouse!” he revealed.