The idea for the Barbie doll came when Ruth Handler, Mattel's toy partner, witnessed her daughter, Barbara, snipping paper dolls from magazines and adorning them with stylish clothes and accessories. At the time, all other dolls were mere babies, but Ruth saw the potential for creating a doll with grown-up features to empower kids to unleash their dreams.
On March 9, 1959, the Barbie Doll made her debut at the New York Toy Fair, donning a zebra-striped swimsuit. She stormed into toy stores all over the United States, and in no time, more than 351,000 dolls flew off the shelves, each priced at $3.
Not to be outdone, Ken stepped into the spotlight in 1961 as Barbie's perfect match, brought to life by Mattel. The dashing hunk was aptly named after Ruth Handler's son, Kenneth Handler, just like Barbie was named after her daughter.
In 2023, the first live-action Barbie film was released. In the Greta Gerwig-helmed movie, Ryan Gosling plays Ken to Margot Robbie's Barbie. "I'm Just Ken," sang by Gosling, is his character's de facto theme song.
In this soul-searching song, Ken bares his heart, pondering his place in Barbie's world.
Doesn't seem to matter what I do
I'm always number two
Ken laments how he is always in Barbie's shadow - it's always Barbie and Ken, never the other way round. He's always playing second fiddle.
Ken is trying to assert himself in Barbieland, but Barbie's got other plans.
I'm just Ken
Anywhere else I'd be a ten
Is it my destiny to live and die a life of blonde fragility?
Ken has the looks, the style, and the charm, but Barbie's not seeing him the way he wants her to. He's still stuck on the sidelines, desperate for her love and attention. It's a tough pill to swallow, and he's feeling the frustration big time.
"I'm Just Ken" was among the earliest tunes penned for
Barbie, along with "
Dance The Night" by Dua Lipa. Mark Ronson, the mastermind behind the soundtrack, got inspired after diving into the script and sympathizing with Ken's character on a personal level.
Ronson told Time: "I went into the studio one day, and I got the idea for the line, 'I'm just Ken, anywhere else I'd be a 10,' and I thought: 'That's his whole life.'"
Ronson recorded a demo of "I'm Just Ken" and casually shared it with director Greta Gerwig, not expecting it to make the cut. But Gerwig loved the track and played it for Ryan Gosling. The actor felt an instant connection and lobbied to sing it himself.
Ronson's musical partner Andrew Wyatt wrote the rest of the verses, and Ronson flew out to London to record the vocals with Gosling. The producer tweaked the track to a lower key to make it easier for the actor to sing.
"But each time he sang it, I was like, 'He sounds killer, l think we can bump it up,' until we were back in the original key," Ronson recalled to the BBC. "I was over the moon because, at first, I was like, 'Okay, maybe the song won't be as good as the demo' but in the end he exceeded the demo."
"And then when I first saw the film, with him actually acting out the song, I was like, 'Of course!'" he added. "Because he knew that, at some point, he'd be acting out these lyrics, so he was already doing it in the studio."
Ryan Gosling began his career in the
Mickey Mouse Club, so he's been singing as well as acting from an early age. In 2017, he performed "
City of Stars" with his
La La Land co-star, Emma Stone, which won an Oscar for Best Original Song.
After starting as a ballad, the song explodes into a rocker featuring three A-list musicians. Once Gosling had recorded his vocals, Ronson sent the track to Guns N' Roses guitarist Slash, who agreed to play lead and rhythm guitar on the song. Wolfgang Van Halen also contributes rhythm guitar, and Foo Fighters drummer Josh Freese mans the drum kit.
"I'm Just Ken" won Best Original Song at the 2024 at the 2024 Critics Choice Awards. Gosling's
deadpan and bemused reaction to the song winning spurred the creation of numerous memes on social media.
"I'm Just Ken" earned an Oscar nomination for Best Song but lost to "What Was I Made For?," which ended up being the only win out of Barbie's eight nominations.
The performance at the ceremony was a show-stopper, with Gosling starting in the audience before joining Mark Ronson, Slash, Wolfgang Van Halen and a troupe of Ken-like dancers on stage.
