Ryan Gosling's 'I'm Just Ken (Merry Kristmas Barbie)' has arrived: Listen here
Ryan Gosling's turn as Ken in the blockbuster "Barbie" film has spawned his very own EP.
Along with collaborators Mark Ronson and Andrew Wyatt, Gosling's "Ken: The EP" features not only his show-stopping track "I'm Just Ken" from the Grammy-nominated "Barbie" soundtrack, but also alternate versions of "I'm Just Ken (Merry Kristmas Barbie)," "In My Feelings Acoustic" and "Purple Disco Machine Remix."
The holiday version of the tune also came with a performance video of Gosling, Ronson and company laying the track down in a studio bedazzled with Christmas lights, after they riff on the possibility that they're creating a year-round classic that can also be celebrated at the holidays, a la "Die Hard."
Ronson previously teased the holiday version of the hit song from the "Barbie" movie on social media.
"We first recorded this song back in March 2022 at a studio in North London called Eastcote," he wrote about the original track. "I'd never met Ryan & was a little starstruck when he walked into this no-frills studio where the Clash once made records."
He continued, "Let's be real, I'd been enjoying his work for many years -- he's a few cuts above, ya know? We had a quick, awkward 'get to know you' cup of tea & headed to the control room. I was informed I had 2 hours before he had to return to a grueling rehearsal on set, so I was already feeling up against it ... Well, it only took 2 or 3 warm up takes for me to realize not only was he going to be able to handle the vocal but it was going to far exceed anything Andrew and I could have hoped for."
Ronson explained that he was "dying to show the song in a different context" and Gosling "demanded i go 'Full Ronson' with the arrangement (which i took to mean 2007 motown/wall of sound-obsessed me)."
Along with its success on the charts, "I'm Just Ken" from "Barbie: The Album" is also up for a Grammy for best song written for visual media and a Golden Globe for best original song.
