Forget Best Actress—the most highly-anticipated Oscars 2024 moment for moi was Ryan Gosling’s Oscars performance of the Oscar-nominated song “I’m Just Ken.” And bless him, Gosling did not disappoint.
Gosling started his highly-anticipated performance at the 96th Academy Awards in the audience, serenading a laughing Margot Robbie from behind. He was rocking a cowboy hat, a pink sparkly suit, and sunglasses—instantly iconic. Gosling may not be a trained singer, but his voice sounded surprisingly good even if he had to change up the tempo a bit. He soon took the stage, surrounded by his team of Ken dancers, who carried Gosling on his back, while other dancers held up giant cut-outs of Robbie-as-Barbie’s head. Those guys were really feeling the Kenergy!
But the real showstopper moment came at the song’s musical climax when the camera zoomed in and revealed Gosling with his arm around none other than Guns N’ Roses guitarist Slash. The 58-year-old hard rock guitarist was wearing his instantly recognizable top hat, and he was absolutely shredding the now-iconic guitar rift from the Oscar-nominated song, which was written by Mark Ronson and Andrew Wyatt.
By now, the entire crowd was on their feet. Gosling hopped off the stage to prompt Barbie director Greta Gerwig and his fellow cast members to sing along for the final verse. He even got Poor Things star Emma Stone to chime in. Honestly? It was beautiful. For the grand finale, Gosling grasped the hand of the camera man and gave it a kiss. How can you not be swooning?
All the while, Slash was shredding on his guitar on stage with the dancers. When the song came to its triumphant conclusion, fireworks exploded on stage and the audience burst into rapturous applause. It was epic.
Billie Eilish and Finneas O’Connell’s Barbie song “What Was I Made For?” took home the award for Best Original Song shortly after Gosling’s performance. But I think we all know who the real winner is.
