Ryan Gosling and Mark Ronson release remixes and a holiday video for ‘I’m Just Ken’

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If you thought that the one thing missing from your holiday experience was a four song EP full of remixes of “I’m Just Ken” by Ryan Gosling and Mark Ronson, then you’re in luck. On Tuesday, Ken The EP was released on streaming platforms. A music video for the official holiday remix version of the song, “I’m Just Ken (Merry Kristmas Barbie),” was also released. The other two remixes are an “In My Feelings Acoustic” one and a “Purple Disco Machine” version. I’d prefer these fun things that capitalize on Barbie‘s success than a forced sequel or a Ken movie.

It’s safe to say we can never get (K)enough of Ryan Gosling’s Ken from Barbie. Gosling, along with Barbie composers Mark Ronson and Andrew Wyatt, have unveiled Ken The EP just in time for the holidays.

The EP features the original “I’m Just Ken” from the record-breaking Barbie movie as well as three new versions including “I’m Just Ken (Merry Kristmas Barbie),” “I’m Just Ken (In My Feelings Acoustic)” and “I’m Just Ken (Purple Disco Machine Remix).” They also dropped a performance video for the holiday remix, which features Gosling and the scoring duo.

Following the release of Greta Gerwig’s summer blockbuster, “I’m Just Ken” went on to reach top 5 on Billboard’s Hot Rock & Alternative Songs chart as well as earn more than 100 million global streams. Barbie The Album was also nominated for 11 Grammy Awards, and “I’m Just Ken” has been nominated for a Golden Globe and Critics Choice Award.

Last month, Ronson and Wyatt spoke with The Hollywood Reporter about what went into scoring Gerwig’s film, including Gosling’s hit track.

The music duo said initially, Gerwig’s just wanted them to create two songs, “Dance the Night” and a Ken song. “It was never in the script [that] Ryan was going to sing,” Ronson explained. “It was just like, ‘If we’re going to have Barbie’s perfect day song, we need a song from Ken’s point of view.’ ”

But then they ended up signing on to compose the whole film as well as adding Gosling’s vocals to the soundtrack. Ronson noted that they only had a few hours to record “I’m Just Ken” with the actor, but that seeing him “performing the song in the studio with, like, every inch of his body” was powerful.

Ken The EP was executive produced by award-winning artist and producer Ronson, and is now playing on music streaming platforms.

[From The Hollywood Reporter]

I listened to all three of the new versions through Apple Music and it’s also available on Spotify. They’re each charming in their own way, but I think the Purple Disco Machine version is my favorite. It has a fun beat! I think the Kristmas version should have been more holiday-sounding with jingle bells or something and the acoustic one wasn’t nearly singer-songwriter enough. I mean, the acoustic singalong joke is in the movie itself. It should have been stripped down to the bare bones of production. Give me “I’m Just Ken (Unplugged)!” Honestly, I’m not sure if we needed a total of four versions of the song. I’ll default to Kismet on the music industry expertise, but I’ve been to enough workout classes to deduct that making it to the song remix industry is a sign of a successful track. I look forward to hearing “I’m Just Ken (Purple Disco Machine Remix)” during my next Pure Barre class.

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7 Responses to “Ryan Gosling and Mark Ronson release remixes and a holiday video for ‘I’m Just Ken’”

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  1. LeahTheFrench says:

    No. Just, no. Enough with the commodification of Christmas. At this point it comes across as a cynical corporate effort to milk this poor song (and the movie in general) to death, it’s gross.

    • StillDouchesOfCambridge says:

      I’m just tired of Ryan Gosling’s pretentious attitude thinking he’s the coolest guy, with a fake laid back, smooth approach. All the hollywood faces that act that way after they feel they’ve reached the summit, id like them out. Leo, Meryl, Scarlet, Cate Blanchet, Brad, Clooney, Julia Roberts, all of them, out. A lot of negativity this morning has to come out.

      • Erin U says:

        What? I’m not really sure where you’re getting pretentious attitude from.

      • swiftcreekrising says:

        I’ve been skeptical of Gosling since the backstage info came out about the way he behaved towards Rachel McAdams and James Garner in The Notebook. He doesn’t seem to handle it well when things aren’t about him.

      • Snoozer says:

        Huh?

        My friend briefly dated Ryan years ago. He is a genuinely nice guy. Really, really nice. Too nice for her! LOL!

        He had a lot of arty friends which I suppose could be seen as pretentious but also might just be an arty guy with arty friends.

        I don’t understand the hate.

  2. Libra says:

    Saw it first thing this a.m.. Loved it. He has a good voice and stayed in character. Good fun. “Merry Christmas Barbie wherever you are”

  3. Flamingo says:

    I feel like this is a calling card for an I am Kenough movie.