Before the event Ryan Gosling (Look!) was positive about the performance, but he was afraid that among real vocalists he would look quite poor. “I haven’t been asked to do it yet. Maybe it’s too big a risk for me to sing it? I don’t know if it would work. But I’m open to the idea,” he said.
The co-creator himself dreamed of Gosling performing the song live, Mark Ronson. In an interview he said that he couldn’t imagine it being sung by anyone else. Moreover, in the tradition of the Oscars, when a song is nominated, its original performer appears on stage. “I think if Ryan doesn’t sing it, no one else will sing it,” Ronson said.
Let us remind you that a soundtrack was created especially for “Barbie”, including: a song performed by an actor featuring Slash (Guns N’ Roses). In addition, the album includes songs by such stars as: Dua Lupa, Billie Eilish, Sam Smith, Tame Impala, PinkPantheress, Nicki Minaj, Lizzo, Ice Spice and Charli XCX.
Ryan Gosling, dressed almost entirely in pink, began his performance in the audience. He turned directly to the film’s Barbie, i.e. Margot Robbie, who couldn’t stop laughing.
He then headed to the stage where he was waiting for him Mark Ronson – co-author of the music and lyrics – and a moment later they were joined by other cast members: Simu Liu, Scott Evans, Ncuti Gatwa and Kingsley Ben-Adir.
Then Gosling, who was carried in his arms, was surrounded by cardboard Barbie doll heads, and when they parted, the actor was already singing with Slash. At the end, he came down to the audience again, where he sang a fragment of the song together with his colleagues from the set. Afterwards, he was awarded a standing ovation, and on the Internet you can read opinions that it will be “one of the most iconic Oscar performances of all time”.
The song was nominated for the Oscars, but did not win a statuette. Another song from the movie “Barbie” was chosen as the best song – “What Was I Made For” by Billie Eilish and Finneas O’Connell (check!).