Mark Ronson is rooting for Ryan Gosling to perform his hit Barbie song “I’m Just Ken” at the 2024 Oscars.
The record producer and songwriter, 48, said that — despite fans craving to see the actor onstage — it’s ultimately Gosling’s decision to perform the Oscar-nominated number.
“I’ve been asked it a lot,” Ronson told The Hollywood Reporter in an interview on Monday, February 12. “It really is Ryan’s call. Of course I’m dying to do it and I think everybody would love him to sing the song once live, you know?”
He added: “I’ve got my fingers crossed, but it’s really Ken’s call.”
On the 2024 Grammys red carpet on February 4, Ronson told Variety that Gosling singing “I’m Just Ken” would be his “dream.”
“I think if Ryan doesn’t do it then we’re not doing it,” the producer said when asked about the possibility of a substitute singer.
“What Was I Made For?” by Billie Eilish and Finneas was also nominated, which won the Grammy for best song written for visual media. Barbie, which grossed nearly $1.5 billion in the U.S. was nominated for eight Academy Award including for Best Picture and Ryan Gosling for Best Actor in a Supporting Role — but, controversial, not for Best Director (Greta Gerwig) or Best Actress in a Leading Role (Margot Robbie).
Ronson also expressed hope that Barbie would become a musical. While speaking with reporters at the 2024 Critics Choice Awards on January 14, he said he would “absolutely” want to be involved.
“I’m just waiting for the call,” he said. “It would be amazing. Greta [Gerwig] basically made a musical that’s without calling it a musical, so we would love it.”
Ronson and cowriter Andrew Wyatt won Best Song at the ceremony for “I’m Just Ken.”
“I think that we love music so much and we also love comedy. That’s our other bomb, but we’ve never been able to merge them,” Ronson said of the song, adding that the film’s script was “so inspiring” and the track “came to us pretty quickly.”
Ronson also noted that he doesn’t know if they’ll be “as lucky to get that kind of a script every time,” but they “really did love working on this.”
“Once we saw Ryan’s performance, as well, we were still making the song. We were like, ‘Oh my God, we’re going to have to dress the song up in the equivalent of a white mink and two sunglasses,’” he said. “And then we called Slash… basically we were so inspired by everything.”
Ronson gave a shout out to Gosling, 43, in his acceptance speech for the award.
“Ryan Gosling, this is as much your award as ours,” Ronson said. “You made the audience fall in love with this song with your matchless performance, so thank you.”
For his part, Ronson already has one Best Song Oscar on his mantel for 2019’s “Shallow” from A Star Is Born.
