“I’m Just Ken” is now more than just an iconic power ballad –– it’s now a Critic’s Choice Award winner.
The brains behind the hit track from the “Barbie” movie, Mark Ronson and Andrew Wyatt, received the award for Best Original Song at the 29th Annual Critics Choice Awards held on January 14, 2024, at the Barker Hangar, Santa Monica Airport in Califonia.
As presenters Bella Ramsey and Anthony Ramirez announced the winner for the category, Ryan Gosling’s immediate reaction was one of genuine surprise, which translated into a viral meme on social spaces online. Ronson gave a heartfelt acceptance speech upon accepting the award on stage, thanking Gosling by stating; “Ryan Gosling, this is as much your award as ours”.
“You made the audience fall in love with this song with your matchless performance, so thank you,” he adds. Ronson then went on to thank the film’s co-writer Noah Baumbach and writer-director Greta Gerwig, mentioning “The fact that you carved out 11 minutes for this prog-rock, power ballad, dream ballet, shred fest so the boys could cry and hold hands a little too, we’re really forever in your debt for that.”
The award-winning track competed against fellow singles from the Barbie soundtrack, including Dua Lipa’s “Dance The Night” and Billie Eilish’s “What Was I Made For” alongside Jack Black’s “Peaches” (The Super Mario Bros. Movie), Lenny Kravitz’s “Road To Freedom” (Rustin), and Ariana Debose’s “This Wish” (Wish). Even in other prolific awards shows such as the Golden Globes, Ronson and Gosling’s “I’m Just Ken” was nominated for Best Original Song but lost to Eilish and Finneas for their emotional ballad.
The track is also shortlisted for an award at the forthcoming 96th Academy Awards. Gosling, Wyatt, and Ronson’s song made the initial shortlist of fifteen tracks for Best Original Song, though the official nominations have yet to be announced for now. Other key tracks that made the cut include Olivia Rodrigo’s “Can’t Catch Me Now” (The Hunger Games: Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes), Metro Boomin’s “Am I Dreaming?” (Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse), Sharon Van Etten’s “Quiet Eyes” (Past Lives), and a nod to Wes Anderson for his co-write on Jarvis Cocker’s ‘Dear Alien (Who Art In Heaven) (Asteroid City).
Other big musical winners at the Critics’ Choice Awards include Ludwig Göransson, who won Best Original Score for his work on Christopher Nolan’s blockbuster biopic “Oppenheimer“. The score competed against Jerskin Fendrix’s compositions for “Poor Things“, Michael Giacchino’s “Society of the Snow“, Daniel Pemberton’s “Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse“, Robbie Robertson’s “Killers of the Flower Moon“, and Ronson & Wyatt’s music for “Barbie“.
Just recently, Gosling and Ronson released an eponymous EP centered on Ken, featuring a Christmas-themed version, acoustic rendition, and disco club remix of I’m Just Ken.
Listen to Ryan Gosling’s award-winning power ballad below: