'I'm Just Ken' might be the standout song from the Barbie movie - and up for an Oscar at tonight's awards - but the track almost didn't make it into the movie at all.
Greta Gerwig's Barbie was without a doubt the biggest movie of the past year, having gone head to head with Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer at the box office when it was released in July 2023.
Barbie, starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling as the two plastic dolls, Barbie and Ken, ended up smashing Oppenheimer out of the part with its huge box office success due to its heartfelt story, killer visuals, and infectious soundtrack.
However, 'I'm Just Ken' was almost cut from the film by studio execs who believed it "wasn't working", leading Gerwig to have to fight to keep it in.
Mark Ronson, 48, the producer who co-wrote the track with Andrew Wyatt, told the Sunday Times that it was touch and go whether the song would make it after execs suggested that Gerwig leave that scene out of the film.
He explained: "I thought, 'God, I hope we don’t ruin it.' At that first screening the song wasn’t working. I panicked. The humour wasn’t translating and Greta had to fight.
"The studio asked her how much she really needed it and she said, 'With every inch of my body.' And then there was a big swing."
Thankfully, the song went on to be a huge success, even being nominated for an Academy Award for the track.
Ronson added that he believes the song, while light-hearted on the surface, has an important message to "help young boys".
He explained: "Ken is ridiculous. But Greta’s point was that nobody should ever be laughing at a character. We feel their pain, as crazy as that sounds about a guy wearing a white mink and two pairs of sunglasses. I never wanted to write a song for a cheap laugh. You want something to get under people’s skin.
"I know I’ll sound like David Brent [from the UK version of The Office], but the song helped young boys. My friend’s eight-year-old got broken up with and he said, 'It’s OK, because Ken got broken up with by Barbie.'"
Ronson added: "The song tells boys that it’s OK to be runner-up. The internet’s caused a level of isolation in boys and this idea of male camaraderie and sharing your feelings is a nice and unexpected thing to come out of it."
He also compared the song to previous emotional ballads such as Bonnie Tyler's 'Total Eclipse Of The Heart', adding: "It’s unbridled. Like 'Total Eclipse of the Heart'. These are songs in which someone takes their emotions so seriously that they feel comfortable taking up a huge amount of space to make sure everyone knows they are upset."
If it takes home an Oscar tonight, those execs will well and truly be eating their words.
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