Ryan Gosling’s Ken Channels Matchbox Twenty

Ryan Gosling has taken on one of Australia’s favourite American bands, Matchbox Twenty, for the Barbie soundtrack.

Taking on a song everyone knows, Push, Barbie The Album receives a boost of 90s rock music.

“And I feel like something’s gonna give/And I’m a little bit angry, well,” Gosling mournfully sings over acoustic guitar strums as his character, Ken, hits a low spot in the film. “This ain’t over, no, not here/Not while I still need you around/You don’t owe me, we might change, yeah.”

You can listen to Gosling’s Push and compare it to the original song below.

Gosling’s rendition of Push follows the plastic power ballad, I’m Just Ken, which features Guns N’ Roses guitarist Slash.

The Guns N’ Roses shredder makes an audible appearance in the musical number with his fiery guitar solo, gelling perfectly with powerful grand piano chords and Gosling’s passionate singing. Gosling went on to lament how he’s “just Ken” and that “anywhere else [he’d] be a ten”, pondering whether it’s his “destiny to live and die a life of blonde fragility”.

Speaking to IndieWire about Barbie’s needle drops, director Greta Gerwig said, “I will say there were many notes, many notes sessions on all fronts, but the thing is that anything that have in a movie, any reference — and we reference The Godfather, Matchbox Twenty, Dave Matthews Band — I love all of it.

“I never put anything in a movie I don’t love, and that’s true. I don’t really have use for things that I don’t have affection for, within a movie. That was the core of it.”

Gosling stars alongside Margot Robbie as the titular doll, while other variations of Ken are played by Kingsley Ben-Adir, Simu Liu, Scott Evans, Ncuti Gatwa and John Cena. Additionally, bonus Barbies are portrayed by Hari Nef, Dua Lipa, Emma Mackey, Nicola Coughlan, Sharon Rooney, Alexandra Shipp, Ana Cruz Kanye and Ritu Arya.

Dua Lipa also appears on the Barbie soundtrack with her single Dance The Night. Also featured are the likes of Aussie legends Tame Impala and The Kid LAROI alongside international heavy hitters, Lizzo, Nicki Minaj, Charli XCX, Billie Eilish, Dominic Fike, HAIM, Sam Smith and Khalid.

Barbie rolled into Australian cinemas on Thursday (20 July), with the film projected to gross $110 million in its opening weekend in the US. How the film performs in Australia is yet to be seen.