LOS ANGELES — The Oscars are getting a shot of Kenergy this year.
The motion picture academy confirmed on Wednesday that Ryan Gosling will perform the Oscar-nominated song “I’m Just Ken” from the megahit “Barbie” during the 96th Oscars ceremony on Sunday.
Gosling, who earned a supporting actor nod for his turn as the bleach-blond himbo who undergoes an existential crisis, has unquestionable singing and dancing chops, going back to his Disney days. And on the heels of the film’s box-office dominance, “I’m Just Ken,” in which Ken vents his fears that Barbie will never see “the man behind the tan,” became a surprise breakout, peaking at No. 87 on the Billboard Hot 100 in August and generating three other versions, including a Christmas-themed one. (The song was written by Mark Ronson and Andrew Wyatt, who earned Oscars for their work on the “A Star Is Born” hit “Shallow.”)
When asked earlier this month by Variety whether he would perform the song at the Oscars, Gosling expressed uncertainty. “It might be too much of a risk to have me do it,” he said. “I don’t know how that would work. But I’m open to it.”
The academy also announced that Billie Eilish and Finneas O’Connell will perform the other nominated song from “Barbie,” “What Was I Made For?”
