At the 2024 Academy Awards, Ryan Gosling delivered a show-stopping, all-star performance of the Oscar-nominated song “I’m Just Ken” from the film “Barbie.” He was joined by Guns N’ Roses guitarist Slash, Wolfgang Van Halen, drummer Josh Freese, and Mark Ronson – all of whom also appear on the studio version of the track.
Now, in a new interview with Josh Horowitz, Gosling revealed that the performance ultimately depended on Slash’s involvement, admitting he wouldn’t have taken the stage without him.
“I was just hoping that Slash would show up,” Gosling said when asked about performing at the Oscars.
“I basically sold them on this idea that the only way I could do it is if we had… like, a hundred Kens, and a Busby Berkeley [film director and musical choreographer] number and Slash. I thought I gave them an impossible request. And they were like, ‘We’ll do it.’”
He continued, explaining that although they agreed to his terms, one major problem remained.
“But Slash was in Thailand the night before,” Gosling remembered. “They were like, ‘Slash is going to be in Thailand the night before, he can’t…’ And I was like, ‘Well, then I can’t, because it’s all about Slash at the end. If we don’t have Slash, we don’t have a show.’”
Thankfully, Slash agreed to fly to Los Angeles to perform at the ceremony.
“And they’re like, ‘Slash says he’ll get on a plane and he’ll do it.’ So we were rehearsing for weeks with the idea that Slash might come, even through to the dress rehearsal, right before we did the show. And I came down the hallway and I saw this guitar case, and it had a skull with a top hat on it, and I knew that Slash had arrived.”
Recalling the guitarist’s performance, Gosling added: “He was… so Slash. He shredded. He was so cool. He had been working on the part, memorizing it. He just couldn’t have been cooler, and he saved the day. I don’t think that show works without Slash at the end.”
