The Best 'La La Land' Sequel is Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling Singing "I'm Just Ken"

City of...Kens?

Ryan Gosling performs at the 2024 Oscars
(Image credit: Getty Images)

I'm just going to say it: Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone are the Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan of our generation. Their chemistry is unmatched, their banter as spiky as the potential of true love, and their love for one another as clear as can be. And any time they get together—not just in perfect films like Crazy, Stupid, Love or the alleged musical La La Land—we simply cannot look away.

Which is exactly why our heart went so aflutter to see Ryan and Emma rock out during the former's performance of "I'm Just Ken" from Barbie. A moment that was already a moment before the duo even popped up on screen and made us nostalgic for their halcyon days of romantic comedy greatness.

Ryan Gosling performs "I'm Just Ken" at the 2024 Oscars

Emma knows all the words to "I'm Just Ken" because she, too, is a Barbie after our own hearts.

(Image credit: ABC)

Of course, she wasn't the only one to get in on the sing-a-long: Gosling brought out 75 Kens, Mark Ronson, Wolfgang Van Halen, and Slash to complete the showcase of the most earworm-y song of 2023. And he also tossed the mic to his female counterparts sitting in the audience: Margot Robbie, America Ferrera, and director Greta Gerwig.

Ryan Gosling performs "I'm Just Ken" at the 2024 Oscars

The girlies were having the time of their lives as the boys put on their cute little show.

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Decked out in bedazzled pink, Gosling did what he does best: fully embody his Kenergy and use it as a force for good—in this case, a good-time performance of the greatest Himbo Anthem the world has ever known.

So much so that Emma Stone's dress broke...just in time for her to accept her award for Best Actress for Poor Things.

Alicia Lutes
Freelance Writer

Alicia Lutes is a freelance writer, essayist, journalist, humorist, and screenwriter based in Los Angeles. She has written extensively on culture, entertainment, the craft of comedy, and mental health. Her work has been featured in places such as Vulture, Playboy, Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, MTV, Cosmopolitan, Rotten Tomatoes, Bustle, Longreads, and more. She was also the creator/former host of the web series Fangirling, and currently fosters every single dog she can.