Listen to Barbie: The Album
Ryan Gosling and Greta Gerwig Crack Up Over "I'm Just Ken" in Behind-the-Scenes Video
The summer of Barbie has its own soundtrack! "Barbie: The Album" was released in full on 21 July, alongside the highly anticipated "Barbie" movie, and the soundtrack is a gift that just keeps on giving.
On 21 Aug., Ryan Gosling and the "Barbie" team gave fans a look at the making of one of the soundtrack's highlights, Gosling's chart-topping hit "I'm Just Ken," with a behind-the-scenes video showcasing some of the recording process and rehearsals that went into bringing the song to the big screen. At one point, "Barbie" director Greta Gerwig and Gosling can even be seen breaking out into hysterics while watching footage of the scene, showing that "I'm Just Ken"'s infectious energy was obvious from the start.
The week prior, Charli XCX built on "Barbie" fever by releasing a "Barbie"-themed music video for her song "Speed Drive" from the "Barbie" soundtrack. In the middle of the video, which dropped on 16 Aug., she stops everything to take a video call from Sam Smith, who also appears on the "Barbie" soundtrack, and Smith seems to ask her about an upcoming joint project, hinting at a potential collaboration between the two stars.
"Barbie: The Album" has been making waves and slaying on the Billboard charts ever since it was released. Not only did the "Barbie" soundtrack debut at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 albums chart, but it also gave Ryan Gosling his first Billboard Hot 100 hit. The onscreen Ken — who has had a modest music career thanks to his child star history on "The All New Mickey Mouse Club" and his band, Dead Man's Bones — saw his hilarious ballad, "I'm Just Ken," debut at No. 87 on the Hot 100 chart dated 5 Aug., which is no easy feat.
Atlantic Records first announced news of the "Barbie" album on May 25, and it features all-star artists like Nicki Minaj, Ice Spice, Haim, and K-pop group Fifty Fifty. Dua Lipa — who plays a mermaid Barbie in the movie — also has her "Barbie" song, "Dance the Night."
Quite a few of the "Barbie" songs were released before the full album, including Minaj and Spice's track "Barbie World." The song samples perhaps the most iconic Barbie song of all time: Aqua's 1997 hit "Barbie Girl." Karol G, Dua Lipa, and PinkPantheress's "Barbie" songs were also all released before the film's premiere.
Then, on 6 July, Billie Eilish made the surprise announcement that she has a song on the soundtrack, too, titled, "What Was I Made For?" She wrote on Instagram, "WE MADE THIS SONG FOR BARBIE AND IT MEANS THE ABSOLUTE WORRRRLLLD TO ME. THIS MOVIE IS GONNA CHANGE UR LIVES AND HOPEFULLY THE SONG WILL TOO. GET READY TO SOB." She then released the somber song and video on July 13. In the video, Eilish — wearing a yellow dress and a Barbie ponytail — pulls doll-size versions of some of her own most iconic outfits and solemnly tries to fit them all on a doll clothing rack, despite wind and then rain.
On 10 July, the final special artist on the soundtrack was revealed to be Smith. Their track, "Man I Am," is from the perspective of Ken, Smith said on Instagram. Wrote Smith, "I cannot begin to express how incredibly excited I am to be a part of the soundtrack to this already iconic film. I was invited by the incredible @iammarkronson and Greta Gerwig to write a song from the perspective of Ken for one of the scenes and we honestly had so much fun with this. I cannot wait for you to hear what we've created together 💪🏻 👅."
Fans can still order the "Barbie" album on the movie's website right now, along with multiple special-edition vinyls and cassette tapes. Most of the album covers feature Margot Robbie as Barbie, lounging in her iconic bathing suit and sunglasses, though there's a special Ken edition too. Plus, on release day, a special "Best Weekend Ever" edition of the album was released, which includes another song performed by Gosling and a cover of "Closer to Fine," which features in the film.
The "Barbie" movie stars Robbie and Gosling alongside a whole slate of other Barbies and Kens. The sprawling cast includes Issa Rae, Simu Liu, Helen Mirren, Nicola Coughlan, and many more. Ahead, you can listen to every track from "Barbie: The Album" — but we'll warn you that some of them contain major spoilers for the film.
"Barbie: The Album" Artists
"Barbie: The Album" Tracklist
"Barbie: The Album" Release Date
