How the ‘Barbie’ soundtrack came together, according to mastermind Mark Ronson

LOS ANGELES — Mark Ronson is showing off his Barbies. Finding the sound of “Barbie,” poised to become one of 2023’s biggest blockbusters, required careful consideration and research for a film with such a rich visual palette. But for the song that would become Ryan Gosling’s “I’m Just Ken,” Ronson couldn’t shake the lyric: “I’m just Ken, anywhere else I’d be a 10.” So he sent director Greta Gerwig a demo with a few lines — including a deliciously mouthy lyric about “blonde fragility.” She sent it to Gosling, who plays Ken in the film, and knew immediately he needed to sing it. And because the film is a comedy with real-world complications, humor informed a lot of the songwriting: It’s in Dominic Fike’s “Hey Blondie” as well as the many samples of Charli XCX’s “Speed Drive.” “ are an area where we cracked the code and figured out how to make it work in a way where we support our partners creatively,” says Kevin Weaver, president of Atlantic Records West Coast, citing Atlantic’s work on other major soundtracks like from the “Fast & Furious” franchise, “The Fault in Our Stars,” and “ The Greatest Showman,” which produced massive hits like Wiz Khalifa and Charlie Puth’s “See You Again,” Charli XCX’s “Boom Clap,” and “This Is Me,” respectively. “It all dovetailed into the single we have with Nicki Minaj and Ice Spice,” he continued, referencing the reworking of “Barbie Girl.” “I’ve never really executive produced something before,” Ronson says.