There Will Be No ‘I’m Just Ken’ Follow-up

Last year, at the 2024 Academy Awards, the highlight of the entire ceremony was undoubtedly Ryan Gosling’s performance of “I’m Just Ken” from Barbie. It was glorious, ebullient stupidity of the highest degree, and it made the Oscars feel like a must-watch event. The year before, RRR’s “Naatu Naatu” felt much the same way — a moment of pure ecstasy in the middle of what feels like an eight-hour-long broadcast. Anyway, nothing will even get the chance to measure up to either of those performances this year. The Oscars telecast is doing away with Best Original Song performances entirely, per Puck’s Matt Belloni. What? But there are multiple musicals expected to be up for Best Picture?

Instead of those original performances, the ceremony will give space to the creators of the Original Song nominees, Academy CEO Bill Kramer and President Janet Yang said in an email to members. “We will celebrate their artistry through personal reflections from the teams who bring these songs to life,” Kramer and Yang wrote. “All of this, and more, will uncover the stories and inspiration behind this year’s nominees.” Okay, but we were looking forward to Emilia Pérez star Selena Gomez performing live for the first time since a scrubbed-from-the-internet rendition of “Lose You to Love Me” at the 2019 American Music Awards. Can we still have that?