Slash, Wolfgang Van Halen Rock 2024 Oscars During ‘I’m Just Ken’ Performance

Slash and Wolfgang Van Halen took to the 2024 Oscars stage with Ryan Gosling and Mark Ronson for the incredible performance of "I'm Just Ken."

"I'm Just Ken," of course, is featured in the blockbuster film Barbie, which stars Gosling as Barbie's beau, Ken. Simply put: Gosling, Ronson, Slash and WVH brought the house down!

Slash and Wolfgang are two of many incredible artists featured on the Barbie soundtrack. Ronson, who produced the film's soundtrack, shared on the red carpet of the Barbie premiere in Los Angeles how Slash ended up on "I'm Just Ken."

Ronson talked about how the guitar icon was a hero of his, but he wasn't sure if he'd be interested in contributing to the over-the-top tune. However, he thought, "It never hurts to ask."

The producer said, "I sent him the song, and he was like, 'This is a good song ... I'll play on it.' He was so cool, and he killed it. He plays this solo at the end. It's wonderful."

Slash appearing on the Barbie soundtrack may seem unusual. However, the guitarist told Collider, "I’m not trying to follow a certain idea where I’m supposed to be this, and I can’t venture outside of that mold, or people trip out. I’m just not that person. I just do whatever I feel like."

As for Van Halen, he shared via Instagram photos of himself and his wife at the aforementioned L.A. Barbie premiere. Wolfgang said Ronson reached out to him, because he wanted his "mammoth guitar sound" on the soundtrack.

He noted, "There’s a specific moment in this song that’s only in the movie where I’ve got this fun solo with some tapping and stuff lol. Such a cool opportunity."

The 96th Academy Awards airs live from the Dolby Theater on ABC, abc.com, or the ABC app. on Sunday, March 10, starting at a new earlier time at 7 pm ET, scheduled to end at 10:30 pm ET. A 30-minute pre-show will lead into the live show at 6:30. Jimmy Kimmel returns as host for the fourth time. Zendaya, Michelle Pfeiffer, Nicolas Cage, and Al Pacino are among the first group of presenters for the awards ceremony. Also presenting are last year’s winners: Brendan Fraser, Michelle Yeoh, Ke Huy Quan, and Jamie Lee Curtis. Oscar winners Mahershala Ali, Jessica Lange, Matthew McConaughey, Lupita Nyong’o, and Sam Rockwell are also set to take the stage.

Fantastic films are nominated for this year’s Oscars, with Oppenheimer, Barbie, Killers of the Flower Moon, Poor Things, The Holdovers, The Color Purple, Maestro, American Fiction, and Past Lives taking a lot of nominations in the major categories. This year, 321 feature films were eligible for the Oscars, and 265 of those qualified for the Best Picture category. For the first time in history, three of the ten movies nominated for best picture were directed by a female, the most in Oscars history. Justine Triet’s Anatomy of a Fall, Greta Gerwig’s Barbie, and Celine Song’s Past Lives are battling it out against directors Martin Scorsese, Christopher Nolan, and Bradley Cooper. Only four years have included films directed by women for best picture: Lone Scherfig’s An Education, Kathryn Bigelow’s The Hurt Locker, Lisa Cholodenko’s The Kids Are All Right, Debra Granik’s Winter’s Bone, Chloé Zhao’s Nomadland, Emerald Fennell’s Promising Young Woman, Siân Heder’s CODA, and Jane Campion’s The Power of the Dog. Three of these women-directed films won best picture in their respective Oscar-nominated years: The Hurt Locker, Nomadland, and CODA.

As we previously reported, Ryan Gosling is going to make his first — and probably last — Oscars performance. The Barbie star will officially perform “I’m Just Ken” live at the awards ceremony. The song is nominated for Best Original Song for the annual awards show.

Keep scrolling to see who takes home an Oscar tonight (we will be updating live):

Sterling K. Brown -- American Fiction

Robert De Niro -- Killers of the Flower Moon

Robert Downey Jr. -- Oppenheimer -- WINNER

Ryan Gosling -- Barbie

Charles Melton -- May December

Mark Ruffalo -- Poor Things

Emily Blunt — Oppenheimer

Danielle Brooks — The Color Purple

America Ferrera -- Barbie

Jodie Foster -- Nyad

Da’Vine Joy Randolph — The Holdovers -- WINNER

"The Fire Inside" -- Flamin' Hot

"I'm Just Ken" -- Barbie

"It Never Went Away" -- American Symphony

"Wahzhahzhe" -- Killers of the Flower Moon

"What Was I Made For?" -- Barbie -- WINNER

The Boy and the Heron -- WINNER

Elemental

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

Bradley Cooper -- Maestro

Colman Domingo -- Rustin

Paul Giamatti -- The Holdovers

Cillian Murphy -- Oppenheimer -- WINNER

Jeffrey Wright -- American Fiction

Annette Bening -- Nyad

Lily Gladstone -- Killers of the Flower Moon

Sandra Huller -- Anatomy of a Fall

Carey Mulligan -- Maestro

Emma Stone -- Poor Things -- WINNER

American Fiction

Anatomy of a Fall

The Zone of Interest