For those who haven’t yet caught the Barbie movie, here is a warning for spoilers. But for those who have, Ryan Gosling’s Ken is OBSESSED with Matchbox Twenty’s “Push” as a running joke in the movie. He eventually extends this love for the song to all of the Ken’s in Ken-dom, as they serenade the Barbies by the campfire in a truly hilarious scene.
Gosling’s rendition of the track is so popular that it has since been released on Spotify. In a recent interview with USA Today, the band’s lead singer, Rob Thomas, is sharing how he feels about the bit.
“I want to preface this by saying that I thought it was hilarious,” Thomas shared. Still, he also brought up a story about how the band became the joke in Bring It On and had thought it would be a similar story.
“When I got the call for Barbie, they told me, ‘Ken’s by the fireside, he’s playing the song and it’s his favorite band,’” he added. “So I did this thinking I’d be the butt of the joke, and I was fine with that. I’m pretty thick-skinned. But [Atlantic Records’] Julie Greenwald came to the Hollywood Bowl a month or two ago. She had just seen the movie and was like, ‘You come out of it loving Ken and loving ‘Push.” And I was like, ‘Aww. All right, really good!’”
Barbie‘s director, Greta Gerwig, has also revealed that she enjoyed the song over the years.
Listen to Gosling’s cover of “Push” above.