The summer of Barbie is getting its own soundtrack. When the highly anticipated “Barbie” movie hits theaters on July 21, fans will also be able to blast “Barbie: The Album.” On May 25, Atlantic Records announced news of the album, which will be released the same day as the film, also sharing some of the all-star artists who are featured, including Nicki Minaj, Ice Spice, Haim, Lizzo, K-pop group Fifty Fifty, and — perhaps most interestingly — Ryan Gosling, who plays Ken in the movie. These artists join pop star Dua Lipa (who plays a mermaid Barbie in the movie). Her “Barbie” song, “Dance the Night,” dropped on May 26 with a vibrant, disco-themed music video. Then, on June 2, Karol G released her “Barbie” track, “WATATI,” featuring Aldo Ranks, and on June 9, PinkPantheress released her contribution to the soundtrack, titled “Angel.”
On June 23, Minaj and Ice Spice’s track, “Barbie World,” was released alongside fun, Barbie Dreamhouse-set visuals. The track samples perhaps the most iconic Barbie song: Aqua’s 1997 hit, “Barbie Girl.” And on June 30, Charli XCX released her “Barbie” track, “Speed Drive.”
Then, on July 6, 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.” The new track will be released the morning of July 19 — two days before the movie’s official release. Eilish also tagged her brother Finneas O’Connell, whom she frequently writes songs with. Fifty Fifty released their upbeat track, “Barbie Dreams,” the next day.
Speaking to Variety at the Los Angeles premiere of “Barbie” on July 9, soundtrack producer Mark Ronson revealed that Guns N’ Roses guitarist Slash is on Gosling’s “I’m Just Ken” song. “We hadn’t met before, we just went into the studio and talked about music,” Ronson said of Gosling. “As he started to get warmed up, I was like, ‘Oh my god, this guy is gonna murder this song.’ And of course he would. He’s Ken. Who would understand this song better than him.”
“Obviously, we worked on it for about a year after he did the vocals, so when I finally sent him the finished version with Slash on it and everybody a couple weeks ago, he was just really psyched and satisfied with it,” Ronson added.
Fans can preorder the “Barbie” album on its 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. The album has its own Instagram page as well, where excited fans will probably get even more sneak peeks before its release.
The “Barbie” movie stars Robbie as Barbie and Gosling as Ken — plus a whole slate of other Barbies and Kens. The sprawling cast includes Issa Rae, Simu Liu, Helen Mirren, Nicola Coughlan, and many more. Ahead, here’s what we know about “Barbie: The Album.”
