Sam Smith’s Barbie track ‘Man I Am’ is a campy, hilarious ode to ‘sexy, freaky’ Ken -TGN

Sam Smith’s New Barbie Track “Man I Am” Is A Campy, Hilarious Ode To Ken (Warner Bros/Getty)

Gays and dolls, the day has finally arrived: Barbie is in movie theaters. next to it, Barbie The Album has also dropped, and Sam Smith’s entry “Man I Am” is a huge highlight.

Way back when director Greta Gerwig revealed that Barbie was inspired by “technicolor musicals” and “disco music”, fans knew that the accompanying soundtrack, Barbie The Albumwould absolutely hit.

When fans learned that the record would be produced by Lady Gaga and Miley Cyrus collaborator Mark Ronson, and that it would feature names like Lizzo and Billie Eilish, expectations skyrocketed. Even the OG Ken, Ryan Gosling, gets a song aptly titled, “I’m Just Ken.”

Dua Lipa kicked off the house party at Barbie’s Malibu Dreamhouse with her sparkling pop banger “Dance The Night.” Nicki Minaj and Ice Spice turn up the heat with their Aqua-sampling rap song “Barbie World.”

Now that the full album has finally been brought out of Barbieland and launched into the real world, fans have been listening to it for the first time from Sam Smith Barbie bop “Man that I am”.

When the “Unholy” hitmaker first announced their involvement with the soundtrack earlier this month, critics took aim at Smith for having the guts to release a song titled “Man I Am” while identifying as non-binary and using she/they pronouns.

Considering the song is for the Barbie soundtrack, however, a crumb of critical thinking would indicate that Smith sings the song from the perspective of our fave bleach-blonde himbo, Ken.

It’s a super silly, sometimes hilarious, and borderline homoerotic nod to Ken as the sexiest toy in the toy box, with the opening line: “This one’s for the boys, with your greased and heavy metal toys.”

Plus, there are a few crafty jokes at Ken as an archetypal representation of masculinity, with mentions of six-packs, office bros, strip clubs, and dirty cars.

But the best line? When Smith makes a cheeky reference to the perpetual rumors that our Ken is as strange as they come.

“Look, I’m the groove catcher, the hottest thing, six pack and tight G-string – no I’m not gay, man,” the pre-chorus reads.

Smith was one of the last artists to be announced for the Barbie soundtrack, and their appearance on the album was teased as a surprise. Some fans were disappointed when it was revealed that the mysterious final performer was not Britney Spears or Beyoncéalthough Sam Smith’s campy, booming pop song seems to have changed their minds.

“Not Sam Smith who gave us the best song of the Barbie soundtrack,” one fan shared on social media, while another erupted, “Okay Sam Smith ate this song! A bop!”

“Didn’t expect Sam Smith to go so fast on the Barbie soundtrack, but I’m really impressed,” said a third.

Gushing about being involved in Barbie The AlbumSmith continued Instagram: “I can’t begin to express how incredibly excited I am to be part of the soundtrack to this already iconic movie.

“I was invited by the incredible Mark Ronson and Greta Gerwig to write a song from Ken’s perspective for one of the scenes and we really had so much fun doing this.”

“Man that I am” and Barbie The Album are out now.