The Awardist Oscars Wolfgang Van Halen says preparing for the Oscars was more stressful than his wedding The musician joined Ryan Gosling and Slash on stage for an unforgettable performance of "Barbie" anthem "I'm Just Ken." By Jessica Wang Jessica Wang Jessica is a staff writer at Entertainment Weekly, where she covers TV, movies, and pop culture. Her work has appeared in Bustle, NYLON, Cosmopolitan, InStyle, and more. She lives in California with her dog. EW's editorial guidelines Published on March 11, 2024 02:19PM EDT Wolfgang Van Halen admittedly felt some anxious Kenergy during Hollywood's biggest night on Sunday. The musician and wife Andraia Allsop joined PEOPLE on the 2024 Oscars red carpet before Van Halen took the stage to perform Barbie anthem "I'm Just Ken" alongside star and nominee Ryan Gosling and fellow guitarist Slash, where the couple compared getting ready for the big ceremony to their October 2023 nuptials. "It actually felt like we were getting ready for our wedding today," Allsop said. Van Halen laughed and said, "I think it was more stressful getting ready today." He added, "I'm happy to be here, very happy to be part of this and support my buddy Mark [Ronson, soundtrack producer]." Wolfgang Van Halen with mom Valerie Bertinelli and wife Andraia Allsop at the 2024 Oscars. Michael Buckner/Getty Van Halen was also joined by his mother Valerie Bertinelli, who could not be prouder of her son. "I'm excited!" she said. "I'm here to support Wolfie, the Barbie movie, because Wolfie's all throughout it. He did a lot of work with Mark for two days, and I'm really proud of him so I want to support him." "It's so fun because I watch the movie and I hear Wolfie all throughout the chase scene, I hear Wolfie all throughout the Ken fight scene, and it's just like, 'That's my boy!'" Bertinelli gushed. Wolfgang Van Halen and Ryan Gosling perform 'I'm Just Ken' at the 2024 Oscars. Rich Polk/Getty Van Halen, who is also son of the late Eddie Van Halen, plays guitar on the '80s rock ballad alongside Slash and Josh Freese on the drums. He and Slash joined Gosling and dozens of other Kens in cowboy hats (including Simu Liu, Ncuti Gatwa, Scott Evans, and Kingsley Ben-Adir) on stage for an electrifying performance and sing-along that saw director Greta Gerwig, stars Margot Robbie and America Ferrera, and Poor Things winner Emma Stone, among others, belt out the lyrics to the Ken anthem. "I'm Just Ken," written and produced by Ronson and Andrew Wyatt, was nominated in the Best Original Song category at the ceremony. The statuette went to fellow Barbie collaborators Billie Eilis and Finneas O’Connell for "What Was I Made For?" the heart-wrenching ballad that the duo has described as Barbie's "heart song." The summer blockbuster picked up six other nominations that night, including the coveted Best Picture — but that win went to "rival" Oppenheimer. Check out more from EW's The Awardist, featuring exclusive interviews, analysis, and our podcast diving into all the highlights from the year's best in TV. Related content: Oppenheimer dominates 2024 Oscars, Emma Stone upsets in Best Actress: See the complete winners list The best and worst moments from the 2024 Oscars Ryan Gosling leads sublime 'I'm Just Ken' sing-along with costars, audience at 2024 Oscars