One of the main set pieces in the Barbie movie is when Ryan Gosling‘s Ken sits around a campfire and sings Matchbox Twenty’s 1996 single “Push” to Barbie — or more specifically, at Barbie — for hours. Gosling’s version of the song is even included in the deluxe version of the Barbie soundtrack. Thanks to all that exposure, the song has returned to the Billboard charts.
The original version of “Push” has now reached the top 20 on three different Billboard tallies. “Push” has entered Billboard‘s Hot Rock & Alternative Songs chart at #17, and it’s at #11 on Hot Alternative Songs. On Hot Rock Songs, it’s #13.
As previously reported, Gosling’s version of “Push” has entered the Billboard Hot 100 at #97. Billboard also reports that streams of the song are up 31%, while downloads were up 201%.
After “Push” was first released in 1996, it hit #1 on Alternative Airplay in 1997, and also hit the top 10 on various pop and rock charts.
The song’s lyrics — “I wanna push you around/I wanna push you down/I wanna take you for granted” — fit perfectly into the plot of the film. Matchbox Twenty’s Rob Thomas says he originally wrote “Push” the perspective of a girlfriend who’d treated him badly.
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