Barbie: Rob Thomas' Crush On Greta Gerwig Enticed Him To Let Ken Sing Matchbox Twenty's Push

Contains spoilers for "Barbie"

There are numerous reasons for the success of "Barbie," but it's impossible to ignore music's impact on the film. It had a killer soundtrack, including the instant earworm "I'm Just Ken," but one needle drop had people cracking up long after the credits rolled. When the Kens take over Barbieland, there's a beat where they all start strumming guitars and sing "Push" by Matchbox Twenty at their respective Barbies.

The '90s alt-rock song feels like a perfect fit, and no doubt many women can relate to being with a guy who feels compelled to play guitar and sing at them. Director Greta Gerwig told USA Today, "Growing up, I loved that song." But the outlet also had a chance to speak with Matchbox Twenty frontman Rob Thomas about his thoughts on his song being used essentially to portray the growing patriarchy and toxic masculinity in Barbieland.

Fortunately, he had a sense of humor about it, as he was used to being the butt of the joke in the '90s, "I want to preface this by saying that I thought it was hilarious. But in 'Bring It On,' (Kirsten Dunst's character) has this douchey boyfriend. And there's a scene where he was in his dorm room with a Matchbox Twenty poster in the background. There was a whole period during the '90s where the more successful we got, the bigger target we were. We were an easy takedown." But Thomas appreciated his song being used in such a great movie from the singer's crush.

"Push" by Matchbox Twenty was likely the bane of many women's existence in the '90s, but it's also appropriate for what's happening in "Barbie." The song's about an emotionally abusive girlfriend, so it makes sense the Kens would gravitate toward it. They feel as though they've been taken for granted by the Barbies, and with the patriarchy now in Barbieland, they decide to push them around for a change. 

Despite believing the song wouldn't be portrayed great in the movie, Rob Thomas agreed for them to use it anyway and was delighted at the final result: "I did this thinking I'd be the butt of the joke, and I was fine with that. I'm pretty thick-skinned. But Julie Greenwald (from Atlantic Records) 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. Alright, really good!'"

But Thomas had another personal connection to letting "Barbie" use Matchbox Twenty's song, and it comes down to him having a crush on Greta Gerwig. He concluded, "Greta Gerwig has been one of my crushes forever, to the point where I was on a plane one time and I called my wife, like, 'Baby, Greta Gerwig just came on the plane, oh my god.' So just the fact that it didn't diminish my crush of Greta, that's even better." Using "Push" for that moment in "Barbie" was a stroke of genius. In a film with many great musical moments, it really stood out.