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In this article, Tessa goes in-depth on Austin Moon's Kenergy throughout Disney Channel's Austin and Ally.
Kenergy in Austin and ALly
Kenergy in Austin and ALly
By Tessa Hager
By Tessa Hager
Austin. The man. The icon. The Moon. But who is Austin? And how does he display the ominous Kenergy? What even is “Kenergy”? According to the founder, Ryan Gosling, it can be defined as a verb. Gosling stated, “To Ken is to give more than is necessary or required to reflect so that others might shine.” Throughout the entirety of the four-season run of Disney Channel’s Austin and Ally, Austin Moon— on every occasion— shows his prioritization of Ally. While he is known as the main global superstar, Ally writes all the music and he always makes sure to give her the spotlight when there is a spotlight to shine. Kenergy is not simply about how one appears physically, but how one acts selflessly in different situations.
Character Development
Character Development
In the first episode, Austin initially comes off as a self-centered, entitled, egotistical nitwit who only cares about becoming famous, even at the cost of Ally. He gains popularity overnight by releasing his first song— a song that he overheard Ally singing in her dad’s music store. She is rightfully enraged about him stealing her song, especially since, with her stage fright, she cannot perform her music. He reveals that he believed he came up with the song on his own, but he is unwilling to tell the truth to his fans due to the embarrassment. However, when he is expected to have another song, he returns to Ally and begs for an Allyance. Throughout the first season, they are suspected of being in a relationship, but they are not quite to that point. Not until season two, when Austin helps Ally get over her stage fright. After a heartfelt moment on stage, the song partners end up getting a smoochy backstage. They end up dating for a few episodes, but break up until almost the end of season three. During this break-up, they remain friends and Austin clearly wishes to be with her the entire time, even when they both decide to date other people. Although he started as a self-obsessed, brainless, half-witted fool, he developed into a man who prioritizes his friendships and the love of his life, Ally.
Photo Credit: IMDb
Prioritizes Ally
Prioritizes Ally
Photo Credit: Austin and Ally Wiki
There is nothing more Kenergetic than when Austin prioritizes Ally. Any of Austin’s other romantic relationships never stood a chance against his loyalty to Ally. When Ally becomes too busy to write songs for Austin to perform, she gifts him a songbook and tells him to write about his favorite things and the people he loves. He ends up writing a love song that is clearly about Ally, but it gets put up for debate, as there were three other girls it could have been about. However, he revealed at the end of that episode that it was, indeed, about his beloved Ally. Now, that was deeper into the third season, but Austin shows strong signs of Kenergy from the start. In the eighth episode of the first season, Ally is hoping for a slow dance with the guy that she likes, but she gets rejected. She hides underneath a table, but Austin finds her and climbs under the table to talk to her. He boosts her confidence and gets her back on the dance floor. Austin is meant to perform a song that night, but he sees Ally looking sadly at the guy she wants to dance with. He then tells everyone that there is only time for one song, and he would rather spend that time dancing with one of his best friends, Ally. She is concerned for him, as he was going to perform for an important club owner, but he tells her that “It’s more important that the coolest girl here finally gets her dance.” Although they were still just friends in the first season, Austin was obviously Kenning for her from the beginning.
Ready to Quit His Career— Then Actually Did
Ready to Quit His Career— Then Actually Did
Throughout the entire show, Austin is ready to quit his career at the drop of a hat when it conflicts with his relationship with Ally. In the first season, Ally has extreme stage fright. When an elementary school rival comes back to ruin Austin’s career unless Ally performs a song she wrote in kindergarten, Ally is seemingly forced to face her stage fright before she is ready. Seeing Ally struggling on stage, Austin runs up there like the Ken he is and takes the guitar from her, stating “I don’t care if [she] ruins my career. I’d rather that happen than let you suffer.” In the third episode of season two, Austin’s career is on the line as his manager (and friend) lied about him and his life on a form that submitted him for a magazine cover. They wrote that he does insane stunts and parties every night, but the major issue was they wrote that the four friends go bungee jumping. When Ally is terrified to go bungee jumping, Austin is willing to risk his first national magazine cover for her, stating, “You’re more important to me than all of that.” Then, only a few episodes later, Ally wants a record deal with Jimmy Starr, the same record label that Austin works with. However, Jimmy tells her that he will not sign them both. Near the end of the episode, Austin tells him to sign Ally instead of him. Then, at the end of season three, Austin and Ally are finally back together and excited to go public at an award show. However, when Austin’s record label boss, Jimmy, tells him he cannot have a public girlfriend since his “teenage girl fans” want him to be single, Ally breaks up with him so that he does not have to choose. During the award show, Austin runs up to the stage, takes the microphone from a girl who had just won an award, and tells everyone that he loves Ally. He is then banned from performing, making music, and having any media appearances until the middle of season four. However, with Austin’s high levels of Kenergy, he is happy to give the spotlight to Ally and watch her perform on stage during her first tour.
Photo Credit: Hollywood Life
Kenergy can be subjective. It can be a verb, a noun, or simply an adjective. With the fluidity of the definition of “Kenergy”, it can be difficult to pin down who has it and who does not. Gosling himself has stated, “Very little is known about Kenergy… We don’t have the funding for the research.” Even with all of this heated debate, everyone can agree that Austin Moon shows some of the strongest signs of Kenergy.
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