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The vibrant energy of the ’90s was reignited as the iconic Danish pop band Aqua took the stage at The Fillmore in Philadelphia, Pa. The air was buzzing with anticipation, and fans from all walks of life gathered to witness a nostalgic journey through the band’s chart-topping hits.

As the lights dimmed, the unmistakable beat of “Cartoon Heroes” filled the venue, instantly transporting the audience back to a time when catchy pop tunes ruled the airwaves. Aqua, led by the charismatic Lene Nystrøm and René Dif, burst onto the stage with infectious enthusiasm, setting the tone for a night of pure entertainment.

The stage was bathed in a sea of vibrant colors, mirroring the band’s playful and lively persona. Aqua’s musician Søren Rasted, demonstrated his musical prowess, delivering tight and energetic performances that showcased the evolution of the band’s sound over the years.

The setlist featured...

The Scandinavian pop group’s sly, satirical take on Barbie pre-empted the hit film’s own subversion by 26 years. And they’ve noted some similarities …

In the middle of a recent New York City concert, Aqua’s male lead vocalist René Dif and keyboardist Søren Rasted looked at each other in elation and disbelief. As singer Lene Nystrøm warbled towards the refrain of Calling You – a mostly overlooked number that closed out their 1997 debut album Aquarium – the tightly packed audience of 1,200 (aged roughly nine to 65) were confidently singing along, not missing a beat.

“I went: what is going on?!” Dif tells me the following afternoon at the rooftop bar of their hotel. “They can even sing this song? And it was not just five people!”...

Come on Barbie, let’s go party.

Those words, spoken by Aqua member René Dif in the 1997 hit song “Barbie Girl,” are back in the pop cultural zeitgeist. The success of Greta Gerwig‘s Barbie movie has led to viewership spikes on several related music videos, including “Barbie Girl.”

According to data from Vevo, the “Barbie Girl” music video tripled its average day-to-day viewership in the week after Barbie‘s theatrical release. The video, which joined YouTube’s billion-view club last year, was already an enduring international hit. Its sudden jump to 3x viewership — even though it did not appear on the Barbie soundtrack — shows us just how big Gerwig’s film has become.

Barbie has received particular praise for its music supervision. The songs that did make it into the film include new tracks by artists like Lizzo, Haim, and Charli Xcx. Nicki Minaj and Ice Spice‘s “Barbie...

Tl;Dr:

Aqua’s “Barbie Girl” uses metaphors to tackle some taboo subjects. A member of the band didn’t want to look like Barbie in the music video for the song. She explanied how she was able to get the record label to accept her decision.

Novelty music has layers sometimes. For example, Aqua’s “Barbie Girl” has a positive message. The new film Barbie has a similar message.

Aqua’s ‘Barbie Girl’ was supposed to have important messages and a light tone

During a 2022 interview with Rolling Stone, Aqua member René Dif, who plays the role of Ken in the song and the video, discussed his interpretation of the track. “The message is that it’s Ok to be the person you are and look the way you look and be confident in that,” he said. “You don’t necessarily have to have plastic surgeries to be a better person.

High-pitched vocals, bright visuals, and kitschy lyrics made pop band Aqua’s ‘Barbie Girl’ a novelty hit for the ages, and the perky euro-pop anthem, which took the world by storm in 1997, is still going strong 25 years later.

The video has amassed more than 1.1 billion views on YouTube but the main question is will the song make it to Greta Gerwig’s upcoming ‘Barbie’ movie?

The answer to that question is no, reports ‘Variety’.

Which isn’t surprising given that Mattel sued Aqua in the ’90s and lost but it’s still disappointing for many.

The Danish-Norwegian group, however, is decidedly confused.

Lene Nystrom theorizes that using ‘Barbie Girl’ in the movie would be too on-the-nose or, in her words, “cheese on cheese”.

Soren Rasted finds the whole situation amusing: “We should say we turned it down. Ryan Gosling is not good enough!”

However, they’re excited for the film.

If you were alive in the late '90s, you've almost certainly heard Aqua's "Barbie Girl." At once a catchy earworm and a deeply silly novelty tune, it remains one of the more inexplicable songs to ever top the charts. Listeners almost certainly will have a different relationship to the song depending on how old they were when they heard it, but as a very young kid in the '90s, it was a song I heard — and loved -- mostly at sleepovers, where it was in heavy rotation. I most distinctly remember dancing to it at a cousin's birthday party, after we set up her new password journal but before we stuffed ourselves with brightly colored birthday cake ice cream.

That type of hot-pink-tinged memory is right in line with the magic of "Barbie Girl," a celebratory song that imagines a world where "life is plastic" and "it's fantastic.

“Come on Barbie, let’s go party!” is the immortal refrain from Aqua’s 1997 song “Barbie Girl” but when it comes to the upcoming Margot Robbie movie, Aqua haven’t been invited to join the fun.

Despite fans insisting that the Europop banger – which has clocked up over a billion views on YouTube – should appear in the soundtrack to the Mattel and Warner Bros. film, Variety understands there are no plans for that to happen.

If Barbie Girl by Aqua isn't in the end credits of the Barbie movie I want my money back

— TheTatermeister is obsessed w/Minecraft (@TheT8ermeister) April 27, 2022

If Aqua’s “Barbie Girl” doesn’t appear on the Barbie soundtrack… pic.twitter.com/HiVbibfH12

— art tavana (@arttavana) April 27, 2022

“The song will not be used in the movie,” Ulrich Møller-Jørgensen, who manages Aqua lead singer Lene Nystrøm, tells Variety.

Variety has reached out to Warner Bros. for comment.

When the readers of Rolling Stone were asked to pick the worst song of the Nineties back in 2011, they didn’t go with “Macarena,” “Achy Breaky Heart,” “MMMBop,” “Mmm Mmm Mmm,” “Nookie,” or even “I’m Too Sexy.” The proud honor went to “Barbie Girl.” And even if you’ve never heard of the Danish-Norwegian Europop group Aqua, you’ve definitely heard their song that proudly declares, “Life in plastic, it’s fantastic.” “Barbie Girl” was inescapable when it arrived 25 years ago, and it’s never truly gone away. This past February,...

What's more "Christmas" than a rolling ball of meat morphing into a tree and singing about boogers? That's right, Nothing. Meatwad, Master Shake, Frylock, Carl, and -- believe it or not - Neko Case (who just became one of my favorite singers of all time) have teamed together for what will no doubt be this season's must-have stocking stuffer: the 12-track Have Yourself a Meaty Little Christmas, set for CD and download release Nov. 3 through Adult Swim’s Williams Street Records. EW has exclusive song samples (one below and more, along with the full track listing, after the jump) and...