The Danish group tells PEOPLE that Nicki Minaj and Ice Spice’s changes to their hit song “Barbie World” have helped them get even more popular.
Aqua’s party is still going strong after almost 30 years in the business.
This year, Nicki Minaj and Ice Spice reworked the Danish Eurodance group’s big hit “Barbie Girl” for the Barbie movie. This brought the band new success in the U.S., with a top-10 hit, two Grammy nominations, a U.S. tour, and a spot on the lineup for this year’s Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest 2024.
“It’s been out-of-this-world fantastic,” Aqua’s keyboardist Søren Rasted tells PEOPLE from behind the scenes at a show.
Lene Nystrøm, lead singer, says, “We didn’t know we had this many fans in America.” “We are just blown away.”
“It’s been many, many, many years since we’ve played a concert where we basically could have been taking the microphone, put it down, and everybody was singing all the lyrics, all the songs — like, really f—ing loud,” says vocalist René Dif. “And that is very impressive.”
Aqua hadn’t really visited the U.S. since “Barbie Girl” became a hit around the time of the release of their first album, Aquarium, in 1997. Back then, Søren, Lene, René, and previous member Claus Norreen were more focused on starting their careers than enjoying every moment, which they can now.
“This time, you actually get to take in what the fans are telling you, and they’ve all got a beautiful story to tell [of] what the music did for them,” says Lene, 50 years old. “It’s very, very touching.”
Even though “Barbie Girl” is still a popular song, it wasn’t clear that 2023’s Barbie would have much of an effect on the song. Ulrich Møller-Jørgensen, Lene’s former boss, told Variety last year that there were no plans for the song to be in the hit movie.
At the time, the band knew that the people working on the Greta Gerwig-directed movie might want to focus on modern music instead of old songs. But later, lead actor Margot Robbie told Rolling Stone that she and Gerwig wanted to include “Barbie Girl.” They were able to do so because soundtrack producer Mark Ronson then worked with Minaj and Ice Spice to make “Barbie World,” which samples Aqua’s original track.
Not only does adding “Barbie Girl” to Barbie make sense for the movie, but it also shows that Mattel, the company that owns the brand, has changed its mind about the classic joke hit. It was 2000, and the company sued Aqua’s record label, MCA Records, saying the song’s cheeky lyrics sexualized Barbie, which was a child’s toy. “I’m a blonde bimbo girl in a fantasy world,” Lene says on the song.
In 2002, the case was thrown out because the court said “Barbie Girl” was protected under the First Amendment as a work of parody. In less than ten years, Mattel used the song in a movie to promote Barbie dolls.
“Isn’t it all about getting noticed? Lene says, “They got attention, and I think they’re cool about everything.” Søren agrees.
It’s possible that the brand doesn’t feel bad about making things right with Aqua. “Barbie World” has been a huge hit since it came out. It peaked at No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100, which is the same spot that “Barbie Girl” held in 1997. The group hasn’t talked to either rapper about working together, but Lene says she “absolutely” likes the new song: “Absolutely.” Oh, I love Nicki. “She’s really great.”
The icing on the cake? Aqua’s “Barbie World” has been nominated for two Grammy Awards: best rap song and best song made for visual media. This is the first time Aqua has been nominated for a Grammy Award. The group did win seven awards at the Danish Music Awards in 1998, which are like the Grammys in that country.
When Søren heard about the votes, it was not long after Aqua got back to the U.S. from their tour, which ended earlier this month. “It couldn’t have been a better timing actually,” he adds. “What a better way to start that?”
“Now, we’re waiting for our invitation [to the ceremony],” says Lene. “We’ll get there.”
Even though Barbie’s year is almost over, Aqua’s fans are still very much alive and well, as shown by their many sold-out shows in the U.S. At the end of 2023, the three will play “Barbie Girl” and “Doctor Jones,” which is another Aquarium song. Lene says, “It’s an honor just to be there.”
Read More: ‘Barbie’ Is At The Top Of The List Of 10 Fims Nominated For An Oscar
Aqua doesn’t have any clear plans to release new music soon—”Our legacy is hard to beat,” jokes Lene—but the band does want to keep touring the world, and they’re open to remixing more of their early hits with other artists.
René, 56, would play “Lollipop” again because “people freak out” when they play it live. Lene, on the other hand, wants to bring “Back from Mars” back to life.
One of their more unusual songs is one that Søren would like to hear again: “For some reason I’d love to see one of the ballads work over here [in the U.S.]”
No matter what comes next for Aqua, the band members are ready. This year has shown them how dedicated their fans are in the U.S. “We should’ve done this 10 years ago,” Søren jokes about going back to Norway.
“To be honest, we didn’t know that we could,” Lene says.
“It is just so fantastic to be a part of something that people have loved and love so much now,” says Rene. “We’re very grateful to our fans.”
What do you say about this story? Visit Parhlo World For more.
