"Barbie Girl" is a song by Danish-Norwegian dance-pop group Aqua. It was released in April 1997 by Universal and MCA as the third single from the group's debut studio album, Aquarium. The song was written by band members Søren Rasted, Claus Norreen, René Dif, and Lene Nystrøm, and was produced by the former two alongside Johnny Jam and Delgado. It was written after Rasted saw an exhibit on kitsch culture in Denmark that featured Barbie dolls. The accompanying music video was directed by Danish directors Peder Pedersen and Peter Stenbæk.
The song topped the charts worldwide, particularly in European countries such as the United Kingdom, where it was a number-one hit for four weeks and remains one of the best-selling singles of all time. It also reached number two in the group's homeland and peaked at number seven on the US Billboard Hot 100. It is Aqua's most popular work and was also performed as the interval act in the Eurovision Song Contest 2001. Mattel accused Aqua's label of diluting the image of Barbie, leading to the controversial lawsuit Mattel, Inc. v. MCA Records, Inc.. Twenty-five years later, Mattel licensed the song in the film Barbie and additionally sampled it for a new song, Nicki Minaj and Ice Spice's "Barbie World" for Barbie the Album. That same year, Billboard magazine ranked it among the "500 Best Pop Songs of All Time".
Contents
Background
The lyrics of the song "Barbie Girl" are about Barbie and Ken, the dolls made by Mattel. Both the song and its music video feature Lene Nystrøm as Barbie and René Dif as Ken. As such, the lyrics drew the ire of Barbie's corporate owners, and a lawsuit was filed by Mattel.
A footnote on the back of the Aquarium CD case precisely stated that "The song 'Barbie Girl' is a social comment and was not created or approved by the makers of the doll." "Barbie Girl" is written in the key of C-sharp minor, using major chords and an upbeat tempo to create an effect band member Søren Rasted calls "the plus and minus". The song has a tempo of 130 beats per minute.
Although "Barbie Girl" was released the same year as the pitch correction software Auto-Tune, it was not yet available when the song was recorded and mastered. Rasted said that Nystrøm naturally portrayed the high-pitched Barbie voice in the studio.
Content
As critics such as Larry Flick and David Browne summarized, "Barbie Girl" is a Balearic-tinged Europop, Euro-dance and dance-pop novelty song where Nystrøm, in a squeaky high pitch as Barbie, satirizes the doll's inherent misogyny by excitedly talking about the inappropriate, unethical things some people secretly do with a Barbie doll. René, as a leery Ken, serves as a "equally playful and biting" counterpart to Barbie.
Critical reception
"Barbie Girl" received acclaim from publications such as People Magazine, who called it "the year's best novelty record, a cartoonish anthem you'll need surgery to remove from your head". 5/5 scores and Single of the Week honors were given to the song by publications such as the Irish Times, who called it "a supreme slice of cheese which out-hums even the mighty Whigfield" and saying that Aqua had "hit the perfect wally beat, and this awful tune is set to dominate the dance-floor and do kinky things to it." The Scottish Daily Record stated, "Love them or hate them, you have to admit Aqua's silly doll song is pure pop and the video is great, too".
Commercial performance
"Barbie Girl" has sold more than eight million copies worldwide. Stalling at number two in the band's native Denmark, the song was a sales chart topper in the entire continent of Europe and more than ten countries. In the United Kingdom, it debuted on the UK Singles Chart at number two and reached number one the next week, on 26 October 1997. It stayed at that position for four weeks and has sold and streamed 2.4 million units in the United Kingdom as of September 2023. On the US Billboard Hot 100, one of few records to combine airplay and sales, it debuted at number seven; it sold 82,000 copies in its first week and debuted at number five on the Hot 100's component chart for sales, Hot Singles Sales.
"Barbie Girl" was part of a mid-to-late-1990s trend of popular music coming from Scandinavian acts like Sweden's Ace of Base and the Cardigans that Jeremy Helligar labeled as "fun, fun, fun—but oh so disposable". Critics from Music Week and Record Mirror attributed the commercial success to its "mix of perky vocals, barbed lyrics and infectious energy", as well as its "irresistible video".
Legacy
In later decades, critics remember "Barbie Girl" as one of the best songs of the 1990s, as well as one of the decade's best dance and eurodance songs. Of all-time, Billboard ranked "Barbie Girl" number 220 in their list of the 500 best pop songs, and a VH1 one-hit wonder countdown ranked it number 88. Stephen Thomas Erlewine from AllMusic called "Barbie Girl" an inexplicable pop culture phenomena. While post-modern irony had been a staple of popular culture throughout the 1990s up to "Barbie Girl"'s release, the song was popular music's introduction to it. Andrew Unterberger of Billboard, who ranked "Barbie Girl" the ninth-best song of 1997 in 2017, called it a cartoon version of "Supermodel" (1995) by Jill Sobule, the theme of the teen comedy film Clueless (1995). The song has also become an "absolutely transcendent karaoke" staple, attributed by Unterberger to its "absurd male-female vocals and Babelfished-sounding lyrics".
Music video
The music video for "Barbie Girl" was directed by Danish directors Peder Pedersen and Peter Stenbæk, and depicts the band members in different scenes that a Barbie doll would be in. It has Nystrøm dressed as various Barbie dolls skulking around her swimming pool at home after Dif, dressed as Barbie's love interest Ken, accidentally pulls her arm off. The video was also the number one most requested video in the US, having shot from 30 to number one on the US channel The Box. The video was uploaded to their official YouTube channel in August 2010 and reached 1 billion views in February 2022.
Controversies
Mattel lawsuit
In September 1997, six months after the release of the song by Aqua, Mattel, the toy manufacturer of the Barbie doll line, sued MCA Records, Aqua's North American record label. The company claimed that "Barbie Girl" violated their trademark and turned the doll into a sex object, and referred to her as a "blonde bimbo". Their case also alleged that the song infringed its copyrights and trademarks on the Barbie doll and that the lyrics had ruined the longtime popularity and reputation of their trademark, impinging on their marketing plan. Aqua and MCA Records claimed that Mattel injected their own meanings into the song's lyrics, contesting Mattel's claims and countersuing for defamation, after Mattel had likened MCA to a "bank robber". The lawsuit filed by Mattel was ultimately dismissed by the lower courts, with this dismissal upheld and a certiorari petition denied by the Supreme Court of the United States.
In 2002, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled that the song was protected as a parody under the trademark doctrine of nominative use and the First Amendment to the United States Constitution; Judge Alex Kozinski also threw out the defamation lawsuit that Aqua's record company filed against Mattel, concluding his ruling thus: "The parties are advised to chill." The case was dismissed.
In 2009, as part of a marketing strategy to revive sales, Mattel released a series of advertisements and a promotional music video featuring the song, with modified lyrics. In 2023, with the global release of the Mattel-produced film Barbie (starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling as Barbie and Ken), a new song entitled "Barbie World" (performed by rappers Nicki Minaj and Ice Spice) was included on the film's soundtrack.
Eurovision Song Contest 2001
As the interval act during the Eurovision Song Contest 2001, Aqua performed a medley of their singles along with percussion ensemble Safri Duo. There were several complaints due to the profanity used during the performance, both at the beginning and end of "Barbie Girl".
Credits
Credits are adapted from liner notes of the "Barbie Girl" CD single and Aquarium.
Written by Claus Norreen, Lene Nystrøm, René Dif, and Søren Rasted
Performed by Norreen, Rasted
Vocals by Nystrøm, Dif
Hair and make-up by Fjodor Øxenhave
Styling by Aqua, Bjarne Lindgreen
Artwork by Peter Stenbæk
Photo by Robin Skoldborg
Produced, arranged, and mixed by Norreen, Jam, Delgado, Rasted
Cover versions and parodies
The song has been covered by several artists over the years. Alternative metal band Faith No More covered the song live in 1997 during their Album of the Year Tour. Identical twin sisters Amanda and Samantha Marchant, better known as Samanda, released their cover of the song on 8 October 2007, and it entered the UK Singles Chart at number 26. Girls' Generation's Jessica Jung covered this song as her solo performance during the first Asian concert tour Into the New World. The Swedish artist Loke Nyberg did a new version of this song for the Swedish radio show Morgonpasset. He interprets the song as criticism of today's beauty ideals. In 2013, Ludacris sampled the song in his single "Party Girls" featuring Wiz Khalifa, Jeremih and Cashmere Cat. In 2016, Caramella Girls released a version called "Candy Girl" on iTunes, as well as a YouTube music video. The most recent rendition of the song was recorded by Ice Spice and Nicki Minaj, accompanied by Aqua, titled "Barbie World". The track was released as the fourth single on the official Barbie soundtrack Barbie the Album in June 2023, ahead of the film's release on 21 July 2023.
There are also many parodies of the song, including a parody called "Ugly Girl", with an unverified author (often wrongly credited to "Weird Al" Yankovic, Adam Henderson, or Jack Off Jill) . German duo Lynne & Tessa made a lip-synched Internet video of the song in 2006, and on British Indian sketch comedy show Goodness Gracious Me, where a version titled "Punjabi Girl" was featured in the radio series and later on television, performed by Asifa Lahore. In 2012, the song was parodied in an Australian lamb advertising campaign, relying on the Australian use of the term "barbie" to refer to the outdoor barbecue popularly held in Australia. The advertisement starred Melissa Tkautz and Sam Kekovich. In 2014, the song was used in the South Park season 18 episode "Cock Magic". Ava Max recorded a version with new lyrics, titled "Not Your Barbie Girl", for her album Heaven & Hell in 2018.
Kelly Key version
In 2005, Brazilian recording artist Kelly Key recorded a version in Portuguese for her third studio album Kelly Key, which was released as the album's second single on 15 August 2005. Key said she loved the song and wanted to cover it as a tribute to the original, stating: "I've loved this song ever since I heard it. I made a point of recording it, without worrying about whether it was for my audience or not."
"Barbie Girl" received generally negative reviews from music critics. Vinícius Versiani Durães of IMHO felt it was humorous and would later become a hit. Marcos Paulo Bin of Universo Musical commented that the song was significantly different from her previous releases, which were known for explicit lyrics, but ultimately give it a positive review. Rodrigo Ortega of Pilula Pop said "Barbie Girl" was sensational and funny, calling it the best song on the album. He also stated that Key should have released "Escuta Aqui Rapaz" as her first single because "the song was boring", but "Barbie Girl" saved the album. Carlos Eduardo Lima of Scream & Yell said the song was "childish, silly and boring" and killed Kelly Key's status as a sex symbol.
The music video for "Barbie Girl" was directed by Ricardo Vereza, Bidu Madio, Rentz and Mauricio Eça. It was filmed on 17 and 18 August, later premiering on 30 August. The video features Key playing a determined and feminist woman.
A YouTube video of Czech model Dominika Myslivcová lip syncing to the song became a viral video worldwide. Due to its success, it has often been wrongly attributed to Myslivcová.
"Barbie Girl" – 3:20
"Barbie Girl" (Cuca Mix) – 5:12
"Barbie Girl" (Music video) – 3:23
References in media
Environmental movements, like Fridays for Future, when trying to bring attention to the heavy amounts of plastic thrown by humans into the seas, have referred the song lyrics in their slogans with the words "Life in plastic is not fantastic".
In 2022, British singer Tom Aspaul named his album Life in Plastic after a line from the song.