"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 (1997). 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.[10][11] 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 2023 film Barbie and additionally sampled it for a new song, "
Barbie World". Billboard magazine ranked it among the "500 Best Pop Songs of All Time".[5]
Background and composition
Rene came up with the original lyric 'Come on Barbie, Let's go party!' and we wanted to put voices to the dolls and imagine what they would say to each other.
The lyrics of the song 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."[13] "Barbie Girl" is written in the key of
C-sharp minor,[14] using
major chords and an upbeat tempo to create an effect Rasted calls "the plus and minus".[15] The song has a
tempo of 130 beats per minute.[16]
Reception
Critical reception
"Barbie Girl" received critical acclaim.
Larry Flick from Billboard wrote that "with her squeaky, high-pitched delivery,
Lene Grawford Nystrøm fronts this giddy
pop/dance ditty as if she were Barbie, gleefully verbalizing many of the twisted things people secretly do with the doll." He noted that "at the same time, she effectively rants about the inherent
misogyny of Barbie with a subversive hand", adding that
René Dif is an "equally playful and biting presence, as he embodies male counterpart Ken with an amusing leer."[17] 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".[18]David Browne from Entertainment Weekly described it as a "dance-floor novelty that alludes to the secret, less-than-wholesome life of every little girl's fave doll."[19] Another editor, Jeremy Helligar, commented, "There must be something in that
Northern European water. Like recent tunes by their Swedish-pop counterparts
Ace of Base and
the Cardigans, these Danish newcomers' frothy debut is fun, fun, fun—but oh so disposable."[20]
Kevin Courtney from Irish Times named it Single of the Week, calling 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."[21] British magazine Music Week gave the song five out of five and also named it Single of the Week, concluding, "Bleached and blonde this bouncy
Europop tune may be, but dumb it isn't. Its mix of perky vocals, barbed lyrics and infectious energy has already brought it success in Scandinavia and the US. The video is irresistible."[22] A reviewer from People Magazine called it "the year's best novelty record, a cartoonish anthem you'll need surgery to remove from your head."[23]James Hyman from the RM Dance Update gave the song top score, declaring it as "a
Balearic-tinged Euro pop smash hit". He added, "My niece refuses to go to bed unless the video is played several times over; I think that speaks for itself with regard to ongoing single success."[24]
Retrospective response
Stephen Thomas Erlewine from
AllMusic called "Barbie Girl" "one of those inexplicable
pop culture phenomena" and "insanely
catchy", describing it as a "bouncy, slightly warped
Euro-dance song that simultaneously sends up
femininity and Barbie dolls."[6]Insider stated that the song is "sugary sweet" and "totally catchy", viewing it as one of the best songs of the 90s.[25] In an retrospective review, Pop Rescue wrote that "this song is fun, undoubtedly catchy, and bouncy, with the personas of Barbie and Ken fitting perfectly with the vocal contrast."[26] The song ranked number 88 in a
VH1 countdown, "VH1's 100 Greatest One-Hit Wonders".[27] In 2017, BuzzFeed listed it at number 76 in their list of "The 101 Greatest Dance Songs of the '90s".[28] In October 2023, Billboard ranked "Barbie Girl" number 220 in their "500 Best Pop Songs of All Time".[5] They praised its "magic moment"; "Put on your best Ken voice —
René Dif, not
Ryan Gosling — for every "Come on Barbie, let's go party!" shout-along."
Commercial performance
"Barbie Girl" has sold more than eight million copies worldwide.[29] It went on becoming a huge hit on several continents, remaining the most successful song by the band. It reached number one in more than 10 countries. In Europe, the single peaked at the top position in Belgium, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Scotland, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom, as well as on the
Eurochart Hot 100. In the band's native Denmark, the song debuted and peaked at number two.[30] 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.[31] 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.[32] Outside Europe, "Barbie Girl" peaked at number-one in Australia and New Zealand, number four in Canada and number seven on the US BillboardHot 100. On the latter, it debuted at that position. It sold 82,000 copies in its first week and debuted at number five on the BillboardHot Singles Sales chart.[33]
Music video
The accompanying music video for "Barbie Girl" was directed by Danish directors
Peder Pedersen and Peter Stenbæk,[34] 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.[12] The video was also the number one most requested video in the US, having shot from 30 to number one on The Box.[12] The video was uploaded to their official
YouTube channel in August 2010 and reached 1 billion views in February 2022.[35][36]
In September 1997, six months after the release of the song by Aqua, Mattel, the manufacturer of the Barbie doll, sued
MCA Records, Aqua's North American record label. Mattel claimed that "Barbie Girl" violated their trademark and turned her into a sex object, referring to her as a "
blondebimbo".[37] It alleged that the song infringed its
copyrights and trademarks on the Barbie doll and that the song's lyrics had ruined the longtime popularity and reputation of their trademark and impinged on their marketing plan. Aqua and MCA Records claimed that Mattel injected their own meanings into the song's lyrics. They contested Mattel's claims and countersued for defamation after Mattel had likened MCA to a bank robber.[38] The lawsuit filed by Mattel was dismissed by the lower courts, and this dismissal was upheld, with a
certiorari petition denied by the
Supreme Court of the United States.[39]
In 2002, a Court of Appeals ruled the song was protected as a
parody[40] under the trademark doctrine of
nominative use and the
First Amendment to the United States Constitution; the 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."[41] 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 of the song with modified lyrics.[42][43] "
Barbie World", a remake of the song by
Nicki Minaj,
Ice Spice, and Aqua, is featured in the 2023 Mattel-produced film Barbie and on
the film's soundtrack.[44]
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.[45] There were several complaints due to the profanity used during the performance, both at the beginning and end of "Barbie Girl".[46]
Track listings
Danish and European CD and cassette single[47][48]
* Sales figures based on certification alone. ^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. ‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.
In 2005, Brazilian recording artist
Kelly Key recorded a version in Portuguese for her third studio album Kelly Key.[145] The version was released as second single on 15 August 2005.[144] Key said she loved the song and wanted to do a version for honor: "I really like this song since I heard. I wanted to record without thinking about whether my fans will like it or not".[146]
The song received generally negative reviews from music critics. Vinícius Versiani Durães of IMHO said that that version was funny and a future success.[147][better source needed] Marcos Paulo Bin of Universo Musical commented that the song was really different from previous releases – known for explicit lyrics – but was positive and said the version was good.[146] Rodrigo Ortega of Pilula Pop said "Barbie Girl" was sensational, funny, and chose it as the best song of the album. He also said that Key was wrong to have released "Escuta Aqui Rapaz" as her first single, because "the song was boring", but "Barbie Girl" saved the era.[148] Carlos Eduardo Lima of Scream & Yell was negative and said the song was "childish, silly, boring" and killed Kelly Key as a sex-symbol.[149]
The music video for "Barbie Girl" was recorded on 17 and 18 August 2005. It was directed by Ricardo Vereza, Bidu Madio, Rentz and Mauricio Eça.[150] In the video, released on 30 August, Kelly plays a determined and
feminist woman.[151]
This song is internationally notable to be wrongly attributed to Czech model Dominika Myslivcová as she uploaded a video on YouTube lip-synching to this song and later it became a
viral video.[152]
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".[153]
In 2022, British singer
Tom Aspaul named his album Life in Plastic after a line from the song.[154]
References
^
abcSandiford-Waller, Theda (16 August 1997).
"Hot 100 Singles Spotlight". Billboard. Vol. 109, no. 33. p. 82. 'Barbie Girl' [...] was released as a single in April in Denmark. The stateside commercial single arrives at retail Aug. 19.
^Barbie Girl (Danish & European cassette single sleeve). Aqua. Universal Records. 1997. UMC 80413.{{
cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (
link)
^Barbie Girl (UK CD1 liner notes). Aqua. Universal Records. 1997. UMD 80413.{{
cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (
link)
^Barbie Girl (UK CD2 liner notes). Aqua. Universal Records. 1997. UMDX 80413.{{
cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (
link)
^Barbie Girl (US CD single liner notes). Aqua.
MCA Records. 1997. MCADS-55392.{{
cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (
link)
^Barbie Girl (US cassette single sleeve). Aqua. MCA Records. 1997. MCACS-55392.{{
cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (
link)
^Barbie Girl (US, Canadian & Australian maxi-CD single liner notes). Aqua. MCA Records. 1997. MCADM-55393.{{
cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (
link)
^Barbie Girl (US 12-inch single sleeve). Aqua. MCA Records. 1997. MCA12-55393.{{
cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (
link)