Aqua’s 25th Anniversary Re-Issue of ‘Aquarium’ Shows They’re More Than Just ‘Barbie Girl’

“I judge erstwhile you bash thing that’s truly special, determination volition ever beryllium radical who emotion you and radical who hatred you. The worst would beryllium if radical didn’t adjacent care,” Søren Rasted tells HollywoodLife arsenic he, Lene Nystrøm, and René Dif – aka the dance-pop dynamos Aqua – sermon the peculiar 25th Anniversary re-issue of their debut album, Aquarium. When the Danish-Norwegian radical archetypal made a splash successful 1997, it was little of a breakthrough and much of a tsunami, acknowledgment to their song, “Barbie Girl.”

With an infectious Eurodance beat, an undeniable earworm for a chorus, and a charismatic back-and-forth from the heavenly Lene and the gruff but debonaire René, the opus blew up, topping charts crossed the satellite (while reaching No. 7 connected the Billboard Hot 100 present successful the U.S.) In the years pursuing the group’s success, determination was a “Barbie Girl” backlash, with Rolling Stone readers naming it “the worst opus of the Nineties” successful a 2011 poll.

Yet, a quarter-of-a-century aft that auspicious debut, the set seems vindicated. Not lone has “Barbiecore” go en vogue in 2022, and the Greta Gerwig-directed, Margot Robbie-starring Barbie stands arsenic 1 of the astir awaited movies of adjacent year, but the message astatine the bosom of “Barbie Girl” – that it’s good to beryllium the idiosyncratic you are  – echoes passim GenZ/Millennial societal media.

This isn’t to accidental that the set has wholly ignored the haters – nor bash they wholly disagree. “In immoderate ways, [that R.S. poll] was a bully happening to us,” says Søren. “Yes, we took it arsenic a immense compliment,” Lene. “It is an annoying song, I know,” added Søren with a laugh.

“[‘Barbie Girl’] sticks to your brain, and the kids wanted to perceive it implicit and implicit again, and you can’t truly flight from it,” says Lene. “We 1 stood successful beforehand of a writer who was truly aggressive, and helium said, ‘do you consciousness similar this euphony is making radical much anserine than they are,’ and I retrieve answering that if helium wanted to telephone 25 cardinal radical stupid, that’s connected you and past we near [laughs]. When thing becomes truthful popular, determination volition beryllium radical hating it too.”

“I think, astatine the time,” she adds, “Barbie was already a intersexual entity successful immoderate way. But that mightiness person turned astir contiguous and go an representation of a beardown autarkic pistillate who is capable to bash it each connected her ain and who is not babelike connected Ken. They managed to crook it astir somehow.”

René Dif and Lene Nystrøm of Aqua successful performance astatine CasinoRama, Toronto, Canada successful July 2022 (Shutterstock)

The 25th day of Aquarium may besides assistance crook astir Aqua’s bequest successful the United States. The U.S. whitethorn chiefly cognize the radical for “Barbie Girl,” but Aqua has scored chart-topping and Top 10 hits with their follow-up singles. When asked what songs fans — who ordered either the pinkish oregon white-colored vinyl pressing of Aquarium – should perceive to with this caller re-release, Rene told HollywoodLife, “I decidedly deliberation they should cheque retired ‘Doctor Jones.'”

“Yeah that was the occupation successful the U.S.,” adds Søren. The 2nd azygous was ‘Lollipop (Candyman),’ and it didn’t truly enactment successful the U.S. In each different countries, ‘Doctor Jones,’ ‘Turn Back Time,’ ‘Roses Are Red,’ and ‘My Oh My’ had been singles and worked truly well, truthful I deliberation they should cheque retired those tracks.”

There is besides thing bully astir putting connected an full medium from opening to extremity and truly perceive to it,” adds Lene. “People thin to conscionable shuffle done music, and sometimes that’s a shame. It is precise cozy with the vinyl and listening to it all, I believe.”

It seems that the re-issue of Aquarium has arrived astatine the close time. For fans who acquisition Aqua’s breakthrough firsthand, the re-issue is simply a adjuvant reminder of their pop-music prowess. For those who weren’t astir successful the late-90s, this is simply a much-needed burst of happiness.

“If you deliberation astir however the satellite looks today, I deliberation a batch of radical could usage a small uplifting popular euphony during each the brainsick things happening astir the satellite close now,” says Rene. “When we archetypal began releasing euphony it was a wholly antithetic time; the euphony was darker, determination were a batch of guitars, and it conscionable wasn’t arsenic popular arsenic we were. You don’t person to deliberation precise overmuch astir what you perceive to, it’s much an energy. I deliberation this could beryllium immoderate of the reasons wherefore radical support loving the euphony [in Aquarium]. And past the lyrics are conscionable precise good written [for] popular songs.”

The fans look to agree. Though the set has undergone a hiatus oregon 2 successful its 25-year history, request for their marque of euphony keeps bringing them back. Plus, it’s astonishing who precisely is an Aqua-holic. “Every clip we person a performance I spot radical with dense metallic t-shirts,” says Søren. “I don’t cognize if they’re determination due to the fact that they emotion the euphony oregon possibly due to the fact that they person a woman who does [laughs].”

“I deliberation it’s the mode we perform,” suggests Lene. “The dependable becomes a spot harder — we spell beyond the signifier somehow. So adjacent though you mightiness not spell location and perceive to Aqua, you find it bully astatine the unrecorded shows due to the fact that of the vigor we enactment retired there.”

“It’s hard to accidental for us,” says Søren. “I deliberation the unrecorded happening is thing other that can’t truly beryllium compared to listening to the music. You tin bask watching a popular set our caliber but not truly bask the euphony arsenic such.”

“I deliberation the afloat acquisition of a set is firstly met aft seeing them live,” says Lene. “There are galore bands you don’t truly similar erstwhile listening to the euphony but wherever it wholly changed erstwhile you spot them live. The ‘wow, okay, present I get it’ feeling.”

And what would 1997-era Aqua accidental to their 2022 counterparts, knowing they were inspiring that feeling twenty-five years aft their breakthrough? “I would accidental congratulations, springiness myself a hug and archer myself that I inactive looked good,” says Lene. “It ne'er helps regretting stuff, truthful I ne'er did that. It’s a discarded of time.”

“We person conscionable been fortunate each the way, and we person truly made immoderate close decisions on the way,” says Rene. “I wouldn’t person believed it if I was told we would beryllium wherever we are contiguous 25 years later. And I don’t deliberation it would person been steadfast to know. I deliberation you would accent yourself retired astir however to get to that constituent and marque a batch of atrocious decisions connected the way. So, I deliberation what we did was conscionable targeting what we believed was the close things, but I would person recovered it to beryllium surreal astatine the time, and it wouldn’t person been amusive to cognize what would hap successful the aboriginal astatine all.”

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Worrying astir the aboriginal isn’t successful the cards for Aqua, but the set did stock what they deliberation Aquarium’s legacy would beryllium like, erstwhile the great, expansive past publication of euphony is written. “Just the information that we’re inactive sitting present I find beauteous crazy,” admits Søren erstwhile reasoning backmost connected 25 years of Aqua.

“They volition astir apt constitute that [Aquarium] was a hopelessly annoying album,” Lene says with a laugh, “but that it was well-written.”

“Maybe it volition accidental that it was 1 of the bands who managed to support their careers rolling for much than 30 oregon 35 years and particularly wrong popular euphony which tends to alteration each the time,” contemplates Rene. “Maybe it’s random and highly fortunate that the young procreation abruptly taps into the euphony connected TikTok and such, but it’s besides our hard enactment that pays off, I’m sure. It’s not lone amusive and partying, but it besides takes a batch of hard work.”

“But it volition surely beryllium connected wherever this past publication is written,” says Søren. “I judge the U.S. would absorption solely connected ‘Barbie Girl’ whereas large parts of the remainder of the satellite would absorption connected a batch of our music.”

“But possibly we’re not done with the U.S. yet,” suggests Rene. “Maybe we tin inactive person them of different songs than ‘Barbie Girl’?”

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Click here for much information astir Aqua’s 25th re-issue of Aquarium