NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: Aqua, the Danish-Norwegian band that shot to fame with their catchy and controversial hit 'Barbie Girl' in 1997, faced backlash from some critics and listeners who find the song's lyrics misogynistic and harmful to young girls. The song, which features band members Lene Nystrom and Rene Dif as Mattel dolls Barbie and Ken, contains sexual innuendos and references to plastic surgery, bimbo culture, and objectification.
However, not everyone agrees that the song is problematic, as some fans have defended it as a classic pop tune that is meant to be ironic and satirical. The song also did not prevent the success of the new Barbie movie starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling, which premiered in Los Angeles recently.
'Barbie girl, Aqua is such a misogynistic song'
"Barbie girl, Aqua is such a misogynistic song, i feel sick," a user wrote on Twitter back in 2014, "I know the song Barbie Girl probably has internalized misogynistic origins but I listen to that song like it is my own personal anthem. YES I AM A BLONDE BIMBO GIRL IN A FANTASY WORLD!," one of the fans wrote on Twitter in 2021. One more user recently wrote, "She changed ONE lyrics but the whole song is still misogynistic ??? like it’s so dumb she should’ve kept it tbh." One more user wrote, "Btw the director of Barbie refuses to use this song in the movie as this is misogynistic." One more user pointed out in 2020, "I went back to listen to the song “barbie girl” because someone said it had some misogynistic lines I might have missed. Barbie was actually giving out consent throughout the entire song. “You can brush my hair, undress me everywhere.” Few called it problematic, "I'm a Barbie girl is such a problematic song. You expect women to be so thin and plastic perfect???" One more wrote in a recent tweet, "I went to a 90s dance party last night. When the DJ played Aqua's Barbie Girl, I was SHOCKED to see so many people go wild for it. That was never a good song. I can only assume some of those folks have totally been brainwashed by the yearslong #Barbie promotions."
'Barbie Girl almost word perfect is a thing of beauty'
Everyone does not have the same view, "Bam Bam singing Barbie Girl almost word perfect is a thing of beauty. What a dude #UFC269," wrote in 2021. One user recently wrote, "The Eurodance era was campy enough so barbie girl came out at the perfect time with the perfect amount of silliness attached. it helps that the melody is genuinely catchy and its status as using the four stereotypical pop chords kinda solidified itself as a pop classic." One more user defined the song by writing, "Okay I’m gonna say it… Barbie Girl by Aqua is genuinely a good song."
How did the group meet?
Aqua, started as Joyspeed in 1989 with Claus Norreen, Soren Rasted, and Rene Dif. They added Lene Nystrom as the singer later. They switched from techno to bubblegum pop after their first song flopped. Barbie Girl was their biggest hit in 1997. Mattel sued the group in 2000, saying Barbie Girl’s lyrics and image hurt their doll’s reputation. The band split in 2001 after some flops and a lawsuit. The group told Billboard: “We have looked each other straight in the eye and reached the conclusion that, for the moment, the spark is missing.”
"The lawsuit had 11 different claims. They pretty much threw the kitchen sink at us. They all boiled down essentially, in one way or another, to trademark infringement. They even claimed that they infringed on what they called “Barbie Pink.” Russell Frackman the lawyer told Rollingstone last year. "I thought it was hilarious, to be honest. I have to say, only in America. They didn’t sue us. They sued our label. For a long time, we couldn’t talk about it..." Nystrøm said of the lawsuit. The case lasted for years and reached the US Appeals Court, Ninth Circuit. Judge Alex Kozinski sided with MCA. He finished his opinion by saying, “The parties are advised to chill.”
The band's solo hiatus after the 2001 split
Following the split Lene Nystrom’s solo album “Play With Me” flopped in 2003, but she wrote a hit for Girls Aloud. They later covered one of her songs. Soren Rasted now age 53, released a spoken word album called 'Lazyboy TV' in 2004, under the alias Lazyboy. Although it was reportedly changed to Lazy B after a sofa company claimed the name first. Rene Dif
After Aqua’s 2001 split, Dif embarked on a solo career, releasing the songs 'Let It All Out (Push It)' and 'The Uhh Uhh Song'. Rasted tried to create a new genre “Rhythm’n’Speak” with hip-hop and TV samples but it failed. He as per one report shared two children with his ex-wife, Rikke Maija, a health coach. The 54-year-old star is now engaged to a woman named Linet Jo. Claus Norreen, the founding member of the band worked under the name, Danny Red, remixing other artists’ music. He officially left Aqua in 2016 and the group became a trio. Aqua released three singles for their Greatest Hits album in 2009 and a new studio album called Megalomania in 2011. The album had a more mature sound and was popular in Denmark. They later toured Europe and performed in countless festivals.
Where are they now?
At present, the group has shot back into the spotlight with Instagram pics showing the band was joined by Paris Hilton at Dreamland Pride in Central Park, New York. “@dreamlandpride last night was one to remember!!! And once more, thanks for having @parishilton,” they captioned the pics which showed her with Rene and Lene. The band shared a video of their first US tour stop on social media recently. The clips showed the crowd going crazy with the band’s enthusiasm. “America, this is only the beginning… Stay tuned,” they said on July 8. The group is also set for multinational and overseas concerts from 20 July to October 14 as per their website Aqua Official.
