MOVIES
Will Aqua’s song ‘Barbie Girl’ be in Greta Gerwig’s ‘Barbie’ movie?
Aqua’s ‘Barbie Girl’ song was extremely popular in the late 1990s.
‘Barbie Girl’, the infamous song by pop group Aqua in the late ‘90s, will be a key track featured in Greta Gerwig’s ‘Barbie’ movie.
The song was a huge hit when it was released, and remains nostalgic for many from that generation — the upcoming premiere of the ‘Barbie’ movie starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling has caught the attention of fans of the ‘90s band.
One billion views
Aqua’s ‘Barbie Girl’ may be considered by some to be a relic of the past — but to this day the official video posted on YouTube has accumulated more than a billion views.
“ONE BILLION VIEWS ON @youtube!,” Aqua wrote on their official Instagram account. “ONE BILLION THANKS! UNLIMITED LOVE. LENE, RENE & SØREN.”
The history of ‘Barbie Girl’
Lene Nystrøm, Aqua’s lead singer who plays Barbie in the song’s video, told the media that the idea for the song came when she went to an art exhibition in Copenhagen. While there, she was struck by the image of the Barbie on a planet.
The singer explained that the iconic lyric, “Life in plastic, it’s fantastic” was born that moment. She then went to Danish record producer Claus Norreen, who added the music to her lyrics and ideas for the melody.
Nystrøm also mentioned that they used Pamela Anderson’s likeness as inspiration, citing that the actress imposed societal standards of beauty of the time.
Upon the song’s release in 1997, it was a controversial track that prompted a lawsuit by Mattel.
Søren Nystrøm, a member of Aqua, told Rolling Stone magazine at the time that the toy company’s lawyers asked them to change the lyrics because they contained sexual references.