With the new movie Barbie taking over the summer, Europop band Aqua has reentered the spotlight as the film’s soundtrack features a sampling of their 1997 hit “Barbie World.” The group — René Dif, Lene Nystrøm, and Søren Rasted — helped boost their renewed status as well, as they embarked on a world tour and shared snaps of it to their Instagram. While they may added a few trips around the sun since their heyday, the band still rocked out and looked incredible doing it!
One IG post included a carousel of sassy snaps from their recent performance with Paris Hilton at Dreamland Pride in Central Park, New York. The hotel heiress posed backstage with Rene and Lene, who wore matching red ensembles. “@dreamlandpride last night was one to remember!!! 🌈And once more, thanks for having @parishilton 💗,” they captioned the pics. Both band members looked fantastic, as a follower commented, “PrettyNice outfits, foxy pair.”
Another more recent social media post had a video of Aqua’s first tour stop in the U.S. The band’s energy was obviously infectious as the crowd went wild in the clips. “America, this is only the beginning… Stay tuned💗💗💗,” they wrote on July 8. Once again, their fans couldn’t help but comment on their new look, with one writing, “This show was ahhhmazing!!! And so were the lewks!!!”
When “Barbie Girl” burst onto the scene, it took the world by storm, becoming a cultural sensation. The whimsical tune — with lyrics like “you can brush my hair, undress me everywhere” — dominated music charts across several countries, including the U.K., Australia, France, and the Netherlands. It even climbed to an impressive No. 2 position on the esteemed Billboard Dance Singles chart in the U.S. Although it did find some backlash later one, with Rolling Stone readers naming it “the worst song of the Nineties” in a 2011 poll.
As mentioned, the song experienced a revival through its inclusion in the soundtrack of Barbie. Nicki Minaj and Ice Spice joined forces to create a track with the same title, infusing it with their unique style and flair. They sampled Aqua’s iconic hook and incorporated it into their rap. The new song may have even helped certified Aqua’s original 1997 “Barbie Girl” hit as triple platinum, which was celebrated on July 8.
The song also had a bit of a head start to the Barbie movie resurgence phenomenon. Aqua had reissued their debut album Aquarium for its 25th anniversary in 2022, complete with the single “Barbie Girl.” The band spoke EXCLUSIVELY with HollywoodLife at the time and waxed on about the song’s legacy.
“[‘Barbie Girl’] sticks to your brain, and the kids wanted to hear it over and over again, and you can’t really escape from it,” Lene told HollywoodLife. “We one stood in front of a journalist who was really aggressive, and he said, ‘do you feel like this music is making people more stupid than they are,’ and I remember answering that if he wanted to call 25 million people stupid, that’s on you and then we left [laughs]. When something becomes so popular, there will be people hating it too.”