Aqua doesn’t mind that Greta Gerwig’s Barbie doesn’t feature “Barbie Girl”
25 years after the bubblegum anthem's release, the band behind "Barbie Girl" is cool with their track not gracing Gerwig's soundtrack
Aux News Barbie
Not every Barbie Girl, it turns out, lives in a Barbie World—but Aqua, the band behind the 1997 bubblegum pop anthem, is perfectly cool with that. In an interview with Variety ahead of the 25th anniversary of “Barbie Girl,” the band discussed the other very indie, very under-the-radar Barbie project in the works right now: the 2023 film from Greta Gerwig. Although many fans were crestfallen at the revelation that “Barbie Girl” wouldn’t be a part of the Barbie soundtrack, Aqua isn’t bothered in the slightest.
“I totally understand why they didn’t use it,” lead singer Lene Nystrøm shares, “but it’s going to bring us a lot of attention, no matter what.”
For her own part, Nystrøm thinks Gerwig passed on “Barbie Girl” for oversaturation reasons—using the track could’ve been too obvious, or as Nystrøm puts it, “cheese on cheese.” Søren Rasted sees the whole thing as more comical than anything, joking: “We should say we turned it down. Ryan Gosling is not good enough!”
If anything, Aqua’s members are proud of their track’s longevity in the cultural conscience, especially since they initially only sought to make a “fun song.” “We had the line, ‘C’mon Barbie, let’s go party,’ and thought it was great,” Rasted reveals. “[…]We didn’t put that much thought into it. The hook just worked really, really well.”
“A good melody never dies, it just keeps on giving,” Nystrøm agrees. “And ‘Barbie Girl’ is a perfect example of that.” Although “Barbie Girl” may not be a part of Gerwig’s film, it’s certainly easy to see how the song’s ceaseless camp and sugary sweetness influenced the general cultural perception of Barbie. If that iconically baritone “C’mon Barbie, let’s go party” hook doesn’t fit Ryan Gosling’s description of “Ken-ergy,” this writer doesn’t know what does.
14 Comments
I will never not post this.
The Ghost World movie didn’t use Aimee Mann’s song either even though she released it a year earlier. It was just a happy coincidence she was inspired by the comic.
I can’t see Zwigoff ever using that.
But will they use the original rock anthem, the legend that made Kurt Cobain’s heart grow three sizes?
I was about to post this myself lol
The fuck, I mind. At least give me one subtle reference, maybe a car driving by with the song playing on the radio, or they walk into a store and it’s in the background… just something. End credits maybe? This 90’s kid demands it!
When a band makes a really fucking awful song that is popular for a hot minute, they will forever need to play it at every concert, festival, corporate retreat, and Toyota sales-a-thon they show up for.
There is peace in knowing that 4 Non-Blondes has to suffer through “What’s Up,” or that Rednexx always has to play “Cotton-Eyed Joe, ” or that Aqua has to play “Barbie Girl” no matter fucking what if they want to get paid and eat at the ship’s buffet after their set.
The singer from 4 Non Blondes broke up the band pretty much right away, and went on to write a string of international hits in the ‘00s, get nominated for 5 Grammies and a Golden Globe, get inducted into the songwriters Hall of Fame in 2015, and apparently pretty much retire (with an estimated net worth of $18m) to drink cocktails and pat bottoms by the pool somewhere in Hollywood.
But if she ever picks up a guitar in front of a crowd again – do you know what she has to do?
I doubt she intends to. She doesn’t appear to have had any kind of stab at a solo career at any point. She just wrote a bunch of songs, got rich, and retired.
I’ve always been surprised Lene Nystr0m didn’t catch on more. She had a solo album or couple of songs that were fire. Two thumbs up to Aqua!
Instead it will feature Aqua’s Fuck Me Like a Robot
Barbie Girl, Beach Boys style:
Eban Schletter has already created the perfect alternative. I look forward to hearing it in the film.