‘Barbie Girl’ stars Aqua have announced they are calling it a day, calling it “the right moment to say goodbye”.
The Danish-Norwegian Eurodance group scored one of the best-selling singles of all time in the UK with 1997’s ‘Barbie Girl’, and they went on to score two other Number Ones with ‘Doctor Jones’ and ‘Turn Back Time’.
On Monday (May 18), the band posted a statement on social media to confirm that “after many incredible years”, they had decided to “close the chapter of Aquad as a live band”.
“Aqua has been such a huge part of our lives, and together we’ve had the chance to experience more than we ever dared to dream of,” they wrote. “We’ve traveled the world countless times, met so many wonderful people, sung together with millions of you, and shared memories that we will carry with us forever.”
“When you’ve been together for this long, you also learn when it’s time to protect what you’ve created together. For us, this feels like the right moment to say goodbye, while the memories are still strong, and while the love for the music, the story, and each other remains intact.”
They added: “From the bottom of our hearts: thank you to everyone who has been part of this journey over the past 30 years. Thank you for the love, the energy, the support, and for all the moments we’ve shared together. Nothing but love and gratitude from here on. Endless love.”
They formed in Copenhagen in 1995 and released a total of three studio albums: ‘Aquarium’ (1997), ‘Aquarius’ (2000) and ‘Megalomania’ (2011). They sold an estimated 33million records, making them the post profitable Danish band of all time.
In 2000, ‘Barbie Girl’ was at the centre of a lawsuit filed by Mattel against MCA Records, with the toy company arguing that the song had damaged the reputation of the Barbie brand. The use of the Barbie name was ruled to fall within non-commercial use exemptions, with the judge writing: “the parties are advised to chill”.
The song saw a resurgence three years ago due to the buzz around Greta Gerwig’s billion-dollar Barbie movie. While it did not appear in the film directly, a reimagined version did pop up, recorded by Nicki Minaj and Ice Spice.
Margot Robbie was insistent on featuring it in the film. “I was like, ‘Greta, how are we going to incorporate this song? We can’t do a Barbie movie and not have a nod to Aqua’s ‘Barbie Girl.’ It has to be in there.’ And [Greta] was like, ‘Don’t worry, we’re going to find a cool way to incorporate it,’ ” Robbie recalled.
“And then, when she was like, ‘Guess who’s going to do the remix of Aqua’s “Barbie Girl”? Nicki Minaj and Ice Spice.’ I was like, ‘Together? Are you joking?!’ I just knew immediately that all my girlfriends were going to lose their minds.”