Life in plastic continues to be incredible for Aqua, and bandmembers Lene Nystrøm, René Dif, and Søren Rasted inform H.L. the way it's 'fairly loopy' they're nonetheless successful followers' hearts twenty-five years after their debut album.
“I consider if you do one thing that’s actually particular, there'll at all times be individuals who love you and individuals who hate you. The worst can be if folks didn’t even care,” Søren Rasted tells HollywoodLife as he, Lene Nystrøm, and René Dif – aka the dance-pop dynamos Aqua– focus on the particular twenty fifth Anniversary re-issue of their debut album, Aquarium. When the Danish-Norwegian group first made a splash in 1997, it was much less of a breakthrough and extra of a tsunami, because of their tune, “Barbie Lady.”
With an infectious Eurodance beat, an plain earworm for a refrain, and a charismatic back-and-forth from the heavenly Lene and the gruff however debonaire René, the tune blew up, topping charts internationally (whereas reaching No. 7 on the Billboard Sizzling 100 right here within the U.S.) Within the years following the group’s success, there was a “Barbie Lady” backlash, with Rolling Stone readers naming it “the worst tune of the Nineties” in a 2011 ballot.
But, a quarter-of-a-century after that auspicious debut, the band appears vindicated. Not solely has “Barbiecore” turn into en vogue in 2022, and the Greta Gerwig-directed, Margot Robbie-starring Barbie stands as one of the awaited motion pictures of subsequent 12 months, however the message on the coronary heart of “Barbie Lady” – that it’s okay to be the individual you might be – echoes all through GenZ/Millennial social media.
This isn’t to say that the band has fully ignored the haters – nor do they fully disagree. “In some methods, [that R.S. poll] was a very good factor to us,” says Søren. “Sure, we took it as an enormous praise,” Lene. “It is an annoying tune, I do know,” added Søren with amusing.
“[‘Barbie Girl’] sticks to your mind, and the youngsters wished to listen to it time and again, and you may’t actually escape from it,” says Lene. “We one stood in entrance of a journalist who was actually aggressive, and he stated, ‘do you are feeling like this music is making folks extra silly than they're,’ and I keep in mind answering that if he wished to name 25 million folks silly, that’s on you after which we left [laughs]. When one thing turns into so fashionable, there might be folks hating it too.”
“I believe, on the time,” she provides, “Barbie was already a sexual object ultimately. However that may have circled in the present day and turn into a picture of a robust unbiased girl who is ready to do all of it on her personal and who will not be depending on Ken. They managed to show it round one way or the other.”
The twenty fifth anniversary of Aquarium can also assist flip round Aqua’s legacy in america. The U.S. might primarily know the group for “Barbie Lady,” however Aqua has scored chart-topping and High 10 hits with their follow-up singles. When requested what songs followers — who ordered both the pink or white-colored vinyl urgent of Aquarium – ought to hearken to with this new re-release, Rene informed HollywoodLife, “I positively suppose they need to take a look at ‘Physician Jones.'”
“Yeah that was the issue within the U.S.,” provides Søren. The second single was ‘Lollipop (Candyman),’ and it didn’t actually work within the U.S. In all different international locations, ‘Physician Jones,’ ‘Flip Again Time,’ ‘Roses Are Pink,’ and ‘My Oh My’ had been singles and labored very well, so I believe they need to take a look at these tracks.”
There's additionally one thing good about placing on a whole album from starting to finish and actually hearken to it,” provides Lene. “Folks have a tendency to only shuffle by music, and typically that’s a disgrace. It is extremely cozy with the vinyl and listening to all of it, I consider.”
Evidently the re-issue of Aquarium has arrived on the proper time. For followers who expertise Aqua’s breakthrough firsthand, the re-issue is a useful reminder of their pop-music prowess. For individuals who weren’t round within the late-90s, it is a much-needed burst of happiness.
“If you concentrate on how the world appears to be like in the present day, I believe lots of people might use a little bit uplifting pop music throughout all of the loopy issues taking place all over the world proper now,” says Rene. “After we first started releasing music it was a totally completely different time; the music was darker, there have been plenty of guitars, and it simply wasn’t as pop as we have been. You don’t should suppose very a lot about what you hearken to, it’s extra an power. I believe this could possibly be a number of the the explanation why folks hold loving the music [in Aquarium]. After which the lyrics are simply very nicely written [for] pop songs.”
The followers appear to agree. Although the band has undergone a hiatus or two in its 25-year historical past, demand for his or her model of music retains bringing them again. Plus, it’s stunning who precisely is an Aqua-holic. “Each time we've got a live performance I see folks with heavy steel t-shirts,” says Søren. “I don’t know in the event that they’re there as a result of they love the music or perhaps as a result of they've a girlfriend who does [laughs].”
“I believe it’s the best way we carry out,” suggests Lene. “The sound turns into a bit tougher — we transcend the stage one way or the other. So regardless that you may not go dwelling and hearken to Aqua, you discover it good on the dwell reveals due to the power we put on the market.”
“It’s troublesome to say for us,” says Søren. “I believe the dwell factor is one thing else that may’t actually be in comparison with listening to the music. You may take pleasure in watching a pop band our caliber however not likely benefit from the music as such.”
“I believe the total expertise of a band is firstly met after seeing them dwell,” says Lene. “There are lots of bands you don’t actually like when listening to the music however the place it completely modified if you see them dwell. The ‘wow, okay, now I get it’ feeling.”
And what would 1997-era Aqua say to their 2022 counterparts, understanding they have been inspiring that feeling twenty-five years after their breakthrough? “I might say congratulations, give myself a hug and inform myself that I nonetheless regarded good,” says Lene. “It by no means helps regretting stuff, so I by no means did that. It’s a waste of time.”
“We've got simply been fortunate all the best way, and we've got actually made some proper choices alongside the best way,” says Rene. “I wouldn’t have believed it if I used to be informed we'd be the place we're in the present day 25 years later. And I don’t suppose it will have been wholesome to know. I believe you'd stress your self out about find out how to get to that time and make plenty of dangerous choices on the best way. So, I believe what we did was simply concentrating on what we believed was the proper issues, however I might have discovered it to be surreal on the time, and it wouldn’t have been enjoyable to know what would occur sooner or later in any respect.”
Worrying in regards to the future isn’t within the playing cards for Aqua, however the band did share what they suppose Aquarium’s legacy can be like, as soon as the good, grand historical past guide of music is written. “Simply the truth that we’re nonetheless sitting right here I discover fairly loopy,” admits Søren when considering again on 25 years of Aqua.
“They are going to most likely write that [Aquarium] was a hopelessly annoying album,” Lene says with amusing, “however that it was well-written.”
“Perhaps it can say that it was one of many bands who managed to maintain their careers rolling for greater than 30 or 35 years and particularly inside pop music which tends to alter on a regular basis,” contemplates Rene. “Perhaps it’s random and intensely fortunate that the younger era all of the sudden faucets into the music on TikTok and such, nevertheless it’s additionally our laborious work that pays off, I’m positive. It’s not solely enjoyable and partying, nevertheless it additionally takes plenty of laborious work.”
“However it can certainly depend upon the place this historical past guide is written,” says Søren. “I consider the U.S. would focus solely on ‘Barbie Lady’ whereas huge components of the remainder of the world would concentrate on plenty of our music.”
“However perhaps we’re not completed with the U.S. but,” suggests Rene. “Perhaps we will nonetheless persuade them of different songs than ‘Barbie Lady’?”
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