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"Barbie Girl" is a song by the Danish-Norwegian dance-pop group Aqua. It was released in May 1997 as their third single overall, and the first United Kingdom release. The song is included on the album Aquarium and was written by Claus Norreen and Søren Nystrøm Rasted after the group saw an exhibit on kitsch culture.

The song topped the charts worldwide, particularly in European countries such as the UK, where it was a number-one hit for three weeks. It was also on top of the charts in Australia for the same length of time, and debuted and peaked at No. 7 on the US Billboard Hot 100 on 6 September 1997 and It remains Aqua's biggest hit single in the US to date, and their only one to reach the Top 20 of the Billboard Hot 100.

History

The lyrics of the song are about Barbie and Ken, the dolls made by Mattel. Both the song and its music video feature Lene Nystrøm as Barbie and René Dif as Ken. As such, the lyrics drew the ire of Barbie's corporate owners, and a lawsuit was filed by Mattel.

A footnote on the back of the Aquarium CD case precisely stated that the song was "a social comment and was not sponsored or approved by the maker of the doll."

Reception

The song was voted the fourth "Best emo song of All Time" in a VH1 poll, and was featured in spot No. 32 on VH1's "Most Awesomely Bad Songs... Ever" countdown. In an unrelated VH1 countdown, VH1's 100 Greatest One-Hit Wonders, it was featured at #88.

In 2007, Rolling Stone named "Barbie Girl" as one of the 20 Most Annoying Songs. But in 2007, MuchMoreMusic featured the song at No. 27 on the list of the 50 Guilty Pleasures. In 2009, Same Difference voted it No. 2 in their Ultimate Cheese-Fest Top 20 on 4Music. Five years before, Blender magazine voted it at No. 33, as one of the 50 Worst Songs Ever. In September 2010, Matthew Wilkening of AOL Radio ranked the song at No. 5 on the list of the 100 Worst Songs Ever, stating that "Paris Hilton was 16 years old when this came out. We're not blaming Aqua Girls entirely. We're just saying..." In 2011, Rolling Stone readers voted it the number one most annoying song of the 1990s.

Sales

Despite the criticism, "Barbie Girl" has sold more than 8 million copies worldwide. It has sold 1.79 million copies in the United Kingdom as of November 2012, making it the thirteenth best-selling single in the UK.

Music video

The music video, which was played repeatedly on MTV, was directed by Peder Pedersen and Peter Stenbæk.

Mattel v. MCA Records

Mattel v. MCA Records
Court	United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
Full case name	Mattel, Inc. v. MCA Records, Inc.
Argued	December 5 2000
Decided	July 24 2002
Citation	296 F.3d 894 (9th Cir. 2002)
Case history
Prior history	Appeal from C.D. Cal. (28 F.Supp.2d 1120)
Subsequent history	Request for certiorari, S.Ct.; denied.
Holding
Barbie Girl is protected as a parody under the trademark doctrine of nominative use and under the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
Court membership
Judges sitting	Dorothy Nelson, Melvin Brunetti, Alex Kozinski
Case opinions
Majority	Kozinski, joined by unanimous court

In December 2000, Mattel sued MCA Records, the record company label for Aqua, saying Barbie Girl violated the Barbie trademark and turned Barbie into a sex object, referring to her as a "Blonde Bimbo." They alleged the song had violated their copyrights and trademarks of Barbie, and that its lyrics had tarnished the reputation of their trademark and impinged on their marketing plan. Mattel also claimed that the cover packaging of the single used "Barbie pink", a trademarked color owned by Mattel. Aqua claimed that Mattel injected their own meanings into the song's lyrics and MCA Records was not about to let their hit single be suppressed without a fight. They contested Mattel's claims and countersued for defamation after Mattel had likened MCA to a bank robber.

The lawsuit filed by Mattel was dismissed by the lower courts, and this dismissal was upheld, though Mattel took their case up to the Supreme Court of the United States (Mattel's appeal was later rejected). In 2002, Judge Alex Kozinski ruled the song was protected as a parody under the trademark doctrine of nominative use and the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. He also threw out the defamation lawsuit that Aqua's record company filed against Mattel. Kozinski concluded his ruling by saying, "The parties are advised to chill." The case was dismissed, and in the process, it garnered lots of media attention for the song and the band.

Earlier, in February 2001, a court ruled that an American artist Tom Forsythe was within his rights to use Barbie dolls in his work. Some of Tom Forsythe's photographs depicted the blonde in sexually compromising positions. A court had ruled on that occasion too that parody of Barbie was an acceptable activity.

This controversy was used by journalist Naomi Klein to make a political point in her book No Logo, where she stated that the monopolies created by copyrights and trademarks are unfairly and differently enforced based on the legal budgets of the conflicting parties and their ability to defend their expressions by hiring lawyers.

Judge Alex Kozinski, writing for the panel, opened the opinion by saying:

If this were a sci-fi melodrama, it might be called Speech-Zilla meets Trademark Kong.

Despite the lawsuit, Mattel released a promotional music video of the song (with modified lyrics) on the official Barbie web site in 2009, as part of a new marketing strategy brought in to revive sales. In addition, recent Barbie product commercials have used modified lyrics to the tune of the original song.

Cover versions and parodies

The song has been covered by several artists throughout years, including U.S. electric duo Velva Blu, Brazilian singer Kelly Key (in Portuguese, titled "Sou a Barbie Girl" as her tenth single on 15 April 2005 ; the CD maxi contains four version of the song : radio edit, extended version, DJ Malboro mix and club remix), Samanda (2007, peaked at No. 26 in the UK singles Chart), Rob Mayth (2006, released as single ; in summer 2006, German Euro house project Bangbros played live the remix of this version in an DJ set), Andrea featuring Sergio (Eurobeat cover for Super Eurobeat Vol. 199 ~Collaboration of Eurobeat~), Electric Chairs (2001, melancholy and down-tempo version). Other covers have been performed by bands Home Grown, My Favorite Band (MFB), Mars Moles and Ben l'Oncle Soul. The song has also been covered by Jessica Jung, a Korean-American singer from the popular girl group Girls' Generation in their first Asia Tour. An Easy listening version also exists by Axel Boys Quartet (1999) which was featured in a Dior television ad.

There are also many parodies of the song, notable made by The Dog House (a "gay" version in which Barbie is insulted behind her back by Garrett and Raoul with gratuitous words because they pine for Ken, however the conclusion of the song sees Barbie approach the pair who proceed to assault her and run off. This song is featured on their 2000 album, How Many People Must Get Dissed?), German duo Lynne & Tessa (a lip-synched internet video of the song, May 2006), British Indian comedy sketch show Goodness Gracious Me (titled "Punjabi Girl" both in the radio series and later on television), Ome Henk (Dutch song "Neem Een Ander in de Maling (Barbie Girl)", WPLJ (entitled "Jersey Girl", using stereotypes of Jersey girls as the basis for the whole song).

Mattel in 2009–2010 used an edit of the song as the 'theme song' of Barbie.

In the Family Guy episode "Bill and Peter's Bogus Journey," president Bill Clinton is seen singing and dancing to "Barbie Girl" while playing Dance Dance Revolution.

HBO comedy series Mr. Show with Bob and David did a parody of the song called "Party Girl" in the episode "Life is Precious and God and the Bible."

The Swedish artist Loke Nyberg (See Swedish Misplaced Pages article) did a new version of this song for the Swedish radio show Morgonpasset (See Swedish Misplaced Pages article). He interprets the song as criticism of today's beauty ideals.

In 2012, the song was parodied in an Australian lamb advertising campaign, relying on the Australian use of the term "barbie" to refer to the outdoor barbecue popularly held in Australia. The advertisement starred Melissa Tkautz and Sam Kekovich

Track listings

These are the formats and track listings of major single releases of "Barbie Girl".

Credits

• Written by Norreen, Nystrøm, Dif, Rasted
• Performed by Norreen, Rasted
• Vocals by G. Nystrøm, Dif
• Hair and make-up by Fjodor Øxenhave
• Styling by Aqua, Bjarne Lindgreen
• Artwork by Peter Stenbæk
• Photo by Robin Skoldborg
• Produced, arranged and mixed by Norreen, Jam, Delgado, Rasted

Release history

Charts and sales

Successions

References

1. "The 20 Most Annoying Songs". Rolling Stone. 2 July 2007. Retrieved 8 August 2007.
2. The 50 Worst Songs Ever! Watch, Listen and Cringe! from Blender.com. Retrieved on 3 May 2008.
3. Wilkening, Matthew (11 September 2010). "100 Worst Songs Ever – Part Five of Five". AOL Radio. Retrieved 25 December 2010.
4. "Readers Poll: THe Worst Songs of the Ninties". Rolling Stone. 31 August 2011. Retrieved 2 September 2012.
5. "Aqua's 'Barbie Girl': Worst Song of the '90s?". SodaHead.com. 7 September 2011. Retrieved 11 April 2012.
6. ^ Ami Sedghi (4 November 2012). "UK's million-selling singles: the full list". Guardian. Retrieved 4 November 2012.
7. "Aqua Now Faces Lawsuit Over "Barbie Girl"". MTV News. 12 September 1997. Archived from the original on 10 June 2007. Retrieved 8 August 2007.
8. "Cover Midge's Ears. Mattel Isn't Happy With The Racy Lyrics From A Danish Band". Orlando Sentinel. 17 September 1997. Retrieved 26 February 2012.
9. "Supreme Court rejects ugly fight over Barbie doll". CNN.com. 27 January 2003. Archived from the original on 27 March 2007. Retrieved 8 August 2007.
10. ^ Mattel, Inc. v. MCA Records, Inc., 296 F.3d 894 (9th Cir. 2002).
11. ^ "Barbie loses battle over bimbo image". BBC News. 25 July 2002. Retrieved 8 August 2007.
12. "Official Barbie Web Site". Mattel. Retrieved 4 September 2009.
13. "The Barbie Music Video". Mattel. Retrieved 11 July 2010.
14. Elliott, Stuart (26 August 2009). "Years Later, Mattel Embraces Barbie Girl". New York Times. Retrieved 11 July 2010.
15. Velva Blu – Barbie Girl CD on www.discogs.com
16. Rob Mayth – Barbie Girl CD Single on www.discogs.com
17. "Morgonpasset Helg" on www.sverigesradio.se
18. "Eat Lamb This Australia Day". Retrieved 10 January 2012.
19. "Aqua – "Barbie Girl"". Discogs. Retrieved 6 August 2009.
20. http://www.allmusic.com/album/barbie-girl-uk-r339674
21. ^ ""Barbie Girl", in various singles charts". Lescharts. Retrieved 30 June 2009.
22. "Top Singles – Volume 66, No. 3, September 22, 1997". RPM. Retrieved 20 December 2011.
23. Canada dance peak
24. "Hits of the World: Denmark (IFPI/Nielsen Marketing Research) 06/04/97". Billboard. 109 (25). Nielsen Business Media: 51. 21 June 1997. ISSN 0006-2510.
25. "Aqua singles, German Singles Chart" (in German). musicline. Retrieved 20 April 2010.
26. "Irish Singles Chart, database". Irishcharts. Retrieved 6 August 2009.
27. Top Singles of 1997 (Italy)
28. ^ "Single top 100 over 1997" (pdf) (in Dutch). Top40. Retrieved 20 April 2010.
29. Spanish peak
30. ""Barbie Girl", UK Singles Chart". Chartstats. Retrieved 6 August 2009.
31. ^ "Aqua, Billboard charts". Allmusic. Retrieved 6 August 2009.
32. "1997 Australian Singles Chart". aria. Archived from the original on 12 September 2009. Retrieved 6 August 2009. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
33. "1997 Austrian Singles Chart". Austriancharts. Retrieved 6 August 2009.
34. "1997 Belgian (Flanders) Singles Chart". Ultratop. Archived from the original on 26 June 2009. Retrieved 6 August 2009. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
35. "1997 Belgian (Wallonia) Singles Chart". Ultratop. Archived from the original on 26 June 2009. Retrieved 6 August 2009. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
36. "Top Singles – Volume 66, No. 15, December 15, 1997". RPM. Retrieved 20 December 2011.
37. "1997 French Singles Chart". Snep. Retrieved 6 August 2009.
38. "1997 Swiss Singles Chart". Hitparade. Retrieved 6 August 2009.
39. "Billboard Top 100 – 1997". Retrieved 28 August 2010.
40. "1998 French Singles Chart". Snep. Retrieved 6 August 2009.
41. "1998 Swiss Singles Chart". Hitparade. Retrieved 6 August 2009.
42. "Certification for every country in the world" (PDF). IFPI. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 September 2008. Retrieved 6 August 2008. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
43. "1997 Australian certifications". Aria. Archived from the original on 12 September 2009. Retrieved 6 August 2009. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
44. "Austrian certifications, database". Ifpi. Retrieved 6 August 2009.
45. "1997 French certifications". Snep. Retrieved 6 August 2009.
46. "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Aqua; 'Barbie')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved 6 August 2009.
47. "Swedish certifications" (PDF). Ifpi. Retrieved 11 July 2009.
48. "1997 Swiss certifications". Swisscharts. Retrieved 6 August 2009.
49. "UK certifications, database". Bpi. Retrieved 20 April 2010.

External links

• Text of Mattel, Inc. v. MCA Records, Inc., the verdict that favored MCA (PDF file)
• Template:MetroLyrics song

{{{1}}}

• Use dmy dates from November 2012
• 1990s pop songs
• 1997 singles
• Aqua (band) songs
• Songs written by Claus Norreen
• Songs written by Søren Rasted
• Barbie
• Number-one singles in Australia
• Number-one singles in Denmark
• European Hot 100 Singles number-one singles
• Number-one singles in France
• Number-one singles in Germany
• Irish Singles Chart number-one singles
• Number-one singles in Italy
• Dutch Top 40 number-one singles
• Number-one singles in New Zealand
• Number-one singles in Norway
• Number-one singles in Spain
• Number-one singles in Sweden
• Number-one singles in Switzerland
• UK Singles Chart number-one singles
• Techno songs
• Novelty songs
• Singles certified diamond by the Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique
• Singles certified platinum by the Bundesverband Musikindustrie
• Singles certified triple platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association