Aqua (band)

Aqua is a Danish-Norwegian eurodance group, best known for their 1997

Aqua
breakthrough single "Barbie Girl". The group formed in 1989 and achieved
huge success around the globe in the late 1990s and early 2000s. The group
released three albums: Aquarium in 1997, Aquarius in 2000 and
Megalomania in 2011. The group sold an estimated 33 million albums and
.[1]
singles, making them the most profitable Danish band ever

In their prime, Aqua's singles managed to chart top ten in a number of

countries where European pop acts would not normally succeed, including
the United States, Canada, Brazil, Australia, and Japan. The group managed
to top the UK Singles Chart with three of their singles. The group also
caused controversy with the double entendres in their "Barbie Girl" single,
Aqua performing live in 2009. From left to
with the Barbie doll makers Mattel filing a lawsuit against the group. The
right: René Dif, Søren Rasted, Lene
lawsuit was finally dismissed by a judge in 2002, who ruled "The parties are
Nystrøm and Claus Norreen.
advised to chill."[2]
Background information
The band's members are vocalists Lene Nystrøm and René Dif, keyboardist
Also known as Joyspeed (1994–1996)
Søren Rasted, and guitarist Claus Norreen. During their split, Nystrøm, Dif
and Rasted all achieved solo chart success, and Norreen continued in the Origin Copenhagen, Denmark
music industry remixing other artists' material. At a press event on 26 Genres Eurodance · europop
October 2007, the group announced a reunion tour, as well as the release of a Years active 1989–2001 · 2008–
compilation album featuring new material. Their third album, Megalomania, 2012 · 2016–Present
was released on 3 October 2011.
Labels Universal Music
Denmark · MCA ·
Mercury
Contents Associated acts Lazyboy
Career Hej Matematik
1989–1995: Formation and Joyspeed Website www.aquaofficial.com
1996–1998: Aquarium and international breakthrough
1999–2001: Aquarius, Mattel controversy and hiatus Members Lene Nystrøm
2008–2012: Reunion andMegalomania René Dif
2016–: Second reunion Søren Rasted
Musical style and influence
Past members Claus Norreen
Awards and nominations
Members
Discography
See also
References
External links

Career
1989–1995: Formation and Joyspeed
Aqua's history together dates back to 1989. They were originally called Joyspeed. Claus and Søren met in 1989, and throughout the
early 1990s, they started writing songs together
. At that time, René was working in the Netherlands as aclub DJ, and Søren and Claus
were starting out as producers. Søren and Claus had won a contest and were hired to produce a soundtrack. For some of the songs
they hired René. The three were brought in to make part of the soundtrack for a little-known film titled Frække Frida og de frygtløse
spioner. The recording of the soundtrack began in 1993. After getting along well, the trio decided that they would work together
again on a future project. A few months after the film was released, René spotted Lene Nystrøm singing on the Norway–Denmark
ferry, M/S Peter Wessel. He approached her and hired her as the lead singer of Joyspeed, later renamed Aqua. The formation of
Joyspeed was on the basis that both Claus and Søren would do the production for the group, with René rapping and Lene performing
the main vocals. A small Swedish record label signed them in 1994, and their very first single "Itzy Bitzy Spider" was released in
Sweden. The single failed to become popular, and after one week at the lower end of the Swedish charts, it disappeared completely.
The four were disappointed and canceled their contract with the record label (although the label wanted to keep the group on for
further releases).

1996–1998: Aquarium and international breakthrough

With a new manager and no record deal, the group started over, and began to develop their famous bubblegum pop sound. The four
began to produce and write melodic, catchy European pop songs, attracting the attention of major label Universal Music Denmark.
They renamed themselvesAqua, choosing the name seen on a poster for an aquarium in their dressing room, and eventually accepted
Universal Music Denmark's offer of a recording contract in 1996. The group's first release under their new name was "Roses Are
Red", a dance song with a distinct pop sound. It was released in Denmark in September 1996, and was expected to break into the
Danish top ten. The single far surpassed all expectations set by the label, though, and stayed in the charts for over two months,
eventually selling enough copies to be certified platinum. The success of the single was further proven when Aqua received a
nomination for "Best Danish Dance Act", although the group did not win.

The instant success of "Roses Are Red" proved to Aqua that their new sound was popular with the public, and as a result their follow-
up single followed the same formula. Titled "My Oh My", the single again featured catchy lyrics paired with a soft, melodic beat.
Upon its release in February 1997, "My Oh My" broke all Danish sales records by being certified gold within six days. The single
went straight to number one in Denmark, and made Aqua a household name in the country. The first two singles proved to Universal
Music Denmark that Aqua was a very marketable group, and as a result the label looked to start marketing their music across the
continent. Aqua released their debut album Aquarium in Denmark on 26 March 1997. The album contained 11 tracks, including their
first two singles and their then upcoming third single Barbie
" Girl". Universal Music Group had by now begun to market the group in
other countries, releasing "Roses Are Red" in Japan in February 1997 and in various countries across Europe in late 1996. The single
had proven popular everywhere it was sold, convincing Universal that the group should not just focus on the Danish market, but
instead on the general European market.

Aqua released their third single "Barbie Girl" in May 1997. The song, at first glance, appears to be about the popular children's doll
Barbie. However, at second glance, the song contains several sexual overtones, such as "You can brush my hair, undress me
everywhere", "You can touch, you can play", and "Kiss me here, touch me there, hanky-panky". This caused some controversy upon
its release in Denmark, but despite the controversy and perhaps partly due to it, it still sold well and easily made number one in the
charts. The song was so popular that it was played regularly on radio stations which did not air dance music. Universal Music decided
to ignore complaints about the double meanings in "Barbie Girl", and successfully released the single around the world in September
and October 1997. The release was highly successful, making number one in the United Kingdom for four weeks, in Australia for
three weeks, and even managing to make the top ten of the Billboard Hot 100, something rarely achieved at the time by European
pop acts. The song and group became a household name overnight, but to most of the world were instantly written off as a one-hit
wonder. The double meanings in "Barbie Girl" caused the expected controversy, with many complaints aimed at Universal for
releasing the track.
Aqua released their album Aquarium around the world in the autumn of 1997. Although the album sold well, many still wrote the
group off as a one-hit wonder. Despite this, and much criticism from the media, Aqua had made their international breakthrough, and
were now known around the world. Aqua's follow-up to "Barbie Girl" in Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom was "Doctor
Jones", although another single, "Lollipop (Candyman)", was released in the United States through MCA Records. "Doctor Jones"
entered at number one in several countries, including the United Kingdom, where it stayed at the top spot for two weeks, and
Australia, where it spent seven weeks at #1. "Lollipop (Candyman)" did not fare as well in the USA, only peaking at #23 on the
Billboard Hot 100; however, the song peaked at #3 in Australia. In Japan both songs were released as a double A-side, and achieved
reasonable success in the singles chart.

"Doctor Jones" was followed up by "Turn Back Time", a song which proved to be accepted well by both Aqua fans and critics. The
song, unlike all other previous releases, dropped the bubblegum pop sound in favour of a slow, mainstream rhythm. The song was
featured on the soundtrack to the film Sliding Doors, and unlike many other Aqua releases achieved a large amount of radio and
video airplay. The song became their third single to make it to number one in the United Kingdom. As of 2005, only a handful of
other artists have managed to achieve that kind of initial success in the UK (acts that have included Westlife and the Spice Girls).
Elsewhere, the song also performed well, including reaching #10 in Australia, however it would not be a success in the US and thus
marked the end of Aqua's involvement Stateside.

Aqua's second Danish single, "My Oh My", was resurrected in August 1998. The single was also released in several other European
countries where it had not been released initially. Following the release of "Good Morning Sunshine", which achieved limited
success, Aqua decided to concentrate on their second album, and on touring around Australia. This marked the end of a period Aqua's
fans dubbed the "Aquarium age". The group also released a documentary on 1 December 1998 containing several live performances
of songs from the Aquarium album and interviews with the members.

1999–2001: Aquarius, Mattel controversy and hiatus

Aqua were relatively quiet during 1999, deciding to concentrate on recording Aquarius. According to promotional interviews with
the group, over 30 songs were recorded for the album, although eventually only twelve made it onto the final version. The group
released their second album Aquarius in February 2000. The album instantly proved popular with their fan base, despite some
changes to their sound. Aquarius contained several different musical styles. Tracks such as "Cartoon Heroes" and "Bumble Bees"
preserved the pop sound of their debut album. "Cartoon Heroes" was released as the first single, and sold well across Europe and
Australia, reaching #1 in Denmark, #7 in the United Kingdom, and #16 in Australia. The song is often best remembered for its music
video. Aqua released their follow-up single "Around the World" in June 2000, although it was not successful as "Cartoon Heroes",
peaking at #26 in the UK and #35 in Australia. Despite this, it reached the top spot in Denmark. Although not expected at the time,
"Around the World" would be Aqua's final UK single release.

Aqua released "Bumble Bees" as a single in Scandinavia, Europe and Australia, achieving reasonable success. "We Belong to the
Sea" followed as a fourth single in even fewer nations, failing to chart in most countries. At one stage, "Freaky Friday" was planned
as a potential follow-up single for release in early 2001, but it was cancelled. Aqua then decided that they would concentrate on
starting work on their third album, as opposed to releasing further singles from Aquarius. Aqua spent the first few months of 2001
touring around the world, and working on material for their third album. The group also performed at the Eurovision Song Contest
2001, collaborating with the Safri Duo and providing the music during the voting stages of the competition. This performance also
caused controversy, as a number of offensive phrases and gestures were added during the performance of "Barbie Girl" (which was
involved in a major lawsuit). During a couple of low-key events in Denmark the group performed live versions of songs intended for
inclusion on the third album, including "Couch Potato" and "Shakin' Stevens Is a Superstar", the latter a tribute to the 1980s
performer Shakin' Stevens. The songs were said to have incorporated a rock sound into their music.

On December 2000, Mattel filed a lawsuit against the group's record label Mattel v. MCA Records, 296 F.3d 894 9th Cir. 2002,
claiming that "Barbie Girl" had damaged the reputation of the Barbie brand. Judge Alex Kozinski writing for the United States Court
of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit upheld the district court finding the use of Mattel's trademark in "Barbie Girl" fell within the
noncommercial use exemption to theFederal Trademark Dilution Act. Judge Kozinski concluded his opinion by writing, "The parties
are advised to chill."[3]
2008–2012: Reunion and Megalomania
In 2008 Aqua reunited and promised a 25-concert tour that was to have commenced
in the summer. Offers were received by the record company from locations in
Denmark, Canada, United States and United Kingdom. Aqua finally performed 8
concerts around Denmark as part of the "Grøn koncert" festival. They released their
second greatest hits album on 15 June 2009, which includes 16 old remastered tracks
and three new songs: "My Mamma Said", "Live Fast, Die Young", and their first
single in eight years, "Back to the 80s", which was released in Denmark on 25 May
2009.[4] "Back to the 80s" debuted at number one in Denmark where it stayed for six
weeks, becoming the band's fifth number-one single. It has since been certified Aqua at the Grøn Koncert in 2008.
platinum by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) for
sales of 30,000 copies in Denmark. Aqua has also toured Scandinavia between May
and August 2009 and performed at several gigs in Germany, United Kingdom and France. The greatest hits album was released in
North America and many European countries on 22 September 2009 and in the UK on 29 September 2009.

Aqua commenced the recording of Megalomania at the beginning of 2010,[5] scheduled for a release in the spring of 2011.[6] Aqua
released the album's lead single, "How R U Doin?" on 14 March 2011, after a preview of the song was posted onto the band's official
Facebook page on 10 March 2011. Co-written by Thomas Troelsen, the song peaked at number four in Denmark, becoming the
band's tenth top-ten single. It has since been certified gold by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry for sales of
15,000 copies in Denmark.[7] Aqua were originally set to release their third studio album on 14 July 2011, however the release was
pushed back to 5 September 2011 with the record label citing bad timing.[8] The album, titled Megalomania, was then further
rescheduled to be released on 3 October 2011.[9] On 7 September 2011 Aqua released a preview of their new single, "Playmate to
Jesus", on their official Facebook page, which was released on 12 September 2011. On 8 September 2011 it was announced that
"Like a Robot" would also be released as a single on 12 September, and would battle against "Playmate to Jesus" in the charts. After
the moderate chart success of Megalomania in Denmark, an expanded version of the band featuring all four original members (Lene
Nystrøm Rasted, René Dif, Søren Rasted, Claus Norreen), plus new additions Niels Lykke Munksgaard Rasmussen (guitar) Frederik
Thaae (bass) and Morten Hellborn (drums), toured Australia in March 2012. They initially announced six concerts but quickly added
three additional shows to Melbourne, Sydney and Perth (Fremantle) due to popular demand. Aqua appeared on Sunrise, an Australian
morning TV show on the Seven Network. They performed a slower tempo acoustic version of "Barbie Girl" and it was revealed that
Lene had pneumonia, but the concerts would proceed as the group pride themselves on never having cancelled a show. They then
appeared on the Seven Network's The Morning Show, performing "Doctor Jones". After the tour, the band split again. In 2014 the
band announced a tour in Australia and New Zealand.

2016–: Second reunion

In September 2016, it was announced that Aqua will perform "at least 10 concerts" as part of the Vi Elsker 90'erne ("We Love the
90's") music festival. It will be the first time Aqua has performed live in Denmark since 2011.[10] On 20 September 2016, Aqua
announced that Claus Norreen would not return to the group. Norreen said in a statement that his "musical focus" has changed and
[11]
that he no longer desires to tour with Aqua, but still considers the remaining members of Aqua "his family".

On May 29, 2018, Aqua announced "The Rewind Tour" in Canada, with fellow 90s acts Prozzäk and Whigfield.[12] In June 2018
Aqua released a brand new single called "Rookie".

Musical style and influence

Their influences includeABBA, Ace of Base, and C+C Music Factory. The style of eurodance was dance music with a female singer
and a male rapper. Aqua followed a more traditional verse-chorus structure. Usually, the verse would consist of Lene starting and
finishing, while René would sing in the middle. Aqua are best known for the dance tracks such as "Barbie Girl", "Doctor Jones",
"Lollipop (Candyman)" and "My Oh My", although they also made slower tracks such as "Turn Back Time", "Good Morning
Sunshine" and "We Belong to the Sea". These tracks do not belong to the general bubblegum pop genre. There are also differences
between the first album Aquarium and the second album Aquarius; Aquarium had many similar tracks whereas Aquarius
experimented with acoustic instruments and genres like country and Latin music. At the end of the 1990s, interest in Eurodance
music waned. Aqua's second album, Aquarius, which was released in 2000, suffered middling chart success as a result. Their 2011
single "How R U Doin?" has electropop and dance-pop qualities.

Aqua, along with the Vengaboys, have caused a '90s pop scene revival in Australia which has since seen these bands and many others
from that decade announce successful tours.

Awards and nominations

Year Awards Work Category Result
Billboard Music Video Awards Best New Artist Clip (Pop/Rock) Nominated
"Barbie Girl"
1997 Årets Danske Hit Won
GAFFA Awards
Årets Nye Danske Navn Won
Årest Danske Gruppe Won
Themselves Årets Nye Danske Navn Won
Grøn Pris Won
Danish Music Awards P3's Lytterpris Won
Årets Danske Hit Won
"Barbie Girl"
Årets Danske Musikvideo Won
Årets Danske Pop Udgivelse Won
Aquarium
Juno Awards Best Selling Album (Foreign or Domestic) Nominated
1998
NME Awards Worst Single Won
"Barbie Girl"
Best Video International Won
TMF Awards
Best Newcomer International Won
Best New Act Nominated
MTV Europe Music Awards
Nominated
Best Pop
Themselves Nominated
Music Television Awards
Best Breakthrough Nominated
World Music Awards World's Best Selling Scandinavian Artist Won
ECHO Awards Best International Group Nominated
1999
Hungarian Music Awards Aquarium Best Foreign Pop Album Nominated
2000 TMF Awards "Cartoon Heroes" Best Video International Won
World Music Awards World's Best Selling Scandinavian Artist Won
Themselves
2001 Eksportprisen Won
Danish Music Awards
Aquarius Årets Danske Pop Udgivelse Won

Members
Current members

Lene Nystrøm - vocals (1994-2001, 2008-2012, 2016-Present)

René Dif - vocals (1994-2001, 2008-2012, 2016-Present)
Søren Rasted - keyboards (1994-2001, 2008-2012 2016-Present)
Past members

Claus Norreen - guitar (1994-2001, 2008-2012)

Discography
Aquarium (1997)
Aquarius (2000)
Megalomania (2011)

See also
Toy-Box

References
1. Lewis, Rebecca (12 September 2016)."Aqua reunite to mark 20 years since Barbie Girl hit the airwaves"(http://metr
o.co.uk/2016/09/12/aqua-are-reuniting-to-mark-20-years-since-barbie-girl-hit-the-airwaves-6123065/)
. Metro. DMG
Media. Retrieved 10 August 2017.
2. CNN — January 7, 2003 - "Supreme Court rejects ugly fight over Barbie doll —
http://www.cnn.com/2003/LAW/01/27/scotus.barbie.song/"
3. Mattel, Inc. v. MCA Records, Inc., 296 F.3d 894, (9th Cir., 2002)
4. "New Aqua Greatest Hits on the way" (https://web.archive.org/web/20090527082159/http://www.the-aquarama.com/
new119.htm). Aquarama.tk. 21 March 2009. Archived fromthe original (http://www.the-aquarama.com/new119.htm)
on 27 May 2009. Retrieved 12 October 2009.
5. "Aqua indspiller nyt album"(http://gaffa.dk/nyhed/34272/). GAFFA. 29 August 2009. Retrieved 12 October 2009.
6. "Aqua's third album is scheduled for Spring 2011"(https://web.archive.org/web/20111007122645/http://www
.the-aqu
arama.com/new176.htm). Aquarama. 15 November 2010. Archived fromthe original (http://www.the-aquarama.com/
new176.htm) on 7 October 2011. Retrieved 16 November 2010.
7. "Certificeringer | ifpi.dk"(https://www.webcitation.org/68DzEEygw?url=http://ifpi.dk/?q=certificeringer&page=5)(in
Danish). International Federation of the Phonographic Industry . Archived from the original (http://ifpi.dk/?q=certificeri
nger&page=5) on 6 June 2012. Retrieved 15 July 2011.
8. Treo, Thomas (6 June 2011)."Ekstra Bladet - Aqua udskyder album"(http://ekstrabladet.dk/musik/dkmusiknyt/article
1566458.ece) (in Danish). Ekstra Bladet. Retrieved 11 July 2011.
9. "Releaseplan" (https://web.archive.org/web/20110719132628/http://www .universal.dk/releaseplan)(in Danish).
Universal Music. Archived fromthe original (http://www.universal.dk/releaseplan)on 19 July 2011. Retrieved
20 August 2011.
10. "Aqua overrasker: Klar til comeback-koncerter"(http://www.b.dk/kultur/aqua-overrasker-klar-til-comeback-koncerter).
ritzau. Berlingske. 5 September 2016. Retrieved 21 September 2016.
11. Schollert, Peter (20 September 2016)."Aqua-medlem vil ikke være med længere"(http://jyllands-posten.dk/kultur/mu
sik/ECE9016479/aquamedlem-vil-ikke-vaere-med-laengere/) . Jyllands-Posten. Retrieved 21 September 2016.
12. "Aqua, Prozzäk and Whigfield Team Up for Canadian "Rewind Tour" " (https://exclaim.ca/music/article/aqua_prozz_k
_and_whigfield_team_up_for_canadian_rewind_tour) . Exclaim.ca. Retrieved May 29, 2018.

Aqua: The Official Bookby Jacqui Swift

The Aqua Diary, a 1998 VHS release
The Official Single/Album Charts of the UK, US, Japan, Australia, Denmark and various other countries

External links
Archived copy of René Dif's official website
Lazy-B's official website
 BBC article on the Aqua-Mattel lawsuit

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