Barbie Girl

Infobox Single
Name = Barbie Girl


Artist = Aqua
from Album = Aquarium
Genre = Pop, Dance-pop, Eurodance
Released = Flagicon|United States September 1997
Flagicon|United Kingdom September 1997
Flagicon|Europe June 1997
Recorded = 1997
Format = 12" vinyl, CD single, Cassette
Label = MCA
Length = 3:16
Writer = Claus Norreen, Søren Nystrøm Rasted
Last single = "My Oh My" (1997)
This single = "Barbie Girl" (1997)
Next single = "Didn't I" (1997)

"Barbie Girl" is a song in the bubblegum pop genre by the Dano-Norwegian dance-pop group Aqua, who released it in 1997 as their third single overall, and the first UK 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 #1 on the charts for three weeks; it was also on top of the charts in Australia for the same length of time, and reached #7 on the U.S. "Billboard" Hot 100.

History

The song was voted the fourth "Best Number One of All Time" in a VH1 poll, and was featured in spot #32 on VH1's "Most Awesomely Bad Songs... Ever" countdown. An unrelated VH1 countdown, VH1's 100 Greatest One-hit Wonders, rated it #88.

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 Rasted as Barbie and René Dif as Ken. As such, the lyrics drew the ire of Barbie's corporate owners.

The music video played repeatedly on MTV and helped launch the career of Danish director Peder Pedersen, who designed its cartoon-inspired visuals.

In 2007, Rolling Stone voted "Barbie Girl" as one of the 20 Most Annoying Songs. [cite web |url=http://www.rollingstone.com/rockdaily/index.php/2007/07/02/the-20-most-annoying-songs/ |title=The 20 Most Annoying Songs |publisher=Rolling Stone |date=2 July 2007 |accessdate=2007-08-08]

In 2007, MuchMoreMusic voted it at #27, as one of the 50 Guilty Pleasures.

In 2008, it was featured as "one of the worst songs ever played" on "The Morning Wrap," the premiere talk show of the Florida Panhandle.

"Blender" magazine also voted it at #33, as one of the 50 Worst Songs Ever. [ [http://www.blender.com/guide/articles.aspx?id=786 Run for Your Life! It's the 50 Worst Songs Ever!] from "Blender.com". Retrieved on May 3, 2008.]

"Barbie Girl" has sold more than 8 million copies worldwide.

Mattel's lawsuit

Mattel sued the band, saying they violated the Barbie trademark and turned Barbie into a sex object, referring to her as a "Blonde Bimbo." [cite web |url=http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1424996/19970912/story.jhtml |title=Aqua Now Faces Lawsuit Over "Barbie Girl" |publisher=MTV News |date=12 September 1997 |accessdate=2007-08-08] 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. 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. [cite web |url=http://www.cnn.com/2003/LAW/01/27/scotus.barbie/ |title=Supreme Court rejects ugly fight over Barbie doll |publisher=CNN.com |date=27 January 2003 |accessdate=2007-08-08] 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 First Amendment to the United States Constitution, and 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." [cite web |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/2150432.stm |publisher=BBC News |title=Barbie loses battle over bimbo image |date=25 July 2002 |accessdate=2007-08-08] The case was dismissed, and in the process, it garnered lots of media attention for the song and the band.

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.

Cover versions and parodies

* "The Barbie Song" (performed by The Dog House) features Garrett and Raoul who insult Barbie behind her back 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?"

* Brazilian singer Kelly Key had also covered the song, making a translation of the original English lyrics to Portuguese. Her cover, which has the same name as the original, topped Brazilian charts for several weeks and is one of her most famous songs.

* Punk rock covers have been performed by bands Home Grown, MxPx, and Tsunami Bomb.

* The German duo Lynne & Tessa produced a lip-synched [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LHpZFiIvHdM internet video] of the song, which has consistently been ranked high in the top-100 list on Google Video since it was released in May 2006.

* The British-Indian comedy sketch show "Goodness Gracious Me" parodied the song as "Punjabi Girl" both in the radio series and later on television.

* The ska band The Aquabats and "Weird Al" Yankovic are mistakenly credited for the parody "Ugly Girl" on music sharing websites. It is debated on who really made it.

* On 11 September 2007, Big Brother 8, co-runners up Samanda recorded a cover, as their debut single. It was released on 7 October, 2007 and charted at No.26.
*The song is parodied in the Dutch song "Neem Een Ander in de Maling (Barbie Girl)" by Ome Henk.

*WPLJ has also done a parody "Jersey Girl" using stereotypes of Jersey girls as the basis for the whole song.

*"I'm a Ken Doll" has been rightly or wrongly attributed to Eddie & Jobo.

* The band Electric Chairs recorded a melancholy, down-tempo rendition of Barbie Girl in 2001.

Chart performance

Releases

United Kingdom

CD1
#"Barbie Girl" (radio edit)
#"Barbie Girl" (extended version)
#"Barbie Girl" (Perky Park Club mix)
#"Barbie Girl" (Spikes Anatomically Correct Dub)

CD2
#"Barbie Girl" (Radio Edit)
#"Barbie Girl" (Dirty Rotten Scoundrels 12" G-String Mix)
#"Barbie Girl" (Dirty Rotten Peroxide Radio Mix)
#"Barbie Girl" (CD-ROM Video)

7" Vinyl

A: "Barbie Girl" (Radio Edit)

B: "Barbie Girl" (Extended Version)

France

#"Barbie Girl" (Radio Edit)
#"Barbie Girl" (Extended Version)

Australia and Canada

#"Barbie Girl" (Radio Edit)
#"Barbie Girl" (Spike's Plastic Mix)
#"Barbie Girl" (Spike's Anatomically Correct Dub)
#"Barbie Girl" (Extended Version)

Germany

#"Barbie Girl" (Radio Edit)
#"Barbie Girl" (Extended Version)
#"Barbie Girl" (Perky Park Club Mix)
#"Barbie Girl" (Spike's Anatomically Correct Dub)

12" Vinyl

A1 "Barbie Girl" (Radio Edit)

A2 "Barbie Girl" (Extended Version)

B1 "Barbie Girl" (Spike's Anatomically Correct Dub)

References

External links

* [http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/aqua/barbiegirl.html Lyrics]
* [http://www.ca9.uscourts.gov/ca9/newopinions.nsf/2507FB5DDCB94D7088256C000051F3B8/$file/9856453.pdf?openelement Text of Mattel, Inc. v. MCA Records, Inc., the verdict that favored MCA] (PDF file)
* [http://www.aquarama.tk Aquarama]

amanda's Version

Infobox Single
Name = Barbie Girl


Artist = Samanda
from Album =
Genre = Pop, Dance-pop, Eurodance
Released = Flagicon|United Kingdom 11 September 2007
Recorded =
Format =
Label =
Length =
Writer =
Last single =
This single = "Barbie Girl" (2007)
Next single = "Honey Love" (2008)

Samanda's Version didn't do too well, they released it on the 11th September 2007, and they got a disappointing #26 in the UK singles Chart but they released a second song Honey Love and that did better and got to #15 in the UK Singles chart on downloads only.