Given the immense popularity of Greta Gerwig's recently released Barbie film, we thought it would be a good idea to remember when people began realizing just how dark the meaning behind Aqua's song 'Barbie Girl' really is.
The song, released in 1997 by Danish pop group Aqua, was an instant phenomenon and topped charts worldwide. And 26 years after it initially dropped onto the airwaves, it is receiving a new lease of life with the Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling-fronted Barbie film dominating box offices.
But behind the fun lyrics and the catchy beat of Aqua's 1997 dance-pop classic, some people realized that there is a dark, borderline sinister, undertone to the entire song, which doesn't feel all that fitting for a heavily gimmicked late '90s Europop tune.
The hit quickly had the world hooked, and for good reason, too. Not only was it easy to sing along to, but it was also accompanied by a stone-cold classic of a music video that was seemingly never off MTV for almost all of 1997.
However, if you actually dig a little deeper into the lyrics, you'll actually stumble across some pretty disturbing themes which - especially for song that has filled the dancefloor at one too many children's parties - seems completely inappropriate.
Let's go through some of the lines in the song together.
"I’m a Barbie girl, in the Barbie world / Life in plastic, it’s fantastic."
Pretty tame, plus the song is about a Barbie doll, so it kind of works.
"You can brush my hair, undress me everywhere / Imagination, life is your creation."
OK, veering into some pretty dark territory here. A plastic children's doll encouraging the owner to undress it everywhere? Don't seem to remember Mattel advertising that feature back in the day.
As per an article posted to Medium, Bertilla Niveda broke this down by writing: "I mean, if she’s singing to Ken, that’s good for her, but seriously? This is the song that millions, probably billions of kids listened to. Little girls chanting 'Undress me everywhere' mindlessly? Hell no."
Yikes.
Things only continue to get worse the deeper you get into the song.
"I’m a blond bimbo girl in a fantasy world / Dress me up, make it tight, I’m your dolly."
Firstly, the word "bimbo". I'm sure many parents would agree that it may be a tad inappropriate for a child's toy, but beyond that, the second part of the line, especially the lyrics "make it tight" seem to have a double meaning. While they could be referring to outfits, Niveda suggested that it could be referring to something "more sexual in nature."
"Kiss me here, touch me there, hanky panky," is the next line, which is followed up by: "Make me walk, make me talk, do whatever you please / I can act like a star, I can beg on my knees."
Anyone else feel like they need their entire childhood back? Yeah, us too.
Now, if you're thinking that Niveda's theories are a bit of a reach - "it's just a fun little song" - then you would be interested to know that Mattel, the owners of the Barbie brand, actually sued MCA Records - who released the song on behalf of Aqua - in 2002 stating that it violated the Barbie trademark and "turned her into a sex object."
Though Mattel ultimately lost the case, with the conclusion stating that "the music companies' use of the doll was not an infringement of the toy company's trademark," many listeners did reassess their initial thoughts on the song in older age:
Aqua lead singer Lene Nystrøm didn't agree with the idea that the chart-topping hit was sexist, however.
In an interview with Nylon, the Danish singer stated: "I do believe that Mattel saw an opportunity to get some attention because the song was quite innocent, and it wasn’t sexist at all; it wasn’t our point to make the song sexist, at least."
Nystrøm also added: "It was kind of more making fun of the Pamela Anderson kind of girl that was existing at that time, and still are, of course. But it’s a super-innocent song if you listen to all the other s**t that’s out there, you know?"
However, after breaking down the lyrics, I think some of us would use the word "innocent" very lightly.
Despite these controversies in the modern era, the song has been given a new lease of life on the soundtrack to the new Barbie movie. Aqua has collaborated with rappers Nicki Minaj and Ice Spice on 'Barbie World', although with lyrics like "Rad, but he spank me when I get bad" we doubt Bertilla Niveda will be playing it much.
