With the release of the Barbie movie this summer and the hype leading up to it, the release of the movie's soundtrack (which includes the single Barbie Dreams by Nicki Minaj and Ice Spice) as well as a pop-up Malibu Barbie café in NYC, we are indeed living in a Barbie world - and it's fantastic! So the timing for a live performance by Europop group, Aqua, best known for their 1997 love-it-or-hate-it international hit Barbie Girl, was perfect. Interestingly, lead vocalist Lene Nystrøm confirmed in an interview earlier this year that the song will not be used in the Barbie movie, saying that it would be "cheese on cheese", although it is sampled in the aforementioned Nicki and Ice Spice track. I don't dispute the song's cheesy factor but that didn't stop me from totally embracing it when it was first released, and singing and dancing to it live, 26 years later.
Barbie Girl was the third single from Aqua's debut album, Aquarium, which turned 25 last year. While the song became an international phenomenon, reaching the top of the charts in the UK and Australia, Mattel filed a lawsuit against Aqua's record label, claiming that the suggestive lyrics had had a detrimental impact on the image of the Barbie brand (the case was ultimately dismissed). The group went on to release two albums, Aquarius (2000) and Megalomania (2011). They continued to tour and headline various festivals through the 2010s, including Vi Elsker 90'erne ("We Love the '90s") and The Rewind Tour in Canada, and their current world tour which brought them to Irving Plaza in NYC this past week.
Lene and male vocalist, René Dif, were clearly thrilled to be back in NYC, 26 years after their last performance here, and were having the time of their lives on stage while some of their most iconic music videos played on the screen behind them. René in particular was genuinely overwhelmed by the response the band received from the NYC audience and awed by the fact that they knew the lyrics to each song on the setlist. Lene started the show wearing a retro leather jacket with "Barbie Girl" printed on the back, her hair in two tight neon-tinged braids, while René donned a matching neon yellow tracksuit and pink bucket hat. Their energy levels remained at 100 throughout the show and although I was further back that I would have liked, and had to endure the barrage of phones popping up at any given moment, I allowed myself to get swept up in the wave of campy pop and 90s nostalgia. Not a bad way to spend a Monday night I'd say.
The complete setlist was as follows:
Cartoon Heroes
Back to the 80's
Good Morning Sunshine
Playmate to Jesus
Calling You
We Belong to the Sea
Around the World
Happy Boys & Girls
Turn Back Time
Dirty Little Pop Song
My Mamma Said
My Oh My
Didn't I
Barbie Girl
Roses Are Red
Lollipop (Candyman)
Doctor Jones
Comments
Post a Comment