Ice Spice and Nicki Minaj remade Danish Aqua’s iconic Barbie anthem

Back in 1997, the Danish pop group Aqua inexplicably dropped the infectious earworm “Barbie Girl”, a tune that dominated charts worldwide and has remained ingrained in our memories ever since. 

It’s been spoofed and covered so often it’s practically a cultural institution – an internet meme before memes even existed. Greta Gerwig’s forthcoming film “Barbie” would feel somewhat incomplete without a nod to this classic track, so thank goodness rappers Nicki Minaj and Ice Spice have released “Barbie World”. The song samples “Barbie Girl” and the accompanying music video has a familiar Europop feel, reminiscent of Aqua’s original video that channelled the Barbie dollhouse aesthetic. 

This all represents something of a u-turn for Mattel, the company who owns Barbie, who initially sued MCA Records (Aqua’s label) for “Barb
ie Girl”, claiming the sexually suggestive lyrics were damaging to the Barbie brand. After years of litigation, the case was eventually thrown out when a federal appeals court declared that “Barbie Girl” was protected under parody legislation. 

Following this, Mattel have now embraced the track, even using a remixed version for a 2009 ad campaign and again for the upcoming movie tied to their beloved brand. Now, two of the biggest names in hip-hop are helping to further promote Barbie. It’s all a bit surreal, but that’s just how times have changed.

 See the new Video Music Video