Aqua

About Aqua

What is it with those snow-bound Northern countries? Maybe it's something in the water, but they seem capable of effortlessly cranking out pulsing, giddy dance singles that sound superb at 2am on the dance floor or cruising the Autobahn with the bass turned all the way up. Add the Danish-Norwegian band Aqua to the list of euro dance geniuses. Composed of sultry lead vocalist Lene Nystrom, Rene Dif, Soren Rasted and Claus Norreen, the aspiring electronic band got their start scoring obscure Danish films. Their first work was heavily influenced by the English electronic underground's "kiddie rave" scene and it faired poorly with critics and clubbers. After hearing their new bubblegum dance sound, Universal Records was quick to offer the band a deal. They accompanied their first single "Roses Are Red", with a deliberately campy pirate-themed video. The euro dance scene ate it up. In 1997, they followed the single's success up with the breathy "My Oh My"-a big enough hit to catch them attention in the difficult U.S. market. But Aqua's unapologetically shameless US debut Aquarium, proved as difficult to resist as a sparkling disco ball. Aqua's fabulously cheesy "Barbie Girl", filled with double entendres and grinding euro synths, was an instant and unforgettable classic. The inevitable legal tangle with toy manufacturer Mattel followed, but the band made it through unscathed. The accompanying video of a plastic Nystrom living a Barbie dream life helped Aqua to go platinum in the U.S. To this day, whenever Barbie Girl is played, it still sets the dance floor on fire.