Aqua look unrecognisable as they promote Barbie movie 26 years after debut hit

21 July 2023 , 09:18

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Barbie Girl hitmakers Aqua look totally unrecognisable from their debut back in 1997.

The Danish-Norwegian pop group stunned fans as they came together on social media to promote the hotly-anticipated Barbie movie by Greta Gerwig.

After topping the charts back in 1997 with their hit, which caused Mattel to file a lawsuit against them, the group now have a totally different look.

The group feature on the new Hollywood film soundtrack, and Aqua's lead singer Lene Nystrøm took to TikTok to promote the movie starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling.

She stunned as she posed for the camera wearing an orange vest and her luscious dark curly hair down, as Lene pretended to type on her phone.

Margot Robbie insisted on being totally nude in film for authentic scenes

Rene looked totally different

Female vocalist Lene showed off her new look (@aquadk/Tiktok)

The caption read: "Aqua reminding everyone that Barbie World is out everywhere." Aqua's lead male vocalist René Dif also made a similar TikTok as he wore a black zip-up top and showed off his well-groomed beard. His caption read: "Aqua reminding everyone that Barbie Girl (Tiësto Remix) is out everywhere." The pop group collaborated with Nicki Minaj and Ice Spice for the Barbie soundtrack.

They were able to relive their iconic hit as well as give it a fresh take as it's now called Barbie World. Aqua also re-released Barbie Girl as a remix last month with Tiësto.

Last year all three members of Aqua reunited for a Top of The Pops special. Taking to social media, they said: "We had a great talk with Ryan Saunders from @ bbc for their "Top Of The Pops 1994-1997" show the other day. This took us down memory lane. Woooow! Your first AQUA-moment was?"

They shared a series of snaps as no wacky hairstyles or bold outfits were anywhere to be seen. Instead, the group opted for a casual look for their reunion. Keyboardist Søren Rasted also had a style transformation since the Barbie Girl days of the late 1990s as he has ditched his bright yellow spiky hairstyle in favour of a more traditional style of a slicked back cut.

The group shot to fame in the 90s (Aqua/YouTube)

Aqua were certainly not a one hit wonder as they sold an estimated 33 million albums and singles over the years, making them the most profitable Danish band ever.

The Europop even managed to top the UK Singles Chart three times, with 1997's iconic anthem Barbie Girl and follow-up singles Doctor Jones and Turn Back Time.

However, their most iconic hit left Barbie doll makers Mattel to file a lawsuit against the group. They couldn't sue for copyright infringement as Aqua's video didn't include any Barbie dolls.

The toy giant instead sued for the use of the word Barbie which they said was used without approval and could make people believe Mattel produced the song. However, the lawsuit was ultimately dismissed by a judge in 2002, and the Danish-Norwegian trio are still free to perform their much-loved anthem to this day.

"It's tongue-in-cheek," Lene told Rolling Stone of the song in 2022. "If you want to see the layers to it, there's all the layers you want. But we kind of took the p**s out of the Pamela Anderson 'Baywatch' perfect picture with silicon boobs. We wanted to take the p**s out of that kind of perfect girl."

In the new hit, Barbie World the original chorus is revived: "I'm a Barbie girl in the Barbie world, Life in plastic, it's fantastic, You can brush my hair, undress me everywhere, Imagination." As well as new lines: "I'm a ten, so I pull in a Ken" and "he spank me when I get bad."