Aqua’s ‘Barbie Girl’ Hits One Billion Views On YouTube

Aqua’s smash hit single, “Barbie Girl”, has hit one billion views on YouTube. Originally released as the third single from the group’s debut album, Aquarium, in April 1997, it was was written by the band’s Søren Rasted after he saw an exhibit on kitsch culture in the band’s native Denmark that featured Barbie dolls.

The song’s memorable video was was directed by Danish directors Peder Pedersen and Peter Stenbæk. It depicts the band members in different scenes that a Barbie doll would be in. It was first uploaded to to YouTube in August 2010 and its popularity shows no sign of waning. You can check it out below.

“Barbie Girl” topped the charts worldwide, particularly in European countries such as the United Kingdom, where it was a number-one hit for four weeks and remains one of the best-selling singles of all time. It also reached number two in the group’s homeland and peaked at number seven on the US Billboard Hot 100, where it remains Aqua’s biggest hit single and their only one to reach the top 10 of the Hot 100. It remains Aqua’s most popular work and it was even performed as the interval act in the Eurovision Song Contest 2001.

“Barbie Girl” went on to sell more than eight million copies in all. It became a huge hit on several continents, remaining the most successful song by the band. In Europe, the single peaked at the top position in Belgium, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Scotland, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom, as well as on the Eurochart Hot 100.

In the band’s native Denmark, the song debuted and peaked at number two, while in the United Kingdom, it debuted on the UK Singles Chart at Number 2 and reached Number One the next week, on 26 October 1997. It stayed at that position for four weeks and has sold an estimated 2 million copies in the United Kingdom, making it the country’s thirteenth best-selling single of all time at the time of writing.

Buy or stream “Barbie Girl”