Most people have heard the song “Barbie Girl” by Aqua at some point. Although the name of the group is not so familiar, since the hit is at least 26 years old, to date the official video published on YouTube has more than a billion views.

It was a controversial and symbolic song at the time, as there was even a lawsuit from Mattel.

According to what Søren Nyström told Rolling Stone magazine, the toy company’s lawyers asked them to change the text because it contained sexual references.

What is the story behind the hit “Barbie Girl”?

The lead vocalist, who appears as “Barbie” in the video, Lene Nyström, told the American media that it all started when she went to an art exhibition in a store in Copenhagen. In this, Barbie dolls were on the planet, so he coined the iconic phrase “Life in plastic is fantastic.”

Thus, he brought his idea to Danish producer Klaus Norrin, who helped him find the rhythm for the tune, which became a worldwide hit.

For his part, René Dief, who is also part of the group, used his knowledge as a DJ and rapper to give it a touch that would distinguish it from other songs of the time, although he mentioned in an interview that everyone put a part his creativity for the final version of the song

Despite Mattel’s insistence on the content of the lyrics, Nyström mentioned that they wanted to give an ironic touch to the personal acceptance, as they did not want to create a general narrative of self-perception. However, not everyone took it well.

“The message is that it’s okay to be who you are, to see yourself as you see yourself, and to be confident in that. You don’t have to have plastic surgery to become a better person. All these metaphors in the song were taboo to talk about, but we came up with a cheeky way to present our song,” says the Rolling Stone article.

In addition, Lene noted that they were inspired by the image of Pamela Anderson, because she set the standards in society at the time.

After releasing the iconic song in 1997, the Danish-Norwegian pop group had no idea what was in store for them, as it continues to cause a stir to this day.

“I can’t even begin to describe the feeling that the song broke records in the US charts, we traveled too much and it was incredible,” Nyström told the American media.