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. ' Released: 24 September 1996. ' Released: 11 February 1997. ' Released: 14 May 1997. ' Released: 25 November 1997. ' Released: 8 December 1997.
' Released: 18 May 1998. ' Released: 14 December 1998 Aquarium is the debut studio album by Danish-Norwegian band.
The album was released in on March 26, 1997 and in the United States on September 9, 1997. Although the group had been together for three years under their original name Joyspeed, their only release under that name was a single called '. The album is best known for including the successful singles ', ' and ', the first of those being a huge hit across the globe. (The album was preceded by the two singles ' and ', with the latter re-released in 1998.) The album's third single, 'Barbie Girl' brought the group to international attention after reaching number one in both Denmark and Norway, as well as across Europe and in Australia and New Zealand. It would later peak at number 7 in the US. Its success helped the album reach number one in both the group's home countries, and make the top 10 in the UK and US.
![Aqua Aquarium Album Aqua Aquarium Album](/uploads/1/2/5/4/125458990/205760868.jpg)
While not selling as highly 'Barbie Girl', the album's fourth single 'Doctor Jones' was released in late 1997/early 1998 and became a number one in Denmark, Norway, Australia and the UK. 'Turn Back Time' would later give the group their third consecutive number one single in the UK, despite only reaching number 16 in Denmark.
The final single, ' failed to chart highly and was only released in select regions like the earlier ', the group's only other song to chart in the US. The album has sold 14 million copies worldwide.
This section does not any. Unsourced material may be challenged. ( May 2014) With a new manager and no record deal, the group started over, and began to develop their famous sound. The four began to produce and write melodic, catchy European pop songs, attracting the attention of major label.
They renamed themselves Aqua, choosing the name seen on a poster for an in their dressing room, and eventually accepted Universal Music Denmark's offer of a recording contract in 1996. The group's first release under their new name was ', a dance song with a distinct pop sound. It was released in Denmark in September 1996, and was expected to break into the Danish top ten.
The single far surpassed all expectations set by the label, though, and stayed in the charts for over two months, eventually selling enough copies to be certified platinum. The success of the single was further proven when Aqua received a nomination for 'Best Danish Dance Act', although the group did not win. The instant success of 'Roses Are Red' proved to Aqua that their new sound was popular with the public, and as a result their follow-up single followed the same formula. Titled ', the single again featured catchy lyrics paired with a soft, melodic beat. Upon its release in February 1997, 'My Oh My' broke all Danish sales records by being certified gold within six days. The single went straight to number one in Denmark, and made Aqua a household name in the country.
The first two singles proved to Universal Music Denmark that Aqua was a very marketable group, and as a result the label looked to start marketing their music across the continent. Aqua released their debut album in Denmark on 26 March 1997.
The album contained 11 tracks, including their first two singles and their then upcoming third single '. Universal Music Group had by now begun to market the group in other countries, releasing 'Roses Are Red' in Japan in February 1997 and in various countries across Europe in late 1996. The single had proven popular everywhere it was sold, convincing Universal that the group should not just focus on the Danish market, but instead on the general European market. Aqua released their third single 'Barbie Girl' in May 1997. The song, at first glance, appears to be about the popular children's doll. However, at second glance, the song contains several sexual overtones, such as 'You can brush my hair, undress me everywhere', 'You can touch, you can play', and 'Kiss me here, touch me there, hanky-panky'.
This caused some controversy upon its release in Denmark, but despite the controversy and perhaps partly due to it, it still sold well and easily made number one in the charts. The song was so popular that it was played regularly on radio stations which did not air dance music. Universal Music decided to ignore complaints about the double meanings in 'Barbie Girl', and successfully released the single around the world in September and October 1997. The release was highly successful, making number one in the United Kingdom for four weeks, in Australia for three weeks, and even managing to make the top ten of the, something rarely achieved at the time by European pop acts. The song and group became a household name overnight, but to most of the world were instantly written off as a. The double meanings in 'Barbie Girl' caused the expected controversy, with many complaints aimed at Universal for releasing the track.
Aqua released their album Aquarium around the world in the autumn of 1997. Although the album sold well, many still wrote the group off as a one-hit wonder. Despite this, and much criticism from the media, Aqua had made their international breakthrough, and were now known around the world.
Aqua's follow-up to 'Barbie Girl' in Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom was ', although another single, ', was released in the United States through. 'Doctor Jones' entered at number one in several countries, including the United Kingdom, where it stayed at the top spot for two weeks, and Australia, where it spent seven weeks at #1. 'Lollipop (Candyman)' became the group's second Top 40 hit in the USA, peaking at #23 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song peaked at #3 in Australia. In Japan both songs were released as a double A-side, and achieved reasonable success in the singles chart.
'Doctor Jones' was followed up by ', a song which proved to be accepted well by both Aqua fans and critics. The song, unlike all other previous releases, dropped the bubblegum pop sound in favour of a slow, mainstream rhythm. The song was featured on the soundtrack to the film, and unlike many other Aqua releases achieved a large amount of radio and video. The song became their third single to make it to number one in the United Kingdom. As of 2005, only a handful of other artists have managed to achieve that kind of initial success in the UK (acts that have included and the ).
Elsewhere, the song also performed well, including reaching #10 in Australia, however it would not be a success in the US and thus marked the end of Aqua's involvement Stateside. Aqua's second Danish single, 'My Oh My', was resurrected in August 1998. The single was also released in several other European countries where it had not been released initially. Following the release of ', which achieved limited success, Aqua decided to concentrate on their second album, and on touring around Australia. This marked the end of a period Aqua's fans dubbed the ' Aquarium age'. The group also released a documentary on 1 December 1998 containing several live performances of songs from the Aquarium album and interviews with the members. 1999–2001: Aquarius, Mattel controversy and hiatus Aqua were relatively quiet during 1999, deciding to concentrate on recording Aquarius.
According to promotional interviews with the group, over 30 songs were recorded for the album, although eventually only twelve made it onto the final version. The group released their second album in February 2000. The album instantly proved popular with their fan base, despite some changes to their sound. Aquarius contained several different musical styles.
Tracks such as 'Cartoon Heroes' and 'Bumble Bees' preserved the pop sound of their debut album. ' was released as the first single, and sold well across Europe and Australia, reaching #1 in Denmark, #7 in the United Kingdom, and #16 in Australia. The song is often best remembered for its music video. Aqua released their follow-up single ' in June 2000, although it was not as successful as 'Cartoon Heroes', peaking at #26 in the UK and #35 in Australia. Despite this, it reached the top spot in Denmark. Although not expected at the time, 'Around the World' would be Aqua's final UK single release.
Aqua released ' as a single in, Europe and Australia, achieving reasonable success. ' followed as a fourth single in even fewer nations, failing to chart in most countries. At one stage, 'Freaky Friday' was planned as a potential follow-up single for release in early 2001, but it was cancelled. Aqua then decided that they would concentrate on starting work on their third album, as opposed to releasing further singles from Aquarius. Aqua spent the first few months of 2001 touring around the world, and working on material for their third album.
The group also performed at the, collaborating with the and providing the music during the voting stages of the competition. This performance also caused controversy, as a number of offensive phrases and gestures were added during the performance of 'Barbie Girl' (which was involved in a major lawsuit). During a couple of low-key events in Denmark the group performed live versions of songs intended for inclusion on the third album, including 'Couch Potato' and 'Shakin' Stevens Is a Superstar', the latter a tribute to the 1980s performer Shakin' Stevens. The songs were said to have incorporated a rock sound into their music. In December 2000, Mattel filed a lawsuit against the group's record label, 296 F.3d 894 9th Cir. 2002, claiming that 'Barbie Girl' had damaged the reputation of the Barbie brand.
Judge Alex Kozinski writing for the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit upheld the district court finding the use of Mattel's trademark in 'Barbie Girl' fell within the noncommercial use exemption to the. Judge Kozinski concluded his opinion by writing, 'The parties are advised to chill.' 2008–2012: Reunion and Megalomania. Lewis, Rebecca (12 September 2016). Retrieved 10 August 2017.
CNN — January 7, 2003 - 'Supreme Court rejects ugly fight over Barbie doll — '. Mattel, Inc. MCA Records, Inc., 296 F.3d 894, (9th Cir., 2002). 21 March 2009. Archived from on 27 May 2009. Retrieved 12 October 2009.
29 August 2009. Retrieved 12 October 2009. 15 November 2010.
Archived from on 7 October 2011. Retrieved 16 November 2010. (in Danish). Archived from on 6 June 2012. Retrieved 15 July 2011. Treo, Thomas (6 June 2011). (in Danish).
Retrieved 11 July 2011. (in Danish). Universal Music. Archived from on 19 July 2011. Retrieved 20 August 2011.
5 September 2016. Retrieved 21 September 2016. Schollert, Peter (20 September 2016). Retrieved 21 September 2016. Retrieved May 29, 2018. Aqua: The Official Book by Jacqui Swift. The Aqua Diary, a 1998 VHS release.
The Official Single/Album Charts of the UK, US, Japan, Australia, Denmark and various other countries External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to.