Aqua Splits Up 3 Decades After 'Barbie Girl' Fame

Nearly three decades after inviting the world into their plastic paradise, the band behind "Barbie Girl" is calling it quits, TMZ reports. Aqua members Lene Nystrøm, René Dif, and Søren Rasted announced on social media that the Danish-Norwegian dance-pop group is disbanding, saying the project has been a major part of their lives and that they feel "nothing but love and gratitude" for the experience. They thanked fans, and said that as a band, they "had the chance to experience more than we ever dared to dream of."

The Euro-pop act shot to worldwide fame in 1997 with "Barbie Girl," which topped charts globally and found new life in 2023 when Nicki Minaj and Ice Spice sampled it for the Barbie movie soundtrack. Decades prior, Mattel actually sued Aqua claiming the song violated the toy's trademark, but the lawsuit was dismissed in 2002 because the court found the song was allowable as a parody, People reports. Aqua hasn't released an album since 2011's Megalomania, though Dif is set to play a solo DJ gig in Stockholm next month. Their last performance as a group was in November, Stereogum reports. The breakup doesn't end the brand entirely: Aqua the Musical, a stage production built around their songs, is slated to debut in Copenhagen in 2028.