About Aqua
Aqua was a Danish dance-pop group, perhaps best known for their 1997 breakthrough single "Barbie Girl". The group formed in 1989, and achieved huge success across the globe in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Although often criticised by the media, the group managed to top the UK Singles Chart with their first three singles, a feat few artists have achieved. The group released two albums, Aquarium in 1997 and Aquarius in 2000, before splitting up in July 2001. The group sold an estimated 30 million albums and singles.In their prime, Aqua managed to make the singles chart top ten in a number of countries where European pop acts would not normally succeed, including the United States, Australia, and Japan. The group also caused controversy with the double entendres in their "Barbie Girl" single, with the Barbie doll makers Mattel filing a lawsuit against the group. The lawsuit was finally rejected in 2002.
The group consisted of Lene Nystrøm, René Dif, Søren Rasted, and Claus Norreen. All the members were Danish except Nystrøm, who is Norwegian. Since their 2001 split, Nystrøm, Dif and Rasted have all achieved solo chart success, and Norreen has continued in the music industry remixing other artists' material.
The group has announced the upcoming release of a compilation album featuring new material, and the four original members have confirmed Aqua will reunite for a tour in 2008. This was confirmed at a press event Friday the 2007-10-26.
History
Although Aqua formed as a group called Joyspeed in 1994, their history together dates back to 1989, and the recording of the soundtrack for a little-known film called Frække Frida og de frygtløse spioner (Naughty Frida and the Fearless spies). At the time René was working in Holland as a club DJ, and Søren and Claus were both starting out as producers. The three were brought in to make part of the soundtrack for the film, and after getting along well, decided that they wanted to work together again on a future project.The formation of Joyspeed was that both Claus and Søren would do the production for the group, with René Dif rapping and Lene performing the main vocals. A small Swedish record label signed them in 1994, and their dancy first single "Itsy Bitsy" released in Sweden. The single failed to become popular, despite its being based around a popular nursery rhyme, and after one week at the lower end of the Swedish charts the single disappeared completely. The four were disappointed and cancelled their contract with the record label (although the label wanted to keep the group on for further releases).
With a new manager and no record deal, the group started from scratch, and began to develop their famous bubblegum pop sound. The four began to produce and write melodic, catchy European pop songs, attracting the attention of the major record company Universal.
The four renamed themselves AQUA, choosing the name having seen a poster for an aquarium in their dressing room. The four eventually accepted Universal Denmark's offer of a recording contract in 1996.
The group's first release under their new name would be "Roses Are Red", a dance song with a distinct pop sound. The single was released in Denmark in September of 1996, and was expected to possibly scrape into the Danish top ten. The single far surpassed all expectations set by the label, though, by staying in the charts for over two months and 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 wouldn't win.
The instant success of "Roses Are Red" had proven to Aqua that their new sound was popular with the public, and a result their follow-up single followed the same formula. Titled "My Oh My", the single again featured catchy lyrics paired with a soft, melodic beat. "My Oh My" would, upon its release in February 1997, break 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 had proven to Universal that Aqua was a very marketable group, and as a result the label looked to start marketing their music across the continent.
