Aqua (ribbon)
Aqua | |
---|---|
Aqua (2008) |
|
General information | |
Genre (s) | Eurodance |
founding | 1989, 2007 |
resolution | 2001 |
Founding members | |
Lene Grawford Nystrøm Rasted | |
Rap , singing |
René Dif |
Claus Norreen (1989-2016) | |
Drum computer, keyboard |
Søren Rasted |
Aqua is a Danish - Norwegian Eurodance music group. Her biggest hit was Barbie Girl from 1997.
Band history
The band was formed in 1989. The keyboardist and drummer Claus Norreen and Søren Rasted were working together on a soundtrack for the Danish film Fraekke Frida . At this time they met René Dif, who later contributed the group's rap parts. Dif introduced them to the Norwegian singer Lene Grawford Nystrøm , and together they first formed the group Joyspeed, whose first single Itzy Bitzy stayed in the Norwegian charts for a week.
After the failure of Joyspeed, the band members decided to rename themselves Aqua. The name comes from a poster with an aquarium printed on it. Aqua was published by Universal Music , who released Aqua's first single Roses Are Red in September 1996. The song stayed in the charts for two months and reached platinum status. The following single, My Oh My , went gold in Denmark within six days . With their song Barbie Girl , they made their international breakthrough in 1997 and reached number one placements in over 35 countries. Due to the sexual allusions in the song and the accompanying video, Aqua was sued by the toy company Mattel , but this had no further impact on the success of the song or the band. Mattel's lawsuit was finally dismissed in 2003 (after the band split up). The debut album Aquarium was in the top 100 of the German album charts for almost a year.
After a break of a little over a year, Aqua released their second album Aquarius and its first single Cartoon Heroes at the beginning of 2000 . Overall, the music on Aquarius should be more serious than on Aquarium and contain less bubble gum pop . Probably because a draft horse like Barbie Girl was missing as a single, Aquarius sold worse than the debut album and only reached number 16. In Germany, an attempt was made to release Bumble Bees as the third single, which was very similar to the old Aqua songs was like turning things around again. At this point it was too late; Bumble Bees only reached number 96 in the German charts.
On May 12, 2001 Aqua appeared as a guest at the Eurovision Song Contest in Copenhagen . In August 2001, the band split surprisingly, but amicably while working on the third album. A short time before the dissolution, Nystrøm and Rasted married. A daughter was born on November 6, 2004 and a son in spring 2006.
Nystrøm released their own album in the summer of 2003 called Play with Me , which contained two moderately successful singles: It's Your Duty and Pretty Young Thing . However, these only had a notable success in the Scandinavian area ( It's Your Duty 3rd place in Denmark). Play with Me was not published in Germany and is only available as an import version.
Rasted worked as a producer for some time. In 2004 he started the Lazyboy project . He released the album Lazyboy TV in 2004 , the single Underwear Goes Inside the Pants was notably successful. In 2007 he started the Hei Matematik project with his nephew Nicolaj Rasted, in which his wife Lene worked as a background singer and supported Norreen as a producer in the joint studio.
On October 26, 2007, the band announced their reunion. In 2008 they organized a tour with 30 concerts. On May 25, 2009, the first single, Back to the 80s , was released in Denmark from a compilation entitled Greatest Hits , which also contains three new songs. Both the single and the album reached number one on the Danish charts and made it into the top 10 of the Norwegian charts. In Germany, Back to the 80s was released on September 4, 2009 as a download single. On March 14, 2011, the band released their first single How RU Doin? from her third album Megalomania . In March 2012 Aqua completed a tour of Australia.
In September 2016, the band announced a comeback for 2017 for their 20th anniversary. In addition, Claus Norreen announced that he was leaving the band. In April 2017, the remix single Roses Are Red ( Svenstrup & Vendelboe Remixes) was released . On April 26, 2017, Nystrøm and Rasted announced their separation after 16 years of marriage. On June 22, 2018, Aqua released the new single Rookie .
Members
Lene Grawford Nystrøm
Lene Grawford Nystrøm was born in Tønsberg (Norway) on October 2, 1973. She took over the female singing in the group.
René Dif
René Dif was born on October 17, 1967 in Copenhagen (Denmark). He took over the male vocals and the rap parts. He played the role of Thomas in the film The Good Cop .
Claus Norreen
Claus Norreen was born on June 5, 1970 in Charlottenlund, Gentofte municipality (Denmark).
Søren Rasted
Søren Rasted was born on June 13, 1969 in Blovstrønd, Allerød municipality (Denmark).
Discography
Studio albums
year | title |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
DE | AT | CH | UK | US | DK | NO | SE | |||
1997 | Aquarium |
DE6th
gold
(46 weeks)DE |
AT4th
gold
(31 weeks)AT |
CH3
gold
(47 weeks)CH |
UK6th
platinum
(48 weeks)UK |
US7th × 3
(50 weeks)US |
DK1 (59 weeks) DK |
NO1 × 4
(68 weeks)NO |
SE1 × 5
(66 weeks)SE |
First published: September 9, 1997
|
2000 | Aquarius |
DE16 (13 weeks) DE |
AT11 (10 weeks) AT |
CH8th
gold
(18 weeks)CH |
UK24 (4 weeks) UK |
US82 (6 weeks) US |
DK1 (17 weeks) DK |
NO1 × 2
(21 weeks)NO |
SE2
platinum
(22 weeks)SE |
First published: February 28, 2000
|
2011 | Megalomania | - | - | - | - | - |
DK2
gold
(7 weeks)DK |
- | - |
First published: October 3, 2011
|
Remix albums
year | title |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks | |
---|---|---|---|---|
NO | SE | |||
1998 | Aquamania Remix |
NO4th
gold
(… Where.)NO |
SE31 (7 weeks) SE |
More remix albums
- 1998: Bubble Mix
- 2002: Remix Super Best
Compilations
year | title |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
DK | NO | SE | |||
2009 | Greatest hits |
DK1 × 2
(39 weeks)DK |
NO7th
gold
(13 weeks)NO |
SE24 (6 weeks) SE |
More compilations
- 2002: Cartoon Heroes: The Best of Aqua
Singles
year | Title album |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, album , rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
DE | AT | CH | UK | US | DK | NO | SE | |||
1996 | Roses Are Red Aquarium |
- | - | - | - | - |
DK1
gold
(… Where.)DK |
NO2 (15 weeks) NO |
SE5 (19 weeks) SE |
|
1997 | Barbie Girl Aquarium |
DE1
platinum
(27 weeks)DE |
AT2
platinum
(21 weeks)AT |
CH1
platinum
(27 weeks)CH |
UK1 × 3
(27 weeks)UK |
US7 (16 weeks) US |
DK1
gold
(… Where.)DK |
NO1 × 2
(16 weeks)NO |
SE1 × 3
(22 weeks)SE |
|
Lollipop (Candyman) Aquarium |
- | - | - | - |
US23 (17 weeks) US |
- | - |
SE10 (13 weeks) SE |
||
Doctor Jones Aquarium |
DE7th
gold
(19 weeks)DE |
AT8 (13 weeks) AT |
CH11 (15 weeks) CH |
UK1
platinum
(18 weeks)UK |
- |
DK1 (... week) DK |
- |
SE2
platinum
(17 weeks)SE |
||
1998 | My Oh My Aquarium |
DE12 (13 weeks) DE |
AT15 (11 weeks) AT |
CH19 (8 weeks) CH |
UK6 (12 weeks) UK |
- |
DK2 (... weeks) DK |
NO20 (1 week) NO |
SE4 (9 weeks) SE |
|
Turn Back Time Aquarium |
DE42 (10 weeks) DE |
AT19 (12 weeks) AT |
CH26 (11 weeks) CH |
UK1
silver
(10 weeks)UK |
- |
DK3 (... weeks) DK |
- |
SE4 (10 weeks) SE |
||
Good Morning Sunshine Aquarium |
DE94 (3 weeks) DE |
- | - |
UK18 (7 weeks) UK |
- | - | - | - | ||
2000 | Cartoon Heroes Aquarius |
DE13 (14 weeks) DE |
AT6 (13 weeks) AT |
CH11 (15 weeks) CH |
UK7 (14 weeks) UK |
- |
DK1 (... week) DK |
NO1
gold
(10 weeks)NO |
SE2
platinum
(12 weeks)SE |
|
Around the World Aquarius |
DE56 (5 weeks) DE |
- |
CH42 (12 weeks) CH |
UK26 (8 weeks) UK |
- |
DK1 (... week) DK |
NO16 (2 weeks) NO |
SE4th
gold
(15 weeks)SE |
||
Bumble Bees Aquarius |
DE96 (1 week) DE |
- | - | - | - |
DK16 (... weeks) DK |
- |
SE34 (7 weeks) SE |
||
We Belong to the Sea Aquarius |
- | - | - | - | - |
DK19 (... wk.) DK |
- | - | ||
2009 | Back to the 80s Greatest Hits |
- | - | - | - | - |
DK1
platinum
(27 weeks)DK |
NO3
platinum
(16 weeks)NO |
SE25 (5 weeks) SE |
|
My Mamma Said Greatest Hits |
- | - | - | - | - |
DK4th
gold
(… Where.)DK |
- | - | ||
Spin Me a Christmas Greatest Hits |
- | - | - | - | - |
DK14 (... weeks) DK |
- | - | ||
2011 | How RU Doin? Megalomania |
- | - | - | - | - |
DK4th
Gold + Gold (streaming)
(9 weeks)DK |
- | - | |
Playmate to Jesus Megalomania |
- | - | - | - | - |
DK13
Gold (streaming)
(3 weeks)DK |
- | - |
More singles
- 2018: rookie
Awards for music sales
|
|
|
Note: Awards in countries from the chart tables or chart boxes can be found in these.
Country / Region | silver | gold | platinum | diamond | Sales | swell |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Awards for music sales (country / region, awards, sales, sources) |
||||||
Australia (ARIA) | - | 3 × gold3 | 13 × platinum13 | - | 1,015,000 | aria.com.au |
Belgium (BEA) | - | gold1 | 6 × platinum6th | - | 325,000 | ultratop.be |
Brazil (PMB) | - | gold1 | - | - | 100,000 | pro-musicabr.org.br |
Denmark (IFPI) | - | 7 × gold7th | 3 × platinum3 | - | 181,500 | ifpi.dk |
Germany (BVMI) | - | 2 × gold2 | platinum1 | - | 1,000,000 | musikindustrie.de |
Europe (IFPI) | - | - | 5 × platinum5 | - | (5,000,000) | ifpi.org ( Memento from October 15, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) |
Finland (IFPI) | - | - | 2 × platinum2 | - | 72,757 | ifpi.fi |
France (SNEP) | - | gold1 | platinum1 | diamond1 | 1,300,000 | infodisc.fr snepmusique.com |
Canada (MC) | - | - | 5 × platinum5 | diamond1 | 1,230,000 | musiccanada.com |
New Zealand (RMNZ) | - | 2 × gold2 | 3 × platinum3 | - | 60,000 | nztop40.co.nz |
Netherlands (NVPI) | - | gold1 | 2 × platinum2 | - | 225,000 | nvpi.nl |
Norway (IFPI) | - | 3 × gold3 | 9 × platinum9 | - | 310,000 | ifpi.no ( Memento from November 5, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) |
Austria (IFPI) | - | gold1 | platinum1 | - | 75,000 | ifpi.at |
Sweden (IFPI) | - | gold1 | 11 × platinum11 | - | 645,000 | sverigetopplistan.se |
Switzerland (IFPI) | - | 2 × gold2 | platinum1 | - | 100,000 | hitparade.ch |
Spain (Promusicae) | - | - | 5 × platinum5 | - | 500,000 | promusicae.es |
United States (RIAA) | - | - | 3 × platinum3 | - | 3,000,000 | riaa.com |
United Kingdom (BPI) | silver1 | - | 5 × platinum5 | - | 2,900,000 | bpi.co.uk |
All in all | silver1 | 25 × gold25th | 76 × platinum76 | 2 × diamond2 |
swell
- ↑ Chart positions for greatest hits
- ↑ Chart placements for Back to the 80s
- ↑ Back to the 80s as a download single
- ↑ Aqua-Lene and Søren Rasted shall be skills after 16 days
- ↑ a b c d Chart sources: DE AT CH UK US DK NO SE