Aquarium (Aqua album)

Aquarium
Studio album by
Aqua
Released26 March 1997 (1997-03-26)
Genre
Length40:44
LabelUniversal
Producer
Aqua chronology
Aquarium
(1997) 		Aquarius
(2000)
Singles from Aquarium
  1. "Roses Are Red"
    Released: 24 September 1996
  2. "My Oh My"
    Released: 11 February 1997
  3. "Barbie Girl"
    Released: April 1997[3]
  4. "Doctor Jones"
    Released: October 1997
  5. "Lollipop (Candyman)"
    Released: 25 November 1997
  6. "Turn Back Time"
    Released: 13 January 1998[4]
  7. "Good Morning Sunshine"
    Released: 14 December 1998
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[5]
Entertainment WeeklyC[6]
Music Week[7]
NME1/10[8]
Village Voice(dud)[9]

Aquarium is the debut studio album by Danish band Aqua, released on 26 March 1997. The album is best known for including the globally successful single "Barbie Girl", which went on to become a widely recognizable hit around the world, as well as the popular track “Lollipop (Candyman)”. The album also featured the songs "Doctor Jones" and "Turn Back Time". In early 1997, the release of Aquarium was initially preceded by the singles "Roses Are Red" and "My Oh My", which was released a second time in 1998.

The album's third (and most popular) single, "Barbie Girl", brought the group to international attention after reaching number one across Europe, Australia, and New Zealand, among other territories. The song later peaked at number 7 in the United States, at the end of 1997. 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. While not selling as highly as "Barbie Girl", the album's fourth single, "Doctor Jones", was released in late 1997 and became a number one hit in Australia and the UK. "Turn Back Time" would later give the group their third consecutive number-one single in the UK, despite reaching only number 16 in their native Denmark. The record’s final single, "Good Morning Sunshine", was notably more low-key than the band’s previous dance-pop, uptempo releases; the song failed to chart highly, only being released in select regions and, like the earlier "Lollipop (Candyman)", was the group's third and final song to chart in the US. The album has sold 14 million copies worldwide.[10][11]

  1. ^ Young, Alex (21 June 2009). "Guilty Pleasure: Aqua – Aquarium". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved 21 June 2015.
  2. ^ Bagge, Peter (2001). "Raiding Hannah's Stash: An Appreciation of late '90s Bubblegum Music". In Cooper, Kim; Smay, David (eds.). Bubblegum Music is the Naked Truth. Los Angeles: Feral House. pp. 259–269.
  3. ^ Sandiford-Waller, Theda (16 August 1997). "Hot 100 Singles Spotlight". Billboard. Vol. 109, no. 33. p. 82.
  4. ^ "New Releases". Radio & Records. No. 1230. 9 January 1998. p. 40.
  5. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Aquarium Review". AllMusic. Retrieved 29 April 2017.
  6. ^ Browne, David (17 October 1997). "Aquarium Review". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 29 April 2017.
  7. ^ "Reviews: Albums" (PDF). Music Week. 25 October 1997. p. 25. Retrieved 17 September 2022.
  8. ^ Patterson, Sylvia. "Aquarium". NME. Archived from the original on 17 August 2000. Retrieved 29 April 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  9. ^ Christgau, Robert (3 March 1998). "Consumer Guide". Village Voice. Retrieved 29 April 2017.
  10. ^ "International - Aquarium Life". Billboard. Vol. 112, no. 12. Nielsen Business Media. 18 March 2000. p. 48. ISSN 0006-2510.
  11. ^ Drejer, Dennis (11 August 2001). "Aqua blev til østers - Underholdning - BT.dk". B.T. (in Danish). Retrieved 11 April 2021.