Barbie World

Song by Nicki Minaj & Ice Spice with Aqua

### Songwriter(s)

Ephrem Louis Lopez Jr., Johnny Pederson, Karsten Dahlgaard, Lene NystrømIsis Gaston, Claus Norreen, Onika Maraj, René Dif, Søren Rasted

## *Barbie: The Album* Singles Chronology

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Speed Drive

**Barbie World** is a song by Nicki Minaj and Ice Spice with Aqua from *Barbie: The Album*, the soundtrack of the movie *Barbie*. It was released by Atlantic Records as the soundtrack's second single on June 23, 2023. "Barbie World" heavily samples the 1997 single "Barbie Girl" by the band Aqua, who are credited as performers and co-writers in the song. The song debuted at number seven on the US *Billboard* Hot 100, becoming Minaj's 23rd, Ice Spice's fourth, and Aqua's second top-ten hit.

## Background

### Artists

In 1997, the band Aqua released "Barbie Girl", a song about two dolls manufactured by Mattel named Barbie and Ken. The song was a massive success, thrusting the band into worldwide fame. According to Stephen Thomas Erlewine, "Barbie Girl" was an "inexplicable pop culture phenomenon", and Bree Player of *Marie Claire* wrote it helped solidify the Barbie doll as a cultural icon. However, Mattel reacted negatively to "Barbie Girl" and sued Aqua's US label MCA Records, claiming the band violated their trademark and the lyrics' sexually suggestive nature stained the company's reputation as a child-friendly brand.

Since the beginning of her career, rapper Nicki Minaj has made the Barbie doll a significant part of her public persona. A widely known aspect of her artistry is her use of alter egos, one of whom is named Harajuku Barbie. Through this alter ego, Minaj showcases her feminine, fashion-savvy side with wigs, makeup, and nails that are bright and vibrant in color. Her Barbie image extends to her fanbase's name, the "Barbz", derived from Harajuku Barbie's name. Mattel has interacted with Minaj once: the two worked on a custom-made Harajuku Barbie-inspired doll auctioned for a charity for people affected with HIV/AIDS. When compiling the soundtrack, *Barbie* music supervisor George Drakoulias said: "We always wanted Nicki Minaj."

### Movie

In April 2022, it was announced that the Greta Gerwig-directed live-action *Barbie* film would be released on July 21, 2023. Fans expected "Barbie Girl" to feature in the film. However, Ulrich Møller-Jørgensen, manager for Aqua lead singer Lene Nystrøm, stated that it was not used. *Variety* speculated that this was due to bad relations between Mattel and MCA Records.

## Music and lyrics

In an episode of Minaj's *Queen Radio* show, Minaj revealed that Ice Spice had invited her to collaborate on the song; she accepted her offer as she felt it was the first time the song had been interpolated "in a way that didn't make [Minaj] uncomfortable or gimmicky". She figured out "it needed to be a beat that would still [embody] Barbie & Nicki [...]". She also assured fans would be impressed by producer RiotUSA's "reimagined twist" on "Barbie Girl".

The song combines syncopated beats and loud bass drums with a sample of Aqua's "Barbie Girl". specifically, the production loops vocals from the band's Lene Nystrøm. Due to the sample, Aqua received performing and writing credits on the song. Per Kyle Denis of *Billboard*, "Barbie World" incorporates elements of two hip hop subgenres, Jersey club and drill, fusing the sounds with Minaj's and Ice Spice's specific musical styles.

The song begins with back-and-forth rapping between Ice Spice ("And I'm bad like the Barbie") and Minaj ("I'm a doll but I still wanna party"). The two namedrop Jazzie, Stacie, and Nikki, three dolls who canonically are Barbie's sister, cousin, and friend, respectively. The Nikki namedrop doubly acts as a reference to Minaj. Afterwards, Minaj raps, "all of the Barbies is bad". One of the lyrics, teased at the end of the film's trailer, reads "it's Barbie, bitch, if you still in doubt". As observed by Natalee Gilbert of *XXL*, Minaj came up with "it's Barbie, bitch" as a way to say goodbye to people, influenced by her alter ego, Harajuku Barbie.

## Release

In May 2023, a second trailer for the film was released, which featured a snippet of a new song with vocals from Minaj. Media speculated the composition to be a remix of "Barbie Girl". On May 25, *Barbie: The Album*, the soundtrack to the film, was announced. Minaj and fellow rapper Ice Spice were revealed among multiple artists to be performing new original material on the record. Following the tracklist release, it was confirmed that the new song was a collaboration between Minaj and Ice Spice, titled "Barbie World".

On June 10, both rappers announced the song's release date as June 23, 2023, marking the fourth single from the film's soundtrack. Minaj previewed "Barbie World" twice on her social media, on June 12 and 22. It marks the second collaboration between Minaj, Ice Spice, and producer RiotUSA, following the remix of "Princess Diana" (2023).

## Barbie The Movie

The song appear at the first credits after the movie final.