90s pop stars Aqua look unrecognisable 25 years on from smash hit song Barbie Girl
The bubble gum pop song was one of the catchiest tunes ever written which put them on the map practically overnight
The bubble gum pop song was one of the catchiest tunes ever written which put them on the map practically overnight
IT'S been 25 years since Danish dance group Aqua stormed the charts with their catchy hit Barbie Girl.
It was their third single that put them on the map in 1997 followed by Doctor Jones shortly after.
Barbie girl was such a smash that even the makers of the Barbie doll, Mattel, tried to sue the group because they didn't like the sexual nature of the song being linked to the toy.
The lawsuit was eventually dismissed by a judge in 2002, who ruled "the parties are advised to chill".
Formed in 1989, the band was made up of singers Lene Nystrøm, René Dif, the spikey-haired keyboardist Søren Rasted and guitarist Claus Norreen.
During the peek of their career, they released their album Aquarium followed by their second album Aquarius in 2000 - but it turned out to be a flop.
Soon after, the band went their separate ways, : "We have looked each other straight in the eye and reached the conclusion that, for the moment, the spark is missing."
But there were rumours going around that the group's split was actually because of a love triangle between Lene, René and Søren.
Apparently Lene hooked up with band mate René briefly before cheating on him with Søren.
Despite this, the band members remained close and in 2007 Aqua went on a reunion tour.
In 2011, the band released their third album called Megalomania - but their comeback came to an end the following year after the conclusion of an Australian tour.
Unable to leave the band behind the, Lene, René, and Søren reunited as a three-piece in 2016 with Claus deciding the band's musical style was no longer for him.
They released a new single Rookie in 2018 and are still embracing their novelty 90s hits as they tour the world in front of nostalgia loving crowds.
Here's what they did in between reunions:
In 2001, Lene and bandmate Søren got married in Las Vegas - they now have two kids together.
She released a solo album in 2003 called Play With Me, featuring the single It's Your Duty- but they never reached the charts.
But she did find success when she wrote Girls Aloud's No Good Advice which reached number two in the UK charts.
Meanwhile Søren started up his own band called Lazyboy, which according to , "uses spoken word trivia, self-help advice, voices of people on the street and criticism of modern society set to hip hop-esque beats in a style dubbed 'Rhythm'n'Speak' by the creators."
The group's name was renamed to Lazy B after a sofa brand with the same name kicked up a fuss.
He's now married to a health coach and has a daughter named Mabel.
According to his LinkedIn page, he is the CEO and founder of a "personal snack and salsa brand company" called Diffood.
He also looks like he still DJs according to his Twitter profile pic
Little is known about Claus - the other member of Aqua.
According to his Wikipedia page, he lives a quieter life in London and has a son called Eliot.