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]

Chart performance

Aquarium debuted at number one in Denmark.[12] As of August 2001, the album had sold 430,000 copies in Denmark.[13] It is the third best-selling album in Denmark to date, only beaten by Danish recording artist Kim Larsen's 1983 album Midt om natten and his 1986 album Forklædt som voksen.[14][15] The album debuted at number 15 on the Billboard 200 in the United States, and later peaked at number seven.[16] It would spend a total of 50 weeks on the album sales chart, and sold 1.7 million copies in 1997.[17] On 4 March 1999, the album was certified three times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for sales of three million units, becoming the most successful Eurodance album in the US since Ace of Base's The Sign (1993). Aquarium has been certified four times platinum by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) for shipments of four million copies inside Europe.

Track listings

Aquarium track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Happy Boys & Girls"
  • Johnny Jam
  • Delgado
  • Rasted
  • Norreen
3:37
2."My Oh My"
  • Rasted
  • Norreen
  • Dif
  • Johnny Jam
  • Delgado
  • Rasted
  • Norreen
3:25
3."Barbie Girl"
  • Rasted
  • Norreen
  • Dif
  • Nystrøm
  • Johnny Jam
  • Delgado
  • Rasted
  • Norreen
3:16
4."Good Morning Sunshine"
  • Rasted
  • Norreen
  • Dif
  • Johnny Jam
  • Delgado
  • Rasted
  • Norreen
4:03
5."Doctor Jones"
  • Anders Øland
  • Rasted
  • Norreen
  • Dif
  • Johnny Jam
  • Delgado
  • Rasted
  • Norreen
3:22
6."Heat of the Night"
  • Rasted
  • Norreen
  • Rasted
  • Norreen
  • Hartmann & Langhoff
3:33
7."Be a Man"
  • Rasted
  • Norreen
  • Nystrøm
  • Tommy Ekman
  • Per Adebratt
4:22
8."Lollipop (Candyman)"
  • Rasted
  • Norreen
  • Nystrøm
  • Dif
  • Hartmann & Langhoff
  • Johnny Jam
  • Delgado
  • Rasted
  • Norreen
3:35
9."Roses Are Red"
  • Rasted
  • Norreen
  • Dif
  • Nystrøm
  • Hartmann & Langhoff
Hartmann & Langhoff3:43
10."Turn Back Time"
  • Rasted
  • Norreen
  • Johnny Jam
  • Delgado
  • Rasted
  • Norreen
4:09
11."Calling You"
  • Rasted
  • Norreen
  • Dif
  • Hartmann & Langhoff
  • Rasted
  • Norreen
  • Dif
  • Hartmann & Langhoff
  • Johnny Jam (vocals)
  • Delgado (vocals)
3:33
Disc 2: Aquarium – Remixed
No.TitleLength
1."Barbie Girl" (extended version)5:16
2."My Oh My" (extended version)5:06
3."Roses Are Red" (club version)7:01
4."Lollipop" (Razor 'N' Go "Lick It" Mix)12:20
5."My Oh My" (H2O Club Remix)7:34
6."Barbie Girl" (Dirty Rotten Scoundrel Clinical 12" Mix)8:37
Re-issue edition bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
12."Barbie Girl" (extended version)5:16
13."My Oh My" (extended version)5:06
14."Roses Are Red" (club version)7:00
15."Lollipop" (Razor 'N' Go "Lick It" Mix)12:16
16."Barbie Girl" (Dirty Rotten Scoundrel Radio Mix)4:12
Limited Christmas edition bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
12."Didn't I"3:17
13."My Oh My" (Spike, Clyde 'N' Eightball Club Mix)5:02
14."Lollipop (Candyman)" (extended version)5:28
15."Turn Back Time" (Love to Infinity's Classic Radio Mix)3:20
16."Doctor Jones" (Metro's 7" Edit)3:36
17."The Official Megamix"11:16
Picture disc edition bonus tracks
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
12."Didn't I" Rasted, Norreen, Johnny Jam, Delgado3:22
13."Doctor Jones" (Molella & Phil Jay Mix)Anders Øland, DifRasted, Norreen, Johnny Jam, Delgado5:29
Japan bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
12."Didn't I"3:17
13."Roses Are Red" (Disco 70' Mix)3:17
South Korea bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
12."Roses Are Red" (club version)7:01
13."Roses Are Red" (club edit)4:12
14."Roses Are Red" (Disco 70' Mix)3:10

Personnel

Credits adapted from album liner notes.[18]

Charts

Certifications and sales

Certifications and sales for Aquarium
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[69] 6× Platinum 420,000^
Austria (IFPI Austria)[70] Gold 25,000*
Belgium (BEA)[71] Platinum 50,000*
Brazil (Pro-Música Brasil)[72] Gold 100,000*
Canada (Music Canada)[74] Diamond 1,083,000[73]
Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[75] 14× Platinum 430,000[13]
Finland (Musiikkituottajat)[76] 2× Platinum 72,757[76]
France (SNEP)[77] Platinum 300,000*
Germany (BVMI)[78] Gold 250,000^
Hong Kong (IFPI Hong Kong)[79] Platinum 20,000*
India — 330,000[80]
Italy — 700,000[81]
Japan (RIAJ)[82] Platinum 200,000^
Korea — 58,000[83]
Netherlands (NVPI)[84] Platinum 100,000^
New Zealand (RMNZ)[85] Platinum 15,000^
Norway (IFPI Norway)[86] 4× Platinum 200,000*
Singapore — 75,000[87]
Sweden (GLF)[88] 5× Platinum 400,000^
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[89] Gold 25,000^
Thailand — 150,000[90]
United Kingdom (BPI)[92] Platinum 565,000[91]
United States (RIAA)[94] 3× Platinum 4,000,000[93]
Summaries
Asia Pacific — 3,000,000[95]
Europe (IFPI)[96] 4× Platinum 4,000,000*
Latin America — 400,000[97]
Worldwide — 14,000,000[10][11]

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Release formats for Aquarium
Country Date Format Label
Denmark[98] 26 March 1997 CD MCA
Universal
Norway[99] May 1997
Sweden[98]
Netherlands[100] 1 September 1997 Universal
United States[101] 9 September 1997
Europe 22 April 2017 LP

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