What Aqua look like 25 years on from Barbie Girl

They shot to fame with sugary hits like Barbie Girl and Doctor Jones – so 25 years later, what do Danish pop stars Aqua look like now?

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”.

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Aqua circa 2002: Rene, Lene and Soren today.

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, stating to Billboard: “We have looked each other straight in the eye and reached the conclusion that, for the moment, the spark is missing.”

The band in their 90s heyday, L-R: Soren, Lene, Rene and Claus.

But there were rumours going around that the group’s split was actually because of a love triangle between Lene, René and Søren.

Lene dated bandmate René for three years before later moving on to Søren – they wed in 2001. 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. In 2017, Lene and Søren split after 16 years of marriage but remain friends and bandmates.

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:

Lene Nystrøm, 48

Len in the Barbie Girl video.

Aqua singer Lene Nystrom at 48.

In 2001, Lene and bandmate Søren got married in Las Vegas – they now have two kids together but broke up in 2017.

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.

Søren Rasted, 52

Aqua first split up around the time Soren married Lene.

Soren today.

Meanwhile Søren started up his own band called Lazyboy, which according to last.fm, “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.

René Dif, 54

Rene circa Barbie Girl.

Aqua’s original Ken Doll today.

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

Claus Norreen, 51

Little is known about Claus – the other member of Aqua – and what he’s been up to since leaving the group. According to his Wikipedia page, he lives a quieter life in London and has a son called Eliot.

This story originally appeared on The Sun and is republished here with permission

Originally published as What Aqua look like 25 years on from Barbie Girl