“Barbie World”: Aqua Lives On Through Nicki Minaj and Ice Spice—But There Still Ain’t Nothin’ Like the Original “Barbie Girl”

From jet skiing through pink clouds to riding through an (especially) ersatz version of Beverly Hills, the latest collaboration from Nicki Minaj and Ice Spice (following “Princess Diana”) is an homage to yet another blonde icon: Barbie. No last name required (like all truly legitimate icons). After showing their love for Lady Di, the dynamic rap duo has seen fit to pay their respects to another blonde white lady, albeit at least one that comes in “a range of colors” (because unless one counts the purple “Princess Diana” beanie baby, Ms. Spencer was strictly blanche).

Minaj, who has long referred to herself as “Barbie” (even though Lil’ Kim laid claim to that title well before with the lyrics, “Black Barbie/Dressed in Bulgari”), is only too down to step into the role “for real” this time. And she gets to achieve that dream by being rendered as an actual “plastic girl,” along with Ice Spice, who has been ascending the ranks of rap (and pop) music royalty with the easy breezy vibe of a Barbie Girl skipping straight to the front of the line. And, speaking of “Barbie Girl,” the credits of the song are sure to mention “with Aqua,” even though the signature vocals and chorus from Lene Nystrøm are “subtly” incorporated/interwoven as part of the backing track.

Still, it’s “nice” (because one must take what they can get in this modern life of constant “repurposing” a.k.a. unabashed lack of originality) to know Minaj and Ice Spice are reverent enough to “bow down” to the OG of “Barbie world-building” in sonic format. Indeed, traces of the original video (in addition to the Greta Gerwig-directed Barbie movie itself) can also be seen in the “updated” version. Though “updated” feels like the wrong word for something that deviates entirely from the original (and oh so correct) genre of “Barbie Girl”: Eurodance. With “Barbie Girl” getting the push in favor of “Barbie World,” it’s straight rap as Minaj spits verses like, “The way Ken be killin’ shit got me yellin’ out like the Scream house [hardly a Dreamhouse, by the way]/Yellin’ out, we ain’t sellin’ out [of course they are though]/We got money, but we ain’t lendin’ out [because yes, that’s how the rich stay rich].

And where the “Barbie Girl” video has authentic “palettes,” fashions and graphics that were on-trend for the time, “Barbie World” possesses something of the “Pinterest board effect” in terms of pulling and culling various “aesthetics” from Barbieland and the late 90s (itself one giant Barbieland thanks to then-pervasive Clubland panache). To help with that “effect” back then were Danish directors Peder Pedersen and Peter Stenbæk, who reveal Nystrøm in all her “plastic” glory as she finds herself in different Barbie-like scenarios, including being an equestrian and a poolside layabout. The “Barbie scenarios” of “Barbie World” are, of course, slightly more high-budget.

This, to be sure, is maximized by director Hannah Lux Davis (known for sumptuous music video visuals that range from Charli XCX’s “Good Ones” to David Guetta, Anne-Marie and Coi Leray’s “Baby Don’t Hurt Me”), who showcases Minaj and Ice at their “Barbie diva” best. As for that aforementioned “high-budget” aesthetic trying to pose as the inherently “analog” one of the original “Barbie Girl” video, viewers (whether “perspicacious” or not) can immediately tell it has to do with some key sponsors being plugged throughout. For example, Olipop soda, a brand that gets the advertising benefit of numerous cans being randomly ejected from the back of Ice Spice’s jet ski and tossed into the hands of muscular would-be Kens who also happen to be hanging out in the clouds.

In another instance of blatant product placement, Lux Davis proves that Barbie is, indeed, entering the real world on her way out of Barbieland (or “Barbie World,” if we must) when there’s even a nonsensically present billboard for M1 margin loans featured as “Ice Spice Barbie” rides in the backseat of a pink convertible (sometimes she’s driving, sometimes she’s not…maybe it’s one of Elon’s self-driving contraptions). Elsewhere, Minaj recreates key scenes from the movie’s trailer (including looking larger than life next to a slew of miniature men…in lieu of the little girls with their dolls who appear in the trailer) before the two revert to their “authentic plastic” (an oxymoron, to be sure) Barbie forms that we were first introduced to at the beginning of the video. The conclusion of “Barbie Girl,” in contrast, is slightly more macabre in a manner that Greta Gerwig would be likelier to applaud than the decidedly, um, vanilla goings-on of “Barbie World” in that the “Ken” (René Dif) of “Barbie Girl” ends up pulling Barbie’s arm off and having a bit of fun with its detachment at the major pool party blowout we get to see as the “denouement.”

While “Barbie World” exhibits far more love to (and creative license with) its predecessor than something like Kim Petras’ “Alone” (which Minaj also collaborated on earlier this year), it is ultimately still a case of lacking the same “genuine cheeseballness,” if you will, paired with searing satirical commentary that made it such an instant classic when it first came out. One that remains untouchable even as “Barbie World” seeks to “revamp” the original for the sake of “synergizing” with the upcoming film. A film that, incidentally, has a better (and yes, actually original) song in the form of Dua Lipa’s “Dance the Night.”