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ICE SPICE
Barbie: The Album is the upcoming soundtrack album for the 2023 film Barbie, directed by Greta Gerwig. It will be released by Atlantic Records on July 21, 2023, the same day as the film's theatrical release.
Background
On May 25, 2023, Rolling Stone reported that the Barbie soundtrack would be produced by Mark Ronson and would feature original songs by Ava Max, Charli XCX, Dominic Fike, Fifty Fifty, Gayle, Haim, Ice Spice, Kaliii, Karol G, Khalid, the Kid Laroi, Lizzo, Nicki Minaj, PinkPantheress, Tame Impala, and cast members Dua Lipa and Ryan Gosling, with additional surprise artists being revealed at a later date. That evening, the soundtrack's partial tracklist was released.
On July 6, 2023, Billie Eilish was announced as the soundtrack's first surprise artist. Eilish's inclusion on the album had been speculated after she posted a neon pink Barbie sign on her Instagram account a week prior. On July 10, 2023, Sam Smith was announced as the soundtrack's second surprise artist.
Production
Before signing on to the Barbie project, producer Mark Ronson received a text from his friend, producer George Drakoulias, that simply stated, "Barbie?" Before Barbie rehearsals could begin in two weeks' time, director Greta Gerwig needed a disco song that would form the basis of highly-choregraphed dance number. She sent Ronson a playlist of what she had in mind for the soundtrack?"guilty pleasure music" or "Peloton pop"?including songs from Andrea True Connection and Xanadu. Ronson and colleague Andrew Wyatt created a backing track that Gerwig loved and used for the cast's dance rehearsals. This song would later become "Dance the Night" by Dua Lipa.
Over the course of a year, Ronson was tasked with curating a soundtrack that matched Gerwig's vision for Barbie. Gerwig and Ronson had made a "wish list" of artists they wanted on the soundtrack, and as the film was being edited in post-production, they would show scenes from the film to these artists. Ronson stated that, "Everybody would watch the scene and come back a week or two weeks later, and got exactly to the heart of everything we were trying to do."
In April 2022, Aqua's manager Ulrich Møller-Jørgensen stated that the band's 1997 hit "Barbie Girl" would not be included on the film’s soundtrack. However, actress Margot Robbie, who plays Barbie, reportedly begged Gerwig to include the song in the film, and Gerwig assured Robbie that she would find a way to incorporate the song in "a cool way." Nicki Minaj and Ice Spice were then signed to perform a remix of the song for the soundtrack, titled "Barbie World". Aqua are credited as both co-writers and performers on the track. Despite not being on the official soundtrack, "Barbie Girl" was included in the official Barbie playlist created by Spotify.
Release
In addition to several variants of vinyl records and cassette tapes offered on the soundtrack's official website, the album will also be released in exclusive colors and designs for Target, Walmart, Barnes & Noble, Amazon, Hot Topic, and Urban Outfitters. Ahead of the soundtrack's release, listening parties will be held at select record stores in the United States, Latin America, and Europe on July 18.
Singles
On May 22, 2023, Dua Lipa announced that her single, "Dance the Night", would be released at midnight on Friday May 26, BST. The accompanying music video was also released that day and included a cameo by Gerwig. Ronson shared a screenshot of a direct message he sent to Lipa on Instagram in 2022, asking her to co-write and perform a song on the soundtrack for a "huge 60-person dance number", which would later become "Dance the Night". On June 10, "Dance the Night" debuted at number 43 on the Billboard Hot 100.
One week later, on June 2, Karol G released her single "Watati". Rolling Stone reported that Karol G had visited Ronson's studio to watch scenes from the film on April 15, 2023, the same day she performed on Saturday Night Live. The accompanying music video for the single was released on June 15.
PinkPantheress released the soundtrack's third single, titled "Angel", on June 9.
On June 10, Nicki Minaj and Ice Spice announced that their single "Barbie World" would be released on June 23. The music video, which featured Barbie likenesses of Minaj and Ice Spice, was also released on June 23. "Barbie World" debuted at number seven on the Billboard Hot 100 on July 8.
Charli XCX released her single "Speed Drive" on June 30.
On July 6, Fifty Fifty released their single "Barbie Dreams" featuring Kaliii.
Billie Eilish was revealed to be the first surprise artist of the soundtrack on July 6. That day, she announced that her song "What Was I Made For?" and its accompanying music video would be released on July 13. Eilish teased the single and video in a July 12 tweet.
On July 10, Sam Smith, the second surprise artist of the soundtrack, announced that their single "Man I Am" would be released on July 21, the same day as the film's theatrical release.
Track listing
- Notes
- "Barbie World" contains a sample of "Barbie Girl", written by Søren Rasted, Claus Norreen, René Dif and Lene Nystrøm, and performed by Aqua.
- "Speed Drive" contains an interpolation of "Mickey", written by Michael Chapman and Nicholas Chinn, and performed by Toni Basil; and an interpolation of "Cobrastyle", written by Klas Åhlund, Joakim Åhlund, Patrick Arve, Ewart Brown, Fabian Torsson, Troy Rami, Paul Rota, David Parker and Sylvia Robinson, and performed by Robyn; which itself is a cover of "Cobrastyle", performed by Teddybears featuring Mad Cobra.
- "Barbie Dreams" contains an interpolation of "Together Again", written by Janet Jackson, James Harris III, Terry Lewis and René Elizondo Jr., and performed by Janet Jackson.
References
External links
- Official website
- Barbie: The Album on Twitter
- Barbie: The Album on Instagram
