Another Rendition of 'Are They Kawaii?'

Hello, konnichiwa!

In the last 'Are They Kawaii?' post, we discussed creepy-cute singer Melanie Martinez, which was met favorably (that way we're not discussing cartoons only).

And in today's post, we will discuss the 1990s Danish Pop Band, Aqua!

If you're a 90s' kid like I was, or you have heard of them from an older relative, you might be wondering - "What would make them kawaii?"

For starters, you probably remember their biggest hit titled "Barbie Girl". The song had high-pitched vocals (by Lene, the only female in the group) and an upbeat danceable rhythm.

And when you watch their video (below), you might notice something else about them - they are fans of Asian culture! Look at their names in title credits ≧◡≦

Note all the bubbly, fun parts of their plastic world - so cute!!

One thing you might not have noticed when you were a kid listening to their poppy-fun songs, was that their lyrics were thinly veiled 'erotic' lyrics. A prime example is the song Lollipop

You can see in the screenshot from the music video that they are innocently enjoying some candy. Only it's not that innocent ⊂•⊃_⊂•⊃

If you were like me, you were probably dancing your heart out to this techno beat, and then started to realize she wants his, um, "lollipop" to um, lick and yeah... not continuing this sentence. I must say I'm impressed how much these singers cleverly got past the sensors.

So who are these singers?

In 1988/89, these 4 formed a group called Joyspeed and started performing in Europe (they are primarily from Denmark). And they achieved HUGE success in North America and other places, when they came out with Barbie Girl in 1997, after renaming themselves Aqua. 

The one female lead singer is Lene Nystrom, often known in the 90s and early 2000s for her colorful, eclectic style. She could always rock a new fun wig.

Rene Dif is the lead male vocalist, who intentionally sings in deep/raspy tones to off-set his counterparts' high ones. He is almost always seen bald.

The keyboardist is Soren Rasted, usually seen in the 90s with spiky blond hair (kind of like a well-known anime character...). He does background vocals and is married to Lene.

Claus Norreen is the guitarist for the group and was often seen with flaming red hair in the prime of their fun, upbeat videos.

The group has since split-up, though they did release music up to 2011, and very likely have remained friends.

And now for the #Kawaii365 projects...

Yesterday was a fairly busy day for me and for Rob, which meant I didn't create the daily kawaii cutie. So today I will feature them both for you.

This one was to honor the nice dinner Rob & I had at his mum's place [yesterday]

And before I go for the day, I'd like to remind you of the #KaraokeChallenge that #Kawaii365 will be hosting in early February. I'm getting over my cold so I can sing for you :)

• The way this challenge works is, you get a list of songs (in survey form) to choose from, and the one song with the most votes on February 1st will be chosen and performed by me, because I've been challenged by you.
• I will wear an applicable costume to whatever song you choose!
• Then it will be my turn to challenge all of you guys :D For every commenter here, on facebook and YouTube, I'll pick a song for you to perform and share your video with the hashtags #KaraokeChallenge and #Kawaii365 - then I'll share your awesomeness here on the blog!

Thank you for reading and have an awesome day!