Claus Norreen

As far as pop hits go, the summer of 1997 was magical: Hanson's "MMMBop" by Chumbawamba, Chumbawamba's "Tubthumping" and Spice Girls' "Wannabe" were among the Summer 1997 summer hits. However, no single was as pervasive — both the charts and the psyche — as a bubblegum earworm from Aqua, a then-unknown Danish company. When Lene Nystrm and René Dif's cartoonish voices assume plastic personas, the engine turns into unmistakable synths, and it takes only seconds to realize you're listening to "Barbie Girl." Though the track was divisive on its unveiling (an NME report dubbed it a "new hit sensation for serial murderers only"), there was no denying that it was addictive, dominating European charts and introducing the company to the United States, where it climbed to No. 1. Billboard Hot 100 is at number 7. It's been a quarter-century since Aqua's debut album Aquarium, but the song is still alive — from nostalgic nightclub remixes to RuPaul's Drag Race lip syncs, to Ava Max's viral reimagining. It's a legacy that the group, which went on to become Denmark's most popular band, doesn't take for granted. Nystrm tells MTV News, "We always dreamt big, but never this big."