Lene Nystrom was born on October 2nd, 1973 in Tonsberg, Norway. The Norwegian is best known for being the lead vocalist of the group Aqua who had a successful career in the dance pop genre with the 1997 megahit Barbie Girl being their most internationally recognizable tune. The other three members of the group were all Danish males including current husband, Soren Nystrom Rasted, with whom Nystrom has two children. Aqua baffled music industry isiders. While their sound often included pop culture kitsch, cartoons and obviously a famous doll they somehow appealed to audiences all across the world in Japan, the U.S., Europe and Australia. Barbie Girl bore Nystroms high pitched vocals, even evoking the bubbling vibrato one would imagine from a mermaid pinching her nose while singing underwater. But after all, it did seem to match the joke, or social commentary that this is all a Barbie Doll really is. Japanese audiences notoriously enjoy kitsch, dolls, and blondes and these are not unappealing in Europe and America so perhaps fewer people in the music business should have been surprised. Chart toppers included three top ten singles in a row in the UK, and sales nearly reached 28 million albums and singles from 1989 to 2001. The group has recently announced they have plans to reunite.
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