Charli XCX Made Barbie Go Vroom Vroom With Her High-Octane Barbie Bop
The queen of automotive hits is back.
Sorry, music festivals — the world’s traveling to Barbie Land for some sonic (and plastic) fun this summer. Ever since the character posters for Greta Gerwig’s Barbie were released in April, the pink-dripped landmark has been on everyone’s radar. The highly anticipated film has an all-star cast, so it’s only right that this aura carried over to its soundtrack, too. On May 25, the artist lineup for Barbie: The Album was announced, and it’s quite a genre-bending dream.
Even Barbie News, who exclusively aired the announcement, can’t handle this riveting lineup. As seen on the film’s official Instagram, the album — produced by Mark Ronson — will feature music from Lizzo, Charli XCX, Nicki Minaj (hopefully, her Harajuku Barbie alter ego makes an appearance), GAYLE, Dominic Fike, FIFTY FIFTY, and more. Both Ice Spice and PinkPantheress also have slots in this roster, perhaps alluding to their duet “Boy’s A Liar,” which will also appear on the album. Or, they may have another hit in store.
Elsewhere, Dua Lipa also has a spot on the album. The singer, who stars as Mermaid Barbie in the upcoming film, first hinted at her involvement on the album on May 22. She shared a teaser of her Barbie single, “Dance The Night” on Instagram, and included a fresh look at her siren-inspired aesthetic. In the clip, a disco-slicked groove reminiscent of Dua’s 2020 record, Future Nostalgia, fills the background. OK, that would be iconic if Barbie Land and Club Future Nostalgia exist in the same universe.
Dua’s lead single officially dropped on May 25, along with a music video perfectly combining the disco vibes with the bright-pink Barbie set.
Karol G’s spicy summer jam “WATATI” was the next release from the soundtrack, also getting a perfectly Barbie-fied video. The third single was PinkPantheress’ atmospheric groove “Angel.” Then, Nicki Minaj and Ice Spice gave the girls what they were waiting for when they dropped their collab “Barbie World” on June 22. The two rappers trade verses over a sample of Aqua’s iconic 1997 Europop anthem “Barbie Girl.” Because of Mattel’s contentious history with Aqua, the song itself couldn’t be featured in the movie, so this was the workaround.
On June 30, another Barbie bop hit the gas pedal. Charli XCX’s “Speed Limit” is a pop banger put into hyperdrive, boosted even more by a sample of Toni Basil’s cheerleading hit “Mickey.”
The song adds yet another chapter into Charli’s large catalogue of singing about driving fast cars.
Ryan Gosling, who plays as Ken, is also down for some plastic fun on the album. The actor has shown his vocal chops over the years, including in 2016’s Oscar-winning La La Land. Clearly, he’s going to serve major Kenergy.
Barbie: The Album releases on July 21.
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