Aquarius (Aqua album)

2000 studio album by Aqua

Aquarius

Studio album by

Aqua

Released| 28 February 2000
Recorded| January–November 1999
Studio|

* RastedNorreen Mobile Studio (Mölle, Sweden and Somerset, England)
* Studio 2 at Swedish National Radio and Polar Studios (Stockholm, Sweden)

Genre|

* Eurodance
* Europop

Length| 46:44
Label| Universal
Producer|

* Søren Rasted
* Claus Norreen

Aqua chronology
| Aquarium
(1997)  | Aquarius
(2000)  | Cartoon Heroes: The Best of Aqua
(2002)

|
|

Singles from  Aquarius

1. "Cartoon Heroes"
Released: 1 February 2000
2. "Around the World"
Released: 30 May 2000
3. "Bumble Bees"
Released: 9 August 2000
4. "We Belong to the Sea"
Released: 9 January 2001

Aquarius is the second studio album by Danish–Norwegian band Aqua. The album was released on 28 February 2000 by Universal.

## Singles

[edit]

The lead single, "Cartoon Heroes", peaked at number one in Denmark and Norway, reached number 7 in the UK in February 2000 and later received top 10 positions globally except for the US where it failed to chart on the Billboard Hot 100. The second single, "Around the World", also peaked at number one in Denmark, but only made number 26 in UK and did not sell highly in most regions. It was the last release in most territories before the band split in 2001.

Scandinavia and other European countries saw further releases of "Bumble Bees" and "We Belong to the Sea" during late 2000, both achieving only moderate success.

"Freaky Friday" was meant to be released as a single back when the band was still promoting the album, but it ended up being cancelled. The song was then released 16 years later, in 2017, through an EP of remixes.[1][2]

## Commercial performance

[edit]

The album debuted at number one in Denmark and Norway while peaking inside the top ten in seven countries. It sold 39,000 copies in its first week in Denmark, becoming the fastest-selling album of the decade.[3] The album became the second best-selling album of 2000, selling 174,523 copies.[4] As of August 2001, Aquarius had sold 265,000 copies in Denmark.[5] It became the third best-selling album of the 2000s in Denmark.[6]

In the United States, the album debuted at number 82 on the Billboard 200 and spent six weeks on the chart. This is a significant drop from their previous album Aquarium (1997), which peaked at number seven and spent 50 weeks on the chart. Aquarius has been certified platinum by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) for shipments of one million copies inside Europe. Worldwide, the album has sold four million copies.[7][8]

## Track listing

[edit]

All tracks written and produced by Søren Rasted and Claus Norreen, except where noted.

Aquarius track listingNo.| Title| Length

|
|

1.| "Cartoon Heroes"| 3:38
2.| "Around the World"| 3:28
3.| "Freaky Friday"| 3:45
4.| "We Belong to the Sea"| 4:18
5.| "An Apple a Day"| 3:37
6.| "Halloween" (writers: Rasted, Norreen, René Dif)| 3:49
7.| "Good Guys"| 3:58
8.| "Back from Mars"| 4:03
9.| "Aquarius"| 4:21
10.| "Cuba Libre" (writers: Rasted, Norreen, Dif)| 3:36
11.| "Bumble Bees"| 3:52
12.| "Goodbye to the Circus"| 3:59

Japanese edition bonus trackNo.| Title| Length

|
|

13.| "Cartoon Heroes" (Metro's That's All Folks Remix)| 6:23

Danish special edition bonus tracksNo.| Title| Length

|
|

13.| "Cartoon Heroes" (Metro 7-inch Edit)| 4:06
14.| "Cartoon Heroes" (Love to Infinity Classic Radio Mix)| 3:08

## Personnel

[edit]

Credits adapted from album liner notes.[9]

* Aqua – mixing
* Stefan Boman – vocal engineering
* Christian Møller Nielsen – additional programming
* René Dif – lyricist, composition, lead vocals
* Björn Engelmann – mastering
* Nana Hedin – backing vocals
* Michael Henderson – mixing
* Henrik Janson – strings arrangement
* Ulf Janson – strings arrangement
* Ole Kibsgaard – guitar

* Stig Kreutzfeldt – vocal engineering
* Jörgen Larsen – scratching
* Peter Ljung – piano
* Bernard Löhr – mixing
* Claus Norreen – composition, production, arrangement
* Lene Nystrøm – lead and backing vocals
* Stockholm Session Orchestra – strings
* Jean-Paul Wall – backing vocals
* Søren Rasted – composition, production, arrangement, backing vocals
* Anders Øland – additional programming

|

## Charts

[edit]

### Weekly charts

[edit]

Weekly chart performance for Aquarius by Aqua  | Chart (2000)  | Peak
position

|

Australian Albums (ARIA)[10] | 15
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[11] | 11
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[12] | 18
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[13] | 9
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[14] | 3
Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[15] | 6
Danish Albums (Hitlisten)[16] | 1
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[17] | 42
Estonian Albums (Eesti Top 10)[18] | 4
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[19] | 7
French Albums (SNEP)[20] | 37
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[21] | 16
Hungarian Albums (MAHASZ)[22] | 8
Irish Albums (IRMA)[23] | 36
Italian Albums (FIMI)[24] | 2
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[25] | 10
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[26] | 8
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[27] | 1
Scottish Albums (OCC)[28] | 33
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[29] | 3
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[30] | 2
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[31] | 8
UK Albums (OCC)[32] | 24
US Billboard 200[33] | 82

### Year-end charts

[edit]

Year-end chart performance for Aquarius by Aqua  | Chart (2000)  | Position

|

Canadian Albums (Nielsen SoundScan)[34] | 34
Danish Albums (Hitlisten)[35] | 1
European Albums (Music & Media)[36] | 31
Finnish Foreign Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[37] | 5
Italian Albums (FIMI)[38] | 28
Norwegian Winter Period Albums (VG-lista)[39] | 9
Norwegian Spring Period Albums (VG-lista)[40] | 4
South Korean International Albums (MIAK)[41] | 11
Spanish Albums (AFYVE)[42] | 29
Swedish Albums & Compilations (Sverigetopplistan)[43] | 32
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[44] | 82

### Decade-end charts

[edit]

Decade-end performance for Aquarius by Aqua  Chart (2000–2009)  | Position

|

Danish Albums (Hitlisten)[6] | 3

## Certifications and sales

[edit]

Certifications for Aquarius by Aqua  Region  | Certification | Certified units/sales

|
|

Australia (ARIA)[45] | Gold  | 35,000^
Canada (Music Canada)[46] | 2× Platinum  | 200,000^
Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[47] | 4× Platinum  | 265,000[5]
Japan (RIAJ)[48] | Platinum  | 200,000^
Norway (IFPI Norway)[49] | 2× Platinum  | 100,000*
South Korea  | —  | 162,617[50]
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[51] | Platinum  | 100,000^
Sweden (GLF)[52] | Platinum  | 80,000^
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[53] | Gold  | 25,000^
United Kingdom  | —  | 35,000[54]
Summaries
Europe (IFPI)[55] | Platinum  | 1,000,000*
Worldwide  | —  | 4,000,000[8]

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

## Release history

[edit]

Release formats for Aquarius Region  | Date  | Format  | Label

|
|
|

Worldwide[56] | 28 February 2000  | CD / Cassette  | Universal Music
United States[57] | 28 March 2000  | MCA Records

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Aqua – Freaky Friday (2017) Master release!". Bubblegum Dancer. Retrieved 24 November 2017.
2. ^ "Freaky Friday – EP by Aqua on Apple Music". Apple Inc. Retrieved 24 November 2017.
3. ^ Ardahl, Rasmus (1 December 2006). "Kim Larsen og Take That". Gaffa (in Danish). Retrieved 23 July 2011.
4. ^ "Års Hitlister 2000". 2000. Archived from the original on 26 September 2001. Retrieved 20 November 2011.
5. ^ a b Jensen, Erik (14 August 2001). "Den store landgang for Aqua". Politiken (in Danish). Retrieved 15 December 2012.
6. ^ a b "Ud med 'love' – ind med 'kærlighed'". Urban (in Danish): 21. 14 December 2009.
7. ^ "Fakta og Aqua – Kultur | www.b.dk". Berlingske Tidende (in Danish). 13 November 2005. Retrieved 9 July 2011.
8. ^ a b Körner, Jan (17 August 2006). "Ekstra Bladet – Tjente 210 mio. på Aqua". Ekstra Bladet (in Danish). Retrieved 9 July 2011.
9. ^ Aquarius (liner notes). Aqua. Universal Music. 2000. 157 530-2.`{{cite AV media notes}}`: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
10. ^ "Australiancharts.com – Aqua – Aquarius". Hung Medien. Retrieved 29 July 2020.
11. ^ "Austriancharts.at – Aqua – Aquarius" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 29 July 2020.
12. ^ "Ultratop.be – Aqua – Aquarius" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 29 July 2020.
13. ^ "Ultratop.be – Aqua – Aquarius" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 29 July 2020.
14. ^ "Aqua Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 29 July 2020.
15. ^ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 8310". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
16. ^ "Hits of the World: Denmark (IFPI/Nielsen Marketing Research) 03/04/00". Billboard. Vol. 112, no. 14\. Nielsen Business Media. p. 81\. ISSN 0006-2510.
17. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Aqua – Aquarius" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 29 July 2020.
18. ^ "EESTI ALBUMID 29. aprill 2000". Eesti Päevaleht (in Estonian). 6 May 2000. p. 27\. Archived from the original on 19 March 2025. Retrieved 19 March 2025.
19. ^ "Aqua: Aquarius" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 29 July 2020.
20. ^ "Lescharts.com – Aqua – Aquarius". Hung Medien. Retrieved 29 July 2020.
21. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Aqua – Aquarius" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 29 July 2020.
22. ^ "Album Top 40 slágerlista – 2000. 11. hét" (in Hungarian). MAHASZ. Retrieved 5 June 2022.
23. ^ "Irish-charts.com – Discography Aqua". Hung Medien. Retrieved 29 July 2020.
24. ^ "Italiancharts.com – Aqua – Aquarius". Hung Medien. Retrieved 29 July 2020.
25. ^ アクエリアス (in Japanese). Oricon. Archived from the original on 16 August 2023. Retrieved 16 August 2023.
26. ^ "Charts.nz – Aqua – Aquarius". Hung Medien. Retrieved 29 July 2020.
27. ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – Aqua – Aquarius". Hung Medien. Retrieved 29 July 2020.
28. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 29 July 2020.
29. ^ Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
30. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Aqua – Aquarius". Hung Medien. Retrieved 29 July 2020.
31. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Aqua – Aquarius". Hung Medien. Retrieved 29 July 2020.
32. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 29 July 2020.
33. ^ "Aqua Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 29 July 2020.
34. ^ "Canada's Top 200 Albums of 2000". Jam!. Archived from the original on 12 August 2004. Retrieved 24 March 2022.
35. ^ Ritzau (7 September 2001). "Danskere storforbrugere af musik-cd'er – Nyheder – BT.dk". B.T. (in Danish). Retrieved 9 July 2011.
36. ^ "Year in Focus – European Top 100 Albums 2000" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 17, no. 52\. 23 December 2000. p. 9\. OCLC 29800226. Retrieved 19 January 2019 - via American Radio History.
37. ^ "Myydyimmät ulkomaiset albumit vuonna 2000" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 6 January 2016.
38. ^ "Classifica annuale 2000 (dal 03.01.2000 al 31.12.2000)" (in Italian). FIMI. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
39. ^ "Topp 40 Album Vinter 2000". VG-Lista (in Norwegian). Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
40. ^ "Topp 40 Album Vår 2000". VG-Lista (in Norwegian). Archived from the original on 10 September 2017. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
41. ^ "자료제공:(사)한국음반산업협회/이 자료는당협회와 상의없이 가공,편집을금합니다". MIAK (in Korean). Archived from the original on 16 June 2007. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
42. ^ "AFYVE EN 2000". Anuariossgae: 44. 27 December 2001. Retrieved 17 June 2017.
43. ^ "Year list Album (incl. Collections), 2000". Sverigetopplistan (in Swedish). Retrieved 20 December 2020.
44. ^ "Schweizer Jahreshitparade 2000". hitparade.ch. Retrieved 29 July 2020.
45. ^ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2000 Albums" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association.
46. ^ "Canadian album certifications – Aqua – Aquarius". Music Canada.
47. ^ Drejer, Dennis (26 February 2000). "Aqua er de største – Nyheder – BT.dk". B.T. (in Danish). Retrieved 9 July 2011.
48. ^ "Japanese album certifications – Aqua – Aquarius" (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan. Retrieved 26 December 2020. Select 2000年11月 on the drop-down menu
49. ^ "IFPI Norsk platebransje Trofeer 1993–2011" (in Norwegian). IFPI Norway.
50. ^ ":: Record Industry Association of Korea :: Pop aggregated record sales in 2000". January 2001. Archived from the original on 18 March 2009. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
51. ^ "Spanish album certifications – Aqua – Aquarius". El portal de Música. Productores de Música de España. Retrieved 22 March 2024.
52. ^ "Guld- och Platinacertifikat − År 2000" (PDF) (in Swedish). IFPI Sweden. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 May 2011.
53. ^ "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards ('Aquarius')". IFPI Switzerland. Hung Medien.
54. ^ Copsey, Rob (7 April 2021). "One hit album wonders – huge albums that were hard acts to follow". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 7 April 2021.
55. ^ "IFPI Platinum Europe Awards – 2000". International Federation of the Phonographic Industry.
56. ^ Ferro, Charles (18 December 1999). "Music Pulse". Billboard. Vol. 111, no. 51\. p. 71\. ISSN 0006-2510.
57. ^ Garrity, Brian (12 February 2000). "Artists & Music: Bubble-Gum Popsters". Billboard. Vol. 112, no. 7\. p. 14\. ISSN 0006-2510.

* v
* t
* e

Aqua

* René Dif
* Claus Norreen

* Lene Nystrøm
* Søren Rasted

Studio albums|

* Aquarium
* Aquarius
* Megalomania

Compilation albums|

* Cartoon Heroes: The Best of Aqua
* Greatest Hits

Singles|

* "Roses Are Red"
* "My Oh My"
* "Barbie Girl"
* "Doctor Jones"
* "Lollipop (Candyman)"
* "Turn Back Time"
* "Good Morning Sunshine"
* "Cartoon Heroes"
* "Around the World"
* "Bumble Bees"
* "Back to the 80s"
* "My Mamma Said"
* "How R U Doin?"
* "Playmate to Jesus"
* "Like a Robot"
* "I Am What I Am"
* "Barbie World"

Video albums|

* The Aqua Diary
* Aqua: The Videos
* Aqua: The Video Collection

Related articles|

* Discography
* Mattel, Inc. v. MCA Records, Inc.
* Michael Brinkenstjärna
* Eurovision Song Contest 2001
* Frække Frida og de frygtløse spioner
* Lazyboy
* Hej Matematik

Authority control databases |

* MusicBrainz release group

|

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