Credit: YouTubeIt has been less than 24 hours since the new song “Barbie World” by rappers Nicki Minaj and Ice Spice hit Spotify, and it’s already shattering records and cracking top song lists left and right.
The sparkling, upbeat collab was written specifically for the soundtrack of the upcoming Barbie movie, now only a month out, and it it had already been added to 242 playlists and reached millions of listeners by 4:30 today, June 23 – before the first tracking day even officially ended.
"Barbie World" has now surpassed 120M playlisting reach on Spotify. first tracking day isn't even over yet pic.twitter.com/qVPEQvol3S
— NMSpotify (@NMonSpotify) June 23, 2023
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Even more importantly, though, it has broken into the Top 5 list for Biggest Female Rap Debut of 2023; “Barbie World” has already edged out Doja Cat’s “Attention.”
“Barbie World” by @NICKIMINAJ & @icespicee_ has surpassed “Attention” by @DojaCat to become the 5th biggest female rap debut on Youtube of 2023. pic.twitter.com/ETaD4eIgCB
— Rap Alert (@rapalert1O) June 23, 2023
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Not only that, but the music video for “Barbie World” is also now the number one trending video on all of YouTube – and with good reason – it’s nothing but fun.
The video opens on a shot that looks like a commercial for the version of the Barbie Dreamhouse built especially for Margot Robbie in the Barbie movie, with two dolls that look exactly like Nicki Minaj and Ice Spice part of the play.
Then we zoom out to shots of the actual rappers on set – as dressed to impress as any Barbie ever. They proceed to deliver the even-toned, call-and-response rap verses over top of Aqua’s classic song “Barbie Girl,” while undergoing numerous outfit – and hair – changes.
They also reenact already-iconic scenes from the Barbie movie trailers – like one shot of a giant Nicki Minaj standing on the beach, surrounded by clamoring, tiny men in suits, whom she winks at.
(This is a real reference turducken – the music video is referencing the initial Barbie trailer, which in turn was referencing 2001: A Space Odyssey.)
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The song is definitely getting so huge in part because of the hype and encouragement of dedicated fans, who took to social media to sing the song’s praises soon after it came out – as well as to admonish fans who weren’t already listening, with several rhetorically asking, “what are you even doing?”
If your devices don't look like this, idk what you doing. Stream Barbie World now! pic.twitter.com/3QgmIq0RLA
— Victory4Onika🇳🇬 (@RamatVictory) June 23, 2023
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It does always seem that the songs that blow up this big this fast have the most militantly attentive fanbases. The fact that Nicki Minaj and Ice Spice have achieved BTS levels of hype on Twitter after this new song drop is a testament to the dedication of their loyal followers.
It’s also definitely a testament to the Barbie movie – hype for the film was at a high even before the press tour for the film truly kicked off, and it’s only been steadily growing as stars and creators have done interviews and the studio has dropped trailers. The public can usually sense a truly good movie based on the enthusiasm of the cast and crew, and we definitely smell a winner with Barbie.
It will certainly be interesting to see how the numbers on “Barbie Girl” climb as it gets even more circulation throughout the week, and for the month leading up to the premiere of Barbie on July 21.
Have you heard “Barbie World” yet? Let Inside the Magic know what you think of the new song in the comments.