With colourful vinyl variants, Nicki Minaj singles, and record-store listening events, the star-studded soundtrack Barbie the Album has turn out to be as a lot of a cultural phenomenon because the Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling-starring movie itself. Produced by Mark Ronson, Barbie the Album shines by itself as a enjoyable sonic reimagining of the Barbie storyline with a touch of nostalgia, that includes a few of the largest acts in music.
Like within the movie’s opening sequence, Lizzo’s vocals on the foolish opener “Pink” immerse the listener into the world of Barbie as she narrates the doll’s imaginary day (simply as Hoku’s “Good Day” did in Legally Blonde). As Robbie instructed Rolling Stone, the music “grew to become a tool to boost what the viewers was watching and experiencing.”
The album doesn’t take itself severely, and it’s higher for it. After Karol G wraps her seaside Barbie monitor “Watati,” Sam Smith sings from the angle of a “tremendous sleazy, horny and freaky” Ken on “Man I Am” as they hilariously deal with the jokes that Ken is a closeted queer man: “No, I’m not homosexual, bro, however I’ve been on that lay low.” Smith, a non-binary particular person, is ideal for the music.
If Gosling’s satirical, Eighties-infused “I’m Simply Ken” and Jack Black’s “Peaches” confronted one another within the ring… Gosling would take dwelling the crown. (Sorry, Bowser.) And within the movie, Gosling steals the present together with his dance efficiency.
A Barbie album with out Nicki Minaj merely wouldn’t make sense, and “Barbie World,” her monitor with Ice Spice, effortlessly brings Aqua’s traditional “Barbie Woman” from the Nineties to 2023. Dominic Fike exhibits a brighter, summery aspect than ordinary on “Hey Blondie.” Gayle performs a grungy Barbie on “Butterflies.” Billie Eilish’s “What Was I Made For?” mirrors the existential, tear-jerking second Robbie’s character goes by way of within the movie. And Okay-pop group Fifty Fifty’s earworm “Barbie Goals” epitomizes the picture-perfect, pink world of the doll.
The one skips on the album? Khalid’s “Silver Platter” and the Child Laroi’s “Endlessly & Once more.” They really feel misplaced on the document and don’t improve the LP’s Kendom portion. However maybe the Laroi look is cleverly intentional, providing straight excessive schoolers an excuse to observe Barbie with their girlfriends?
Earlier than the album even drops, some haters complained that a few of the snippets sounded too just like the artists’ personal music, however that’s why the Barbie album works so nicely. “Select Your Fighter” lives within the lane of Ava Max’s Diamonds & Dancefloors however seems like a online game character-esque improve to her personal dance pop. Charli XCX’s addicting “Pace Drive” may’ve led off her glorious album Crash, Dua Lipa’s disco monitor “Dance the Night time” exudes Future Nostalgia, and even Eilish’s whispering vocals are precisely what we’d anticipate from the songstress. The celebrities arrive with an air of familiarity that also transports listeners to Barbie’s world.
Barbie the Album has one thing for everybody (Brandi Carlile’s loving bonus monitor cowl of the Indigo Ladies’ “Nearer To Nice” is an particularly candy, honest contact), and it neatly ties collectively the playful feminism of the movie into an pleasing musical expertise. You don’t have to observe the film to like the music, identical to you don’t must play with the dolls to benefit from the movie. It’s so good, we want a deluxe model.
