Aquarius (Aqua album)

Aquarius
Studio album by
Released28 February 2000
RecordedJanuary–November 1999
Studio
Genre
Length46:44
LabelUniversal
Producer
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 listing
No.TitleLength
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 track
No.TitleLength
13."Cartoon Heroes" (Metro's That's All Folks Remix)6:23
Danish special edition bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
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]

Charts

[edit]

Certifications and sales

[edit]
Certifications for Aquarius by Aqua
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[44] Gold 35,000^
Canada (Music Canada)[45] 2× Platinum 200,000^
Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[46] 4× Platinum 265,000[5]
Japan (RIAJ)[47] Platinum 200,000^
Norway (IFPI Norway)[48] 2× Platinum 100,000*
South Korea 162,617[49]
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[50] Platinum 100,000^
Sweden (GLF)[51] Platinum 80,000^
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[52] Gold 25,000^
United Kingdom 35,000[53]
Summaries
Europe (IFPI)[54] 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[55] 28 February 2000 CD / Cassette Universal Music
United States[56] 28 March 2000 MCA Records

References

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  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.
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  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)
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  46. ^ Drejer, Dennis (26 February 2000). "Aqua er de største – Nyheder – BT.dk". B.T. (in Danish). Retrieved 9 July 2011.
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  53. ^ Copsey, Rob (7 April 2021). "One hit album wonders – huge albums that were hard acts to follow". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 7 April 2021.
  54. ^ "IFPI Platinum Europe Awards – 2000". International Federation of the Phonographic Industry.
  55. ^ Ferro, Charles (18 December 1999). "Music Pulse". Billboard. Vol. 111, no. 51. p. 71. ISSN 0006-2510.
  56. ^ Garrity, Brian (12 February 2000). "Artists & Music: Bubble-Gum Popsters". Billboard. Vol. 112, no. 7. p. 14. ISSN 0006-2510.