Aquarius (Aqua album)

Aquarius
Studio album by Aqua
Released 28 February 2000
Recorded January–November 1999;
RastedNorreen Mobile Studio,
(Mölle, Sweden and Somerset, England);
Studio 2 at Swedish National Radio and Polar Studios,
(Stockholm, Sweden)
Genre Eurodance, Europop
Length 48:50
Label Universal
Producer Søren Rasted, Claus Norreen
Aqua chronology

Aquarium
(1997)		 Aquarius
(2000)		 Megalomania
(2011)
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.

Commercial performance

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.[1] The album became the second best-selling album of 2000, selling 174,523 copies.[2] As of August 2001, Aquarius had sold 265,000 copies in Denmark.[3] It became the third best selling album of the 2000s in Denmark.[4]

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 last 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.[5][6]

Singles

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 U.S. 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.

Track listing

No. TitleWriter(s) Length
1. "Cartoon Heroes"  Søren Rasted, Claus Norreen 3:38
2. "Around the World"  Rasted, Norreen 3:28
3. "Freaky Friday"  Rasted, Norreen 3:45
4. "We Belong to the Sea"  Rasted, Norreen 4:18
5. "An Apple a Day"  Rasted, Norreen 3:37
6. "Halloween"  Rasted, Norreen, René Dif 3:49
7. "Good Guys"  Rasted, Norreen 3:58
8. "Back from Mars"  Rasted, Norreen 4:03
9. "Aquarius"  Rasted, Norreen 4:21
10. "Cuba Libre"  Rasted, Norreen, Dif 3:36
11. "Bumble Bees"  Rasted, Norreen 3:52
12. "Goodbye to the Circus"  Rasted, Norreen 3:59

Personnel

  • Aqua – mixing
  • Stefan Boman – vocal engineer
  • Christian Møller Nielsen – additional programming
  • René Dif – lyricist, composer, 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 engineer
  • Jörgen Larsen – scratching
  • Peter Ljung – piano
  • Bernard Löhr – mixing
  • Claus Norreen – lyricist, composer, producer, arrangement
  • Lene Nystrøm – lead and backing vocals
  • Stockholm Session Orchestra - strings
  • Jean-Paul Wall – backing vocals
  • Søren Rasted – lyricist, composer, producer, arrangement, backing vocals
  • Anders Øland – additional programming

Credits adapted from album liner notes.[7]

Charts

Charts

Chart (2000) Peak
position
Australian Albums Chart[8] 15
Austrian Albums Chart[8] 11
Belgian Albums Chart (Flanders)[8] 18
Belgian Albums Chart (Wallonia)[8] 9
Canadian Albums Chart[9] 3
Danish Albums Chart[10] 1
Dutch Albums Chart[8] 42
Finnish Albums Chart[8] 2
French Albums Chart[8] 37
German Albums Chart[11] 16
Irish Albums Chart[12] 36
Italian Albums Chart[8] 2
New Zealand Albums Chart[8] 8
Norwegian Albums Chart[8] 1
Spanish Albums Chart[10] 3
Swedish Albums Chart[8] 2
Swiss Albums Chart[8] 8
UK Albums Chart[13] 24
US Billboard 200[14] 82

Year-end charts

Chart (2000) Position
Danish Albums Chart[15] 1

End-of-decade charts

Chart (2000–2009) Position
Danish Albums Chart[4] 3

Certifications

Region Certification Sales/shipments
Australia (ARIA)[16] Gold 35,000^
Canada (Music Canada)[17] 2× Platinum 200,000^
Denmark (IFPI Denmark)[18] 4× Platinum 200,000^
Norway (IFPI Norway)[19] 2× Platinum 100,000*
Sweden (GLF)[20] Platinum 80,000^
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[21] Gold 25,000x
Summaries
Europe (IFPI)[22] Platinum 1,000,000*

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone

Release history

Region Date Format Label
Worldwide[23] February 28, 2000 CD / Cassette Universal Music
United States[24] March 28, 2000 MCA Records

References

  1. ↑ Ardahl, Rasmus (1 December 2006). "Kim Larsen og Take That" (in Danish). Gaffa. Retrieved 23 July 2011.
  2. ↑ "Års Hitlister 2000". 2000. Archived from the original on 16 November 2001. Retrieved 20 November 2011.
  3. ↑ Jensen, Erik (14 August 2001). "Den store landgang for Aqua" (in Danish). Politiken. Retrieved 15 December 2012.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Ud med 'love' - ind med 'kærlighed'". Urban (in Danish): 21. 14 December 2009.
  5. ↑ "Fakta og Aqua - Kultur | www.b.dk". Berlingske Tidende (in Danish). 13 November 2005. Retrieved 9 July 2011.
  6. ↑ Körner, Jan (17 August 2006). "Ekstra Bladet - Tjente 210 mio. på Aqua". Ekstra Bladet (in Danish). Retrieved 9 July 2011.
  7. ↑ Aquarius (liner notes). Aqua. Universal Music. 2000. 157 530-2.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 8.5 8.6 8.7 8.8 8.9 8.10 8.11 "Aqua - Aquarius - hitparade.ch". Swiss Music Charts (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 2011-07-09.
  9. ↑ "Aqua Album & Song Chart History". Canadian Albums Chart for Aqua. Prometheus Global Media. Archived from the original on 10 July 2011. Retrieved 2011-07-09.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 "Hits of the World". Billboard (Nielsen Business Media) 112 (14): 81. 1 April 2000. ISSN 0006-2510.
  11. ↑ "Chartverfolgung / AQUA / Longplay". Media Control Charts (in German). PhonoNet GmbH. Retrieved 2011-07-09.
  12. ↑ "Chart Track". Irish Albums Chart. GfK. Retrieved 2011-07-21.
  13. ↑ "Archive Chart". UK Albums Chart. The Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2011-07-09.
  14. ↑ "Aqua Album & Song Chart History". Billboard 200 for Aqua. Prometheus Global Media. Archived from the original on 10 July 2011. Retrieved 2011-07-09.
  15. ↑ Ritzau (7 September 2001). "Danskere storforbrugere af musik-cd'er - Nyheder - BT.dk". B.T. (in Danish). Retrieved 9 July 2011.
  16. ↑ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2000 Albums". Australian Recording Industry Association.
  17. ↑ "Canadian album certifications – Aqua – Aquarius". Music Canada.
  18. ↑ Drejer, Dennis (26 February 2000). "Aqua er de største - Nyheder - BT.dk". B.T. (in Danish). Retrieved 9 July 2011.
  19. ↑ "Norwegian album certifications – Aqua – Aquarius" (in Norwegian). IFPI Norway.
  20. ↑ "Guld- och Platinacertifikat − År 2000" (PDF) (in Swedish). IFPI Sweden.
  21. ↑ "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards (Aqua; 'Aquarius')". Hung Medien.
  22. ↑ "IFPI Platinum Europe Awards – 2000". International Federation of the Phonographic Industry.
  23. ↑ Ferro, Charles (18 December 1999). "Music Pulse". Billboard (Nielsen Business Media) 111 (51): 71. ISSN 0006-2510.
  24. ↑ Garrity, Brian (12 February 2000). "Artists & Music: Bubble-Gum Popsters". Billboard (Nielsen Business Media) 112 (7): 14. ISSN 0006-2510.