Lights, Camera, Barbie: The Summer’s Most Anticipated Soundtrack

This piece originally appeared on July 13, 2023 in Sound Signal, our biweekly newsletter that identifies emerging artists, scenes, and trending tracks, crafted by the world's best writers and curators. Sign up here to never miss our take on what's next in music.

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Barbie wouldn’t be Barbie without Branding, and the Mark Ronson executive-produced soundtrack is giving record labels a run for their money. Ahead of the live-action film directed by Greta Gerwig, Barbie The Album is basking in its fandom. Since late May, Atlantic Records has released six singles (spanning across pop, reggaeton, and rap), including co-star Dua Lipa’s “Dance the Night.” The soundtrack’s Instagram page functions as a bulletin board, sharing snippets of songs and teasers with mystery contributors. Barbie The Album’s social media strategy sets it apart from other soundtracks released earlier this year: In March, J. Cole executive-produced the album that accompanied Creed 3, followed by Metro Boomin’s work in June for Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse—which debuted at No.5 on the Billboard 200.

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The Ronson-helmed soundtrack boasts all original music and intentionally chosen samples, including the 1997 cult classic, “Barbie Girl,” by Europop band Aqua. Following the success of “Princess Diana,” a collaboration from the New York-bred rappers released in April, “Barbie World” features Nicki Minaj, rap’s Head-Barbie-in-Charge, and drill princess Ice Spice. Although it was reported that Aqua’s song would not be in the film (Mattel sued MCA Records in the ‘90s for trademark infringement), Ronson tapped Bronx producer RIOTUSA to flip the iconic sample. “Barbie World” has already debuted at No. 7 on Billboard’s Hot 100, and is seeing an uptick of 106.5M likes and 1.3B views on TikTok.

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The Barbie OST singles reflect a slightly more inclusive world since the legendary doll debuted in March 1959. There’s alt-rock trio HAIM (“Home”), rising dance-pop showstopper Ava Max (“Choose Your Fighter”), UK garage maven PinkPantheress (“Angel”) and Latin trap superstar Karol G (“WATATI”). The soundtrack’s mystery campaign has revealed two new stars to its star-studded tracklist. Billie Eilish recently announced “What Was I Made For?” and Sam Smith will perform “Man I Am,” a song written from the perspective of Ken.

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By July 21, Mattel would have finally created a world where everyone can be a Barbie or a Ken.

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