iheartHazey's 90s EURODANCE PARTY: Wanna go for a rate? - THE END

Ouch. I could've 11'd this, guys!
















































































































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#30. Aqua - Lollipop (Candyman) - 7.342

After 5: #58
After 10: #21
After 15: #34
After 20: #26
After 25: #28
After 30: #33
Final: #30

Highest: 10 x 7 (@iheartpoptarts, @DJHazey, @Daniel_O, @CasuallyCrazed, @31entrance, @One Stop Candy Shop, @ThisIsRogue) 9.4 x 1 (@Untouchable Ace) 9.2 x 1 (@berserkboi)

Lowest: 3 x 2 (@Ray, @A$AP Robbie) 4 x 1 (@Hudweiser)

Album: Aquarium (1997)

Best Charts: #23 (US), #3 (Australia), #38 (Canada), #29 (France), #24 (Italy), #22 (New Zealand), #10 (Sweden)

Producers: Søren Rasted and Claus Norreen (of Aqua), Jam & Delgado (Daze, Ace of Base, Hit 'n' Hide)

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Hiya Poptarts!

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Hi Hazey!

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What the hell happened here?

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Well, these people kicked 'Lollipop (Candyman)' out of the Eurodance rate. *pouts* Wanna show them what they're missing?



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I am the Candyman. Coming from Bountyland. Which is a green planet in space.

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I'm an astronaut with five or six different wigs. The light purple one is my fave. Soren and Claus drive my spaceship, and I'm not entirely sure they know what the heck they're doing.

(Also, Claus makes the "live long and prosper" sign, except with one finger missing, probably so we don't get sued. Again. Remember Mattel?)

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And then I beam myself onto your ship and we eat lollipops together and travel to Bountyland and live happily ever after!

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Oh Candyman, I'm having so much fun—but wait! A giant lizard! Aqua has been abducted by aliens!

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Not to worry, C.A.N.D.Y. the robot will come to our rescue by transforming their alien weapons into oversized lollipops!

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Yay! We're saved! Dance party in space!

(Disclaimer: @DJHazey didn't write any of this. I just made it up on the spot.)

Getting out of character now, here are some random Aqua facts for y'all...

• Aqua was originally called Joyspeed. They flopped under this name with an 'Itsy Bitsy Spider' cover.

• They all got matching tattoos of the eye from the Aqua logo.

• Lene and Soren have two kids, who stay with their grandparents when the group is on tour.

• They're the most successful Danish band of all time!

Oh My Love:

@CasuallyCrazed (10) - The crowning achievement of Aqua’s career and of Denmark eurodance in general. This still goes OFF. Should have been a much bigger hit in the states.

I like you if you like sugar...

@31entrance (10) - I feel like I'm supposed to hate this but it fills me with joy with its sugary and sweet beats, just like a lollipop actually.

@Seventeen Days (7) - I remember hearing this super late one night on MTV when I was a teen. It was the song that finally made me pay attention to Aqua, and led to me getting their CD. Definitely a fun sugary bop.

@WowWowWowWow (9) - I'm not sure I have yet wrapped my brain around the fact that Aqua would go from a pair of bubblegumrific songs to "Turn Back Time" -- one of the best midtempo ballads that I've ever heard, from any type of artist. Talent! Anyway, Lollipop was around for a hot minute in the USA, but no patch on Barbie.

Just throwing this out there—if 'Turn Back Time' wins the eventual Aqua rate I think I'm going to die.

@berserkboi (9.2) - Awesome too!

@sfmartin (7) - A bit of a mess if i'm honest.

@Sprockrooster (6) - A bit subpar to the other efforts but definitely still allright. Mostly because of that brilliant beat.

There are too many amazing Aqua singles. We had a hard time cutting it down to three...

@One Stop Candy Shop (10) - This goes hard. It's probably my favourite Aquarium song after Roses Are Red.

@Empty Shoebox (8) - 'I wish that I were a bubblegum' What is that supposed to mean? Someone tell me please. I had to subtract a point for that.

@ohnoitisnathan (8.5) - More of the same as their previous two (at least, going by the release chronology in Australia; I don't think this one got a UK single release), but somehow sillier. "I wish that I were a bubblegum". A bubblegum what?

Bubblegum everything! Oh, you guys.

Bite Me:

@Ray (3) - Whyyyyy isn’t Pet Shop Boys’ ‘Heart’… I mean ‘Turn Back Time’ in this?

@phily693 (5) - Maybe it’s because I don’t know it unlike their other songs but it’s annoying.

@Hudweiser (4) - Was this a single? Eww. Roses Are Red was the awesome.

You're all forgiven because at least you like other Aqua songs.


---

The next time Aqua went into space:



The Aquarium bops we didn't rate:





And that one Japanese bonus track you might not know about...

 
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he/him
Unfortunately because I'm at work, I can't see all the images that are in there (I'm hoping you had our avatar images during that conversation), but even so I got the idea from just reading the correspondence. Yes Indeed, I had nothing to do with it and didn't even know that was coming, absolutely iconic in every way possible @iheartpoptarts!!

I totally would've had "Doctor Jones" go before Lollipop. Actually "Lollipop" is in my Trinity from Aquarium, it sits right behind "Roses Are Red" and my ultimate favorite "My Oh My". As far as their later output, I'm not a huge fan of anything from Aquarius to be honest and haven't heard all of their material in more recent year except for this gem:

 
he/him
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Oh wow poptarts, things are really getting serious if we're already being eliminated. I know this rate has seen the bubblegum get popped early and often but I figured we could cruise into the Top 20.


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I know, I know. But at least it got everyone talking about our music and now that they have our attention..










































































































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Things are only going to get worse, apparently. poor my bubblegum heart. sigh.











































































































Not us exactly, but our good friends.




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#29. Daze - Superhero - 7.428
After 5: #68
After 10: #45
After 15: #35
After 20: #37
After 25: #31
After 30: #28
Final: #29

Leaderboard Average: #41

To think young guys had this outside the Top 60, even the Top 40 is foolish and a complete disaster. Thank goodness taste prevailed at least a little bit, though I'd argue it should be somewhere in the #15-#25 range.

Highest: 11 (@One Stop Candy Shop) 10 x 4 (@iheartpoptarts, DJHazey, @WowWowWowWow, @Untouchable Ace)

Lowest: 3 x 2 (@roborovsky, @soratami) 4 (@GhettoPrincess)

Album: Super Heroes (1997)

Charts: #2 (Denmark, Norway) #11 (Sweden) #23 (Netherlands) #42 (New Zealand) #88 (U.S.)

Producers: Johnny Jam and Delgado (Aqua, Ace of Base, Hit 'n' Hide, Me & My)

Daze is vocalist Trine Bix along with musicians Lucas Sieber and Jesper Tønnov. Before Daze, Trine did vocals under the name Trine Q for the project Double Divine, the she met Jesper when they were both part of Systematixx which wasn't exactly a match made in heaven according to Trine: "We tried rap but it just wasn't working out, so we threw out the rap and then we met Sieber" she explains. "Jesper T hated me at first, you know. He was sort of the dance manager then in Systematixx and when we first met, he hated my voice. Yes! It's true. I have a deep voice and when he heard it, his attitude was (laughing) like 'I'm going to sing the Blues'."

Daze's biggest claim to fame is how they became one of the fastest selling acts in Danish history with "Superhero". They won a Danish Dance Grammy for the song in 1997 and sold out concerts before most people even knew they existed. The song was gold and platinum throughout Scandinavia and the album Super Heroes sold 250,000 copies which is a lot for the region. The follow up singles "Toy Boy" and "Together Forever" (formally known as "Tamagotchi" and indeed a tribute song to all virtual pets) were also huge in Scandinavia. "Superhero" even charted in the United States, which is a rare feat for bubblegum dance. Billboard even wrote about them at the time: "Is there still a little steam left in the Euro-NRG movement? When the material is as giddy and catchy as this, you bet. This exuberant trio—fronted by the chirpy Bix and helmed by the producers behind Aqua—speeds through a rave-ish groove and a sea of cotton-candy synths. Bix is not an extraordinary vocalist, but she's several notches above her European contemporaries, vamping with notable dexterity and confidence. The hook is sticky good fun and perfect car-radio fodder. Expect it to be blasting from rhythm-crossover and top 40 stations well into the early summer season."

1997 was of course when Aqua was becoming huge so the comparisons to them were inevitable for Daze, but Trine doesn't see it the same way: "It's hard to say how we are different. I think we are very different but a lot of people think we are very alike. At the beginning, people said we were the copycats of Aqua. It's very annoying. But we've been doing the same dance music that we've done for many years before Aqua did."

Needless to say that are both a part of the same subgenre in Eurodance and I'm sure both bands would look back on things and consider themselves equal as far inspirational icons. After a couple years of radio silence from Daze, they finally released the lead single for their second album "15 Minutes of Fame" which probably shocked their fans with how serious it sounded in comparison to the Super Heroes days. The song discusses the Jerry Springer Show and similar programs and is meant to be tongue in cheek. Their second single "2nd Chance" (both of these are amazing by the way) would also flop as well as the album, but if you ask me both albums have an equal amount of great material.

Singing um pa pa ay yah:

@WowWowWowWow (10) - Turbopop perfection! The single wasn't enough, I needed that full album. Did I once drive 53 miles (85 km) into a different state so that I could buy the Super Heroes album? Why yes, yes I did. And how did I even know that they had it in stock? And why hadn't CDNow or Spotify been invented yet??? So many memories lost to time. But, I can listen to "Call Girl" whenever I want (as long as I have access to a CD player) so who's the flop here, not me!!!

Iconic story, reminding me of buying imported bubblegum CDs online for more than I'd care to mention. Topped off by name-dropped a Daze favorite.

@Seventeen Days (8) - Okay, I am HERE for the weird robot voice and the catchy “mmm-bop-a-ay-a-ay” hook.

@Sprockrooster (9) - What a massive and euphoric chorus.

@Ray (6) - That Sonic The Hedgehog riff is fabulous!

@ohnoitisnathan (9) - Aqua with more grown-up vocals.

Kii at this description actually being on point and probably why Trine didn't like the comparisons so much.

@phily693 (8) - I LOVE this chorus although it’s very Doctor Jones.

@Cutlery (7.5) - Liking the melodies and how it’s not entirely the same between verses and chorus, and that there is a sense of progression

I need a super hero lover, not this uncertainty:

@berserkboi (7.9) - Good but no standout!

@sfmartin (7) - Cookie cutter eurodance. Baked from the same mold as a lot of them. Still good.

@CasuallyCrazed (7) - Jam packed with melody, if not much originality.

@Empty Shoebox (5) - Hadn't heard this one before, but just sounds too derivative and repetitive now.

Our Super Hero 11:

@One Stop Candy Shop - Huge Daze fan here. Their entire debut album is 11 worthy. I remember seeing the Superhero video on tv for the first time and I was immediately hooked. It didn't chart very highly, but Together Forever was quite a big hit in Belgium. I'm still proud of that.



Let's pick out three of my Daze favorites. Also from Super Heroes:



From They Came to Rule:




 
Thanks to our hosts for reminding me of the brilliance of Superhero! I've always loved Together Forever by Daze but had forgotten the existence of Superhero until this rate, which I actually did buy on CD single back in the day and have since imported to my iTunes. One of my best rediscoveries!
 

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