Songfacts®:

• It was clear as day that Nicki Minaj was destined to be on the 2023 Barbie soundtrack. The Barbie doll and the Pink World have been a major part of Minaj's public image from day one. Just look at Harajuku Barbie, one of her personas that flaunts her feminine and fashion-forward side. Even her fans, the "Barbz," are named after Harajuku Barbie. So when Ice Spice asked her to collaborate on a song for the soundtrack, it was a slam dunk.
• "Barbie World" samples "Barbie Girl," the 1997 Eurodance smash by the Danish group Aqua, who are credited as performers and co-writers in the song.
  
  You'd think "Barbie Girl" would be in the film, but Barbie's maker, Mattel, has longstanding beef with Aqua. They didn't like the way "Barbie Girl" portrayed the famous doll as a "bimbo girl" who was Ken's plaything.
  
  Mattel sued Aqua but the case was dismissed on the grounds of freedom of speech. It's probably not a coincidence that soon after "Barbie Girl" became a smash hit, Mattel gave Barbie a new, more realistic body.
• The snappy track, clocking in at 1:49, has Minaj and Ice Spice riffing on all things Barbie. They kick the track off with the chorus, name-dropping Barbie's pink Corvette, her handsome beau, and her crew.
  
  I'm a doll, but I still wanna party
  Pink 'Vette like I'm ready to bend
  I'm a ten, so I pull in a Ken
  Like Jazzie, Stacie, Nicki
  
  Minaj and Spice may be dolls, but they know how to have a good time, live luxuriously (with a pink Ferrari or Corvette), and enjoy a fabulous life with their Ken, the epitome of perfection.
• Minaj drops the first verse, giving a nod to her old instagram handle, @allpinkbarbiedreamhouse.
  
  I'm a Barbie girl, Pink Barbie Dreamhouse
  
  Minaj later references her hairstylist and wig wizard, Tae.
  
  I told Tae bring the Bob Dylan out
  
  Minaj plays with the legendary singer-songwriter Bob Dylan's name to reference crafting a flawless bob wig. That iconic hairstyle became a defining element of Nicki's early career aesthetic.
• Ice Spice jumps in next, infusing her typical rap flair into the Barbie anthem. She asserts her superiority over other aspiring rappers who strive to be like her, boasting about her success, her style, and her alluring attitude.
  
  All the fake Barbies just wanna pretend
  Like hold on, let me go find me a pen
  Look where it led, now I'ma put it to bed
  
  Spice is dominating the competition right now.
• Ice Spice's regular producer, RiotUSA, created the beat. His instrumentation fuses drill and Jersey club with the individual styles of Minaj and Ice Spice.
  
  Speaking on her Queen Radio show, Minaj said she accepted Ice Spice's offer to take part because she liked the way RiotUSA incorporated Aqua's "Barbie Girl" into the song. "This is the first time that someone had put this sample in a way that didn't make me uncomfortable or gimmicky," she said. "I figured out that it needed to be a beat that would still give Barbie and Nicki."
• This is the second time Minaj, Ice Spice, and RiotUSA have worked together. They first linked up on the remix of Ice Spice's "Princess Diana," which peaked at #4 on the Billboard Hot 100.
• Nicki Minaj released three previous songs with the word "Barbie" in the title:
  
  "Black Barbies" (2016) references the ideal thick body shape of Black women. It's a remix of Rae Sremmurd's "Black Beatles."
  
  "Barbie Dreams" (2018) is a diss track that finds Minaj name-dropping and rapping about her sexual prowess.
  
  "Barbie Tingz" (2018) is a self-love anthem that celebrates Minaj's confidence and body image.
• Directed by Hannah Lux Davis, the very pink "Barbie World" music video finds the two artists striking their best Barbie poses and living that plastic-fantastic life.