Master bassist covers 'Barbie Girl' in the slickest, coolest way

Bassist Charles Berthoud will blow your mind.
Get ready to feast your ears on the baddest version of a bubble gum pop classic.
It’s always fun to hear gifted musicians completely reimagine familiar tunes, and bassist Charles Berthoud is no exception to that.
Berthoud delivers his masterful videos to more than 900,000 subscribers every week, with not only flawless precision, but wit and charm to boot. From playing the Seinfeld theme to turning Beethoven metal, seemingly no request is beyond his skill level.
Take a listen to his cover of “Barbie Girl,” by Aqua. With nine, count 'em, different variations—9.5 if you watch all the way through—and each one more intricate and complicated than the last.
I’ve listened to this four times now, and I can confirm that it’s physically impossible to not bounce your head to the beat.
He even channels Bach for the seventh variation. Holy cow. Kids these days might not resonate with classical music as it was originally written, but therein lies the beauty of contemporary covers. When performed by remarkable artists like Berthoud, we can find new ways to appreciate the old.
If your jaw is on the floor after watching, you’re not alone. People were amazed, to say the least. As indicated by the influx of positive comments:
“Can't wait to have this song stuck in my head all day, seriously impressive work!”
“Who knew Barbie Girl is one of the greatest music masterpieces ever created.”
“Well it’s going to be hard living with a melted face but I gotta admit that was pretty sick.”
I think one person summed up everyone’s reaction with this:
“Dude... How? How does a person get this good at anything? Incredible. It's like seeing something supernatural.”
If you’re curious to hear even more of Berthoud’s bass-tastic tunes, you can check out his YouTube channel here.
And for fun, you can remind yourself of what the original Barbie Girl sounded like below. Yeah, it’s quite different.
- The best and weirdest cover versions of Radiohead's "Creep ... ›
- This super-sweet version of the Beatles' 'Octopus's Garden' will ›
- An accomplished cellist makes 'goblin metal' music with gibberish ... ›
- Mattel's newest lineup includes a Barbie with Down syndrome - Upworthy ›
There's a reason why some people can perfectly copy accents, and others can't
Turns out, there's a neurodivergent link.
A woman in black long sleeve shirt stands in front of mirror.
Have you ever had that friend who goes on vacation for four days to London and comes back with a full-on Queen's English posh accent? "Oooh I left my brolly in the loo," they say, and you respond, "But you're from Colorado!" Well, there are reasons they (and many of us) do that, and usually it's on a pretty subconscious level.
It's called "accent mirroring," and it's actually quite common with people who are neurodivergent, particularly those with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). According Neurolaunch, the self-described "Free Mental Health Library," "Accent mirroring, also known as accent adaptation or phonetic convergence, is the tendency to unconsciously adopt the accent or speech patterns of those around us. This linguistic chameleon effect is not unique to individuals with ADHD, but it appears to be more pronounced and frequent in this population."
Essentially, when people have conversations, we're constantly "scanning" for information—not just the words we're absorbing, but the inflection and tone. "When we hear an accent, our brains automatically analyze and categorize the phonetic features, prosody, and intonation patterns," writes Neurolaunch. For most, this does result in copying the accent of the person with whom we're speaking. But those with ADHD might be more sensitive to auditory cues. This, "coupled with a reduced ability to filter out or inhibit the impulse to mimic…could potentially explain the increased tendency for accent mirroring."
While the article explains further research is needed, they distinctly state that, "Accent mirroring in individuals with ADHD often manifests as an unconscious mimicry of accents in social situations. This can range from subtle shifts in pronunciation to more noticeable changes in intonation and speech rhythm. For example, a person with ADHD might find themselves unconsciously adopting a Southern drawl when conversing with someone from Texas, even if they’ve never lived in the South themselves."
People are having their say online. On the subreddit r/ADHDWomen, a thread began: "Taking on accents is an ADHD thing?" The OP shares, "My whole life, I've picked up accents. I, myself, never noticed, but everyone around me would be like, 'Why are you talking like that??' It could be after I watched a show or movie with an accent or after I've traveled somewhere with a different accent than my 'normal.'
They continue, "Apparently, I pick it up fast, but it fades out slowly. Today... I'm scrolling Instagram, I watch a reel from a comedian couple (Darcy and Jeremy. IYKYK) about how Darcy (ADHD) picks up accents everywhere they go. It's called ADHD Mirroring??? And it's another way of masking."
(The OP is referring to Darcy Michaels and his husband Jeremy Baer, who are both touring comedians based in Canada.)
Hundreds of people on the Reddit thread alone seem to relate. One comments, "Omfg I've done this my whole life; I'll even pick up on the pauses/spaces when I'm talking to someone who is ESL—but English is my first language lol."
Sometimes, it can be a real issue for those around the chameleon. "I accidentally mimicked a waitress's weird laugh one time. As soon as she was out of earshot, my family started to reprimand me, but I was already like 'oh my god I don’t know why I did that, I feel so bad.'"
Many commenters on TikTok were shocked to find out this can be a sign of ADHD. One jokes, "Omg, yes, at a store the cashier was talking to me and she was French. She's like 'Oh are you French too? No, I'm not lol. I'm very east coast Canada."
And some people just embrace it and make it work for them. "I mirror their words or phrase! I’m 30. I realized I start calling everyone sweetie cause my manager does & I work at coffee shop."