Mattel has celebrated Aaliyah by launching a new Barbie doll in her memory.
- READ MORE: Remembering the Princess of R&B: 20 of Aaliyah’s best pop culture moments ever
The new figure was launched yesterday (January 16) by Mattel Creations and arrived on what would have been the late singer’s 46th birthday.
Modelled after the iconic R&B musician, the doll comes with a look inspired by the outfit in her 1996 music video for ‘One In A Million’. This includes a black leather crop top, matching trousers and gloves, as well as sunglasses and shoes.
It also features the same black hair, which is styled with a side parting. Released as part of the Music Series by Mattel and priced at $55 (£45.13), the doll has already sold out. It was exclusively available to those who are part of the brand’s membership – called Barbie Club 59 – and went live at midnight ET (5am GMT) yesterday (January 16).
“Aaliyah’s smooth vocals and innovative sound helped shape ’90s R&B, and her influence on music and fashion continues to be felt today,” reads the description on the website. “Our tribute to ‘Babygirl’s’ life and sound will take any collection to the top of the charts.”
It was designed with the help of the singer’s brother Rashad Haughton, who also spoke to Forbes about the new figurine.
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“Throughout the process, obviously, it takes a long time to get everything right and to do samples and to get the sculpts. And it’s amazing, but definitely a painstaking process,” he told the outlet.
“As the time went on, we started to realise that, you know what, the timing is going to be perfect. Let’s choose my sister’s birthday [to release it],” he added, also describing it as “a celebration of her life and a celebration of her legacy”.
Find out more about the Aaliyah Barbie doll here.
The release comes more than two decades after Aaliyah’s death in 2001. She tragically died in August of that year after the plane she was on nosedived in the Bahamas. She passed along with the pilot and seven members of her team.
She rose to fame following her 1994 debut ‘Age Ain’t Nothing but a Number’, and went on to gather multiple hit singles and millions of albums sold through to her self-titled release ‘Aaliyah’ in 2001.
In 2012, reports of a posthumous Aaliyah album featuring Timbaland and Missy Elliott were denied by each of those musicians, while Drake’s rumoured collaborative project with the late singer in 2014 was scrapped following her family’s discouragement.
In 2021, The Weeknd posthumously enlisted Aaliyah for the joint single ‘Poison’. The following year Aaliyah’s uncle confirmed that a posthumous album titled ‘Unstoppable’ featuring Drake, Ne-Yo, Snoop Dogg and Future would be released, though it never materialised.
In 2023, fans petitioned to have the late star inducted into the Rock N’ Roll Hall Of Fame.
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