Artist · chart history
Barbie and the Kens
Band United States
Barbie and the Kens formed in the United States. Barbie and the Kens has 9 chart appearances on 9 radio countdowns from 2 stations on RockLists, spanning 1983–1995. The most successful song on radio countdowns is “Just a Gigolo”, which appears on 9 lists with a best position of #35. The station that charted Barbie and the Kens most often is KROQ (Los Angeles, CA), with 5 appearances. The artist’s biggest year on year-end countdowns was 1983.
Barbie and the Kens were not really a band at all but a new wave project of Bobby Orlando, and their moment in the sun came with "Just a Gigolo", a minor hit on college radio. It's chirpy, synthetic and a little bit camp, and it reached number 45 on Billboard's Club Play chart in 1981.
"Pay My Bills" was another of their songs. Then Mattel threatened to sue over the use of the name, since they didn't have permission, so the project became Malibu and kept turning out songs such as "Goin' Cruisin'". "Just a Gigolo" lives on in 1980s compilations and on retro internet stations, and the countdowns archived here have held on to it too.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
Songs by Barbie and the Kens on radio countdowns
| # | Song | Strength | Lists | Best | #1s | Peak year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Just a Gigolo | 9 | #35 | – | 1983 |
Albums with charting songs
Where each song was first released, from MusicBrainz.
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