COMMENTARY: So Long Spice Girls–Introducing The Beatrix Girls

There were the Dixie Chicks, the Spice Girls, and even The Pussy Cat Dolls. But now, there’s an all-new girls’ band with its sight set on taking over the world—The Beatrix Girls. If you haven’t heard of this 12-inch fashion doll phenomenon (similar to the likes of Monster High dolls and Barbie), it’s a line of collectable pop star dolls that create, sing, and play their own original music.

The Beatrix Girls BandLark, the fiery redhead and bassist of the band, loves extreme sports like surfing and snowboarding, but most of all she loves making music with her best friends, The Beatrix Girls. As all of the girls flaunt their own style, Lark loves to be dressed up in ripped jeans, combat boots, and pretty much anything that’s not pink. She is, for many reasons, my favorite, but I wouldn’t go as far as to say that she was my inspiration in dying my hair red—or would I?

Ainsley is something like a Southern belle and can always be found wearing a frilly-pink dress to complement her big blonde barrel curls. The guitarist is Brayden is the one rocking the sky-high heels and wild violet-purple hair. She also writes most of the band’s songs. And what would the band be without its Canadian keyboard player Chantal? Her look is all about short skirts and sequins.

Meet The BeatrixRecently, The Beatrix Girls’ first EP, Meet the Beatrix dropped and… (drumroll) it’s quite good. Granted, the dolls are intended for girls ages 6 to 12 so my ears knew what to expect, but I was pleasantly surprised when I listened to the tracks. There are five songs: “Just Bein’ Beatrix,” “Bend the Rules,” “Go Extreme,” “Doin’ My Thing,” and “Nice Try.” You can buy the CD at Toys “R” Us or listen to The Beatrix Girls Pandora Radio station that compares the girl group to artists such as Demi Lovato, Selena Gomez, Taylor Swift, and Bridgit Mendler. I definitely see why The Beatrix Girls is most similar to Disney Channel singers and other girl-power bands, but it’s impossible for me distinguish them as just being an actual band, rather than as dolls that also have a CD. But I’m confident that young girls won’t find that distracting at all. I even picked my favorite song of theirs which is “Doin’ My Thing”—”I’m gettin’ sick of what people say, I know it’s probably just jealousy. So I let it go, no slowin’ me down no, no! But, I’m sick of hearin’ what I do wrong, nobody’s perfect so no one should be throwin’ stones, but they won’t knock me down, no no!” (I’ll let you listen to the rest yourself).

Either way, every Beatrix Girl fan can identify with one or, on some level, all of the band members, which makes listening to the music the band actually produces that much better. These multi-dimensional dolls are not only inspiring to the superstar in all of us, but they’re fun because they invite girls to be a part of their lives and to essentially live vicariously through them, which all celebrities and artists do these days via social media. The Girls are on Facebook, they blog, and their music can be played in the car or at slumber party. So, just as I grew up spicing up my life by imagining I was Sporty Spice (because I was a total tomboy), this generation’s girls can obsess over Lark, Ainsley, Brayden, and Chantal—and let’s just take a moment to recognize how awesome those names are.

For more commentary from Deanna, check back often. Views expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Toy Book as a whole. We hope that you will share your comments and feedback below. Until next time!

 

About the author

Deanna Atkins

Deanna Atkins

Deanna Atkins is the editorial assistant at Adventure Publishing Group. She helps the editorial team on leading trade magazines The Toy Book and The Licensing Book, and contributes online at toybook.com, licensingbook.com, and thebigtoybook.com. When she’s not trying to keep up with Toy Insider Mom Laurie Schacht, she can be found reviewing kids’ CDs, DVDs, and books while daydreaming about the upcoming How to Train Your Dragon sequel and reading the dictionary. Follow her on Twitter @Deeeannuh and keep up with her bi-weekly, sometimes funny commentaries on toybook.com.

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