Spice Girls debuted at #1 in UK with Spice

Spice Spice Girls

Released: September 19, 1996 Charted: November 16, 1996 Peak: 15 US, 115 UK, 16 CN, 3 AU Sales (in millions): 7.5 US, 3.0 UK, 27.6 world (includes US and UK) Genre: pop

Tracks: Song Title (date of single release, chart peaks) Click for codes to charts. Wannabe (7/20/96, 1 US, 1 UK, platinum single) Say You’ll Be There (10/26/96, 3 US, 1 UK, gold single) 2 Become 1 (12/28/96, 4 US, 1 UK, 8 AC, gold single) Love Thing Last Time Lover Mama (3/15/97, 1 UK) Who Do You Think You Are Something Kinda Funny Naked If U Can’t Dance Total Running Time: 39:56 The Players: Victoria Beckham (“Posh Spice”) Melanie Brown (“Scary Spice”) Emma Bunton (“Baby Spice”) Melanie Chisholm (“Sporty Spice”) Geri Halliwell (“Ginger Spice”)

Rating: 3.566 out of 5.00 (average of 23 ratings) Quotable: “Irresistible, immaculately crafted pop that gets by on the skills of the producer and the charisma of the five Spices” – Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About the Album: Heart Management held auditions to create a girl group in the ‘90s which could compete with the British boy band craze. The result was the Spice Girls, formed in 1994, with members Victoria Beckham (“Posh Spice”), Melanie Brown (“Scary Spice”), Emma Bunton (“Baby Spice”), Melanie Chisholm (“Sporty Spice”), and Geri Halliwell (“Ginger Spice”). The resulting debut album, Spice, “is considered to be the record that brought teen pop back.” WK Dev Sherlock of LAUNCHcast called it “pure upbeat ear candy” and “one of the most must and exciting pop releases of the year.” WK It promoted a strong feminist image called Girl Power and generated hype in the UK that was compared to Beatlemania. The album topped the charts in more than 17 countries, becoming the world’s best-selling album in 1997 with more than 19 million copies sold. WK It became the biggest-selling album by a gril group in music history. WK “None of the Girls have great voices, but they do exude personality and charisma, which is what drives bouncy dance-pop like Wannabe, with its ridiculous ‘zig-a-zig-ahhh’ hook, into pure pop guilty pleasure.” AMG That song definitely was that, reaching #1 in 37 countries and becoming one of pop music’s most memorable earworms. “Spice doesn’t need to be original to be entertaining, nor do the Spice Girls need to be good singers. It just has to be executed well, and the innocuous dance-pop of Spice is infectious.” AMG “What is surprising is how the sultry soul of Say You’ll Be There is more than just a guilty pleasure, and how ballads like 2 Become 1 are perfect adult contemporary confections.” AMG Both followed “Wannabe” to the top of the charts in multiple countries and were top-5 hits in the United States. In the UK, Mama and What Do You Think You Are were released as a double-A-sided single and topped the charts, making the Spice Girls the first act in UK chart history to reach the top of the chart with its first four singles. WK “The rest of the album isn’t quite as catchy as those first three singles, but it is still irresistible, immaculately crafted pop that gets by on the skills of the producer and the charisma of the five Spices. Sure, the last half of the album is forgettable, but it sounds good while it’s on, which is the key to a good dance-pop record.” AMG

Resources and Related Links: DMDB encyclopedia entry for Spice Girls AMG All Music Guide review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine WK Wikipedia Other Related DMDB Pages: First posted 3/25/2008; last updated 11/15/2023.