Description

The Spice Girls were an English girl group formed in 1994, consisting of Mel B (“Scary Spice”); Melanie C (“Sporty Spice”); Emma Bunton (“Baby Spice”); Geri Halliwell (“Ginger Spice”); and Victoria Beckham (“Posh Spice”). They have sold over 100 million records worldwide, making them the best-selling girl group of all time. With their “girl power” mantra, the Spice Girls redefined the girl-group concept by targeting a young female fanbase. They led the teen pop resurgence of the 1990s, were a major part of the Cool Britannia era, and became popular culture icons of the decade.

The Spice Girls were formed by Heart Management, who held auditions to create a girl group to compete with the British boy bands popular at the time. After leaving Heart, the Spice Girls hired Simon Fuller as their manager and signed with Virgin Records. They released their debut single, “Wannabe”, in 1996, which reached number one on the charts of 37 countries. Their debut album, Spice (1996), sold more than 23 million copies worldwide, becoming the best-selling album by a female group in history. Producing three more number-one singles: “Say You’ll Be There”, “2 Become 1” and “Who Do You Think You Are”/”Mama”. Their second album, Spiceworld (1997), sold more than 14 million copies worldwide. The Spice Girls achieved three number-one singles from the album with “Spice Up Your Life”, “Too Much” and “Viva Forever”. Both albums encapsulated the group’s dance-pop style and message of female empowerment, with vocal and song writing contributions shared equally by the members.

In 1997, the Spice Girls made their live concert debut and released a feature film, Spice World, both to commercial success. In 1998, the group embarked on the Spiceworld Tour, which was attended by an estimated 2.1 million people worldwide, becoming the highest-grossing concert tour by a female group. Halliwell left the Spice Girls mid-tour in May 1998. Following a number-one single with “Goodbye” (1998) and a successful 1999 concert tour, the Spice Girls released their R&B-influenced third album Forever in 2000. It featured their ninth number one single with “Holler”/”Let Love Lead the Way”, setting a record for most UK number ones by a girl group of all time. By the end of 2000, the Spice Girls entered a hiatus to concentrate on their solo careers. Since then, they have reunited for a performance at the 2012 Summer Olympics closing ceremony and for two concert tours: the Return of the Spice Girls from 2007 to 2008 as a five-piece and the Spice World — 2019 UK Tour in 2019 without Beckham. Both tours won the Billboard Live Music Award for highest-grossing engagements, making the Spice Girls the top touring all-female group from 1998 to 2020.

The Spice Girls have won five Brit Awards, three American Music Awards, four Billboard Music Awards, three MTV Europe Music Awards and one MTV Video Music Award. In 2000, they became the youngest recipients of the Brit Award for Outstanding Contribution to Music. Notable elements of the Spice Girls’ symbolism include Halliwell’s Union Jack dress and the nicknames that were given to each member of the group by the British press. Numerous endorsement deals and merchandise brought the group additional success, with a global gross income estimated at $500–800 million by May 1998. According to the Music Week writer Paul Gorman, their media exposure helped usher in an era of celebrity obsession in pop culture.