Holler (Spice Girls song)

Background

After releasing "Goodbye" as their first single without member Geri Halliwell, in 1998, the band took a break and only came back to a recording studio in mid-1999, when Rodney Jerkins signed up to give their then-upcoming new album a tougher sound. Jerkins said, "I went out to dinner with a couple of the Spice Girls about a month and a half ago and they told me that they want me to, you know, do some work on their album, so I'm planning on going to London at the end of January, early February to work on the album, so it should be cool. I'm ready for it, it will still have a pop appeal, but the beats will be a little harder."

Later, in October 1999, Jerkins also said, "I did three songs with them, and everybody I've been playing them for can't believe it's the Spice Girls. I like to create for the artist on the spot. I knew I had to do the Spice Girls 10 months beforehand, but I didn't write one single lyric or do one track until I got to London. We started working on the songs the day I met them, because I wanted to get a vibe from them. We did the three songs in five days." In December 1999, the girls performed a few new tracks during the "Christmas in Spiceworld" tour, including "Holler".

Release

In March 2000, BBC Radio announced that the first single from their forthcoming third album will be "Holler". However, in May, Melanie C told Heat Magazine revealed that the first single off the album will be a ballad entitled "Let Love Lead the Way" and will be released in August. In July 2000, the girls said that the first single had not been chosen yet, and that they were still up for discussion which one will be the first single. Finally, in late July, Melanie C confirmed to T4 that their new single will be a double A-Side of "Let Love Lead the Way" and "Holler", saying that the video for "Let Love Lead the Way" was already filmed and the video for "Holler" would be filmed soon. On 1 September 2000, Brazilian radio station Jovem Pan started to play the track, being the only station on the planet that had the track. Later, on 10 September 2000, most radio stations around the world received permission to start playing "Holler".

Composition and lyrical interpretation

"Holler" was written by the members of the group Victoria Beckham, Melanie Brown, Emma Bunton, Melanie Chisholm, along with Rodney Jerkins, LaShawn Daniels and Fred Jerkins III. Production was handled by Jerkins under his stage name "Darkchild", while vocal production was done by LaShawn Daniels. "Holler" represents a shift from the bubblegum pop to a more mature pop and R&B sound, added with a "funky and up-beat". Lyrically, the song talks about making a boyfriend have a sexual pleasure, with the girls asking their boyfriends to fantasise being with them and to not be shy.

The song starts with the girls singing part of the chorus ("I wanna make you holler/Imagine us together/ Don't be afraid to play my game"). Then, Mel B tells her boyfriend not to take his time, inviting him to her bedroom, telling him he will enjoy his stay and that he will like her ways of arousing him. Later, Mel C tells that she'll submit to whatever he wants her to do, before the chorus kicks in. After the first chorus, Emma gives him directions on what to do and again, telling him not to be shy. Victoria then assures him that everything they do will be confidential. Next, the girls trade parts for the pre-chorus. After the second chorus, Jerkins interrupts and says "holler", adding a record-scratching to it, later, after repeating the second verse, the chorus is sung another two times to end the song.

Critical reception

The song received generally favorable reviews from most music critics. Craig Seymour of Entertainment Weekly gave the track a "B-" rating, writing that the girls "sound like they really, really wanna be Destiny's Child," (due to the track being produced by Rodney Jerkins, who produced "Say My Name"). Seymour also praised "its charms", praising the "easy yet funky groove, their exaggerated British accents (allowing them to rhyme holler with follow), and Jerkins' familiar slapping, kinetic beats." He also called it "their most compelling reason to dance since Say You'll Be There." Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic simply picked the song as one of the best from Forever. Dave Morales of KHKS wrote that, "when I heard the song I was surprised, this thing is a home run!." Erik Bradley of B96-Chicago called it "one of the pleasant surprises of the 4th quarter," pointing out that, "'Holler' will bring the Spice Girls BACK all the way!."

Cuby of Z100-New York wrote the song "captures the sound of the moment for Top 40 radio. This is one song that deserves a slot on programmers' crowded 4th-quarter playlists." Whitney Matheson of USA Today called it similar to the works of Sister Sledge, Destiny's Child and Nu Shooz songs, writing that, "while the No Scrubs-y vibe briefly tempted me to shout a dirty word and bare my navel, styrofoam phrases such as 'Don't be afraid to play my game' are more Teletubby than T-Boz." While reviewing their Greatest Hits album, Nick Levine of Digital Spy wrote that "Jerkins' slick, stuttering R&B numbers from the Forever album ('Holler', 'Let Love Lead The Way') fail to capitalise on the girls' very British sense of mischief, but it functions brilliantly on two levels."

Chart performance

In the UK, on 24 October 2000, early sales figures reported that "Holler" was set to debut at number-one. It sold 31,000 copies during the first day on sale. On 29 October 2000, the song debuted at the top of the UK Singles Chart, becoming the first female group to have nine number one singles. The song became the eleventh UK number-one single with Melanie Chisholm as a songwriter, becoming the female artist with more number-ones than any other in chart history. She held this record until Madonna surpassed it in 2006 with "Sorry". However, Mel C remains the only female performer to top the charts as a solo artist, as part of a duo, quartet and quintet. The single was also a success in Canada, reaching number 2 on the Canadian Hot 100 chart. In Australia, "Holler" was a success, debuting and peaking at number 2 on the ARIA Charts, becoming their highest charting-single since 1998's "Viva Forever". In New Zealand, the song debuted at number 47 on the RIANZ chart, remaining for a further week at the position. Later, it jumped to number 36, also remaining for two weeks at the position. Finally, after a week at number 29, the song rose to number 2, becoming its peak position and the band's tenth consecutive top-ten single.

Music video

The music video was shot on 27–28 July 2000, and was directed by Jake Nava. It begins zooming into a seemingly glass pyramid where the four girls are dancing on a square platform in a circle. Each of the four girls represents a different element. The first verse is sung by Brown, who represents fire as she sits in a dark room with fire rolling along the floor. Chisholm is seen levitating above cracked mud inside a room with wooden walls as the floor blooms into plant life; she represents earth. Bunton is wearing a short blue dress with a white coat and is dancing in a blue room under water with reflections boucing off the walls. Finally Beckham, who embodies the element of air, is seen inside a wind tunnel playing with shiny prisms as they are blown by. All the girls are then seen together in the pyramid watching their respective male dancers (who are seen in each of their solo shots) dancing on the square platform. In Chisholm's solo room, a piece of wood is changed into a white python. Finally by the end of the song, all four girls join hands and form a beam of energy which then shoots out the top of the pyramid clearing up a cloudy stormy sky. The girls embrace in a hug and the video ends.

Live performances

The group debuted the song on their Christmas in Spiceworld tour in 1999, before the album's release. After that, the song was performed at the 2000 BRIT Awards and was excluded from the TV broadcast due to technical problems arising during the performance but the song was heard on the live radio broadcast. They also performed the song at the 2000 MTV Europe Music Awards, Top of the Pops and CD:UK to promote the single. The Spice Girls performed the song on their reunion tour, the Return of the Spice Girls in 2007 and 2008, wearing leather outfits. Even though group member Geri Halliwell had returned to the group at this point, she did not take part in this song.

Formats and track listings

These are the formats and track listings of major single releases of "Holler".

Credits and personnel

Published by Rodney Jerkins Productions/EMI Music Publishing Ltd., Fred Jerkins Music Publishing/Famous Music Corp, EMI Music Publishing (WP) Ltd.