Spiceworld (album)

Background

After releasing their debut album Spice to huge success, later becoming one of the best-selling albums of all time, the group announced they would be in the works of a second studio album. During the recording and writing of Spiceworld the group also filmed Spice World, a musical comedy film with the Spice Girls playing themselves. The album worked as a soundtrack to the film, with many of the songs from the album appearing in the film.

During 1997 the Spice Girls received massive media attention, which also came with some controversies. The group performed their first time live for the Royalty of Great Britain. At the show, they breached royal protocol when Mel B and then Geri Halliwell planted kisses on Prince Charles's cheeks and pinched his bottom. Because of this, it received ultimate controversy throughout the media. The group were criticised in the United States, because of the album just releasing nine months after its debut. They were later criticised because of the impact and amount of sponsorship deals they had signed. They also made a decision to fire their manager Simon Fuller in November 1997, which was front-page news around the world.

In October 1997, the Spice Girls held a two-date concert in Turkey named Girl Power! Live in Istanbul, sponsored by Pepsi. During the concert the group premiered three new songs from Spiceworld: "Too Much", "Stop" and "Saturday Night Divas". Two promotional singles from Spiceworld were released prior to the album release in 1997; "Step to Me" and "Move Over (Generation Next)". Both songs were used in the Pepsi advertising campaigns and were also given away free with special ring-pulls. The album version of "Step to Me" is slightly different from the original release of the song, while "Move Over (Generation Next)" was only released as an live version during its promo release.

Composition

The album consists of pop music with dance-pop songs and production. According to AllMusic, the album's music is "catchier" and has an "intoxicating sense of fun". The album was also used as a possible soundtrack of their 1997 film Spice World. "Spice Up Your Life" is an uptempo dance-pop song, with influences of Latin rhythms such as salsa and samba. The first verse follows, the lyrics are an international rally cry, targeted to a global market, as Melanie Chisholm described it: "We always wanted to do a carnival tune and write a song for the world." "Viva Forever" is a pop ballad with influences of Latin music. "Too Much" is a pop ballad, with influences of R&B music and doo-wop sounds. "The Lady Is a Vamp" has influences of jazz, whereas "Never Give Up on the Good Times" is a dance-pop song with influences of disco. "Stop" is an uptempo dance-pop song with influences of Motown's blue-eyed soul, and is reminiscent of classic singles by The Supremes or Martha and the Vandellas. Lyrically, the song calls for a slowing down on the courtship process, and it is particularly addressed to appeal to the young female audience, as the female to female bonds are not threatened.

Critical reception

Spiceworld received positive reviews from music critics. Stephen Thomas Erlewine from AllMusic gave it a praising review, awarding it four and a half out of five stars. He mostly praised the new fun formed of the groups new album, saying it is "intoxicating sense of fun" and "even catchier". He even praised the group for improving their vocal skills, as he concluded "The girls—Mel C. in particular—are actually turning into good vocalists, and each song plays to their strengths, giving each Spice a chance to shine. Best of all, each song has a strong melody and a strong, solid beat, whether it's a ballad or a dance number. It's a pure, unadulterated guilty pleasure and some of the best manufactured mainstream dance-pop of the late '90s". David Browne from Entertainment Weekly gave it a B+. He had said "Trading verses in this and other songs, they transform the numbers into audio pajama parties full of sisterly advice, support, and warnings. Part heart, part mind, all cotton candy, Spiceworld may just be the answer to one of life's most vexing quandaries."

Rolling Stone said: "To get to the toppermost of the poppermost, the Spice Girls have traded shamelessly—which is not to say shamefully—on their much-vaunted Girl Power, selling themselves as feminist cheesecake. On Spiceworld, they've added a sexy new curve to the mix—a learning curve. The act behind the smash 'Wannabe' sounded like wanna-be's themselves on some of their hit-and-miss debut effort, Spice, an album that made Hanson's weightier Middle of Nowhere look like Robert Johnson's King of the Delta Blues Singers. Spiceworld is, relatively speaking, a masterful effort; at its best, it reaches creative heights that are downright Bananaramian." The Houston Press gave the album a mixed review saying: "Anyone expecting a maelstrom of artistic evolution from these women ought to relax a little; it's only music, for chrissakes. And the Spice Girls and their handlers deserve bonus points for showing a little common sense. After all, if this were seven years ago, they might have taken their precious time releasing Spiceworld, while the group's hype was irreversibly extinguished. You go, girls!"

Commercial performance

Spiceworld debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart, selling 192,000 copies and shipping 1,400,000 copies in its first week. The album was certified five-times platinum by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) on 19 December 1997, and had sold 1,575,941 copies in the United Kingdom as of December 2007. The album reached number one in several European countries, including Austria, Denmark, Finland, Ireland, the Netherlands and Norway. It was certified five-times platinum by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), denoting sales in excess of five million copies across Europe. In Japan, Spiceworld peaked at number six on the Oricon Albums Chart and earned a double platinum certification from the Recording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ). In Oceania, the album reached number two in Australia and number one in New Zealand; it was ceritifed six-times platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) and triple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of New Zealand (RIANZ).

The album debuted at number eight on the US Billboard 200 with first-week sales of 83,000 copies. Sales increased week by week, its best week being that of 3 January 1998 when it sold 284,000 copies. The album finally peaked at number three on 14 February, when Spice also returned to the top 10, making the Spice Girls the first British band to have two albums in the top 10 of the Billboard 200 at the same time since the Rolling Stones in summer 1975. The album sold 1.74 million copies in the first 12 weeks and 3.2 million in the first 10 months. It was certified four-times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on 19 May 1999, and by July 2006, it had sold 4.1 million copies in the US. In Canada, the album peaked at number two on the Canadian Albums Chart and was certified diamond by the Canadian Recording Industry Association (CRIA) for shipments of one million copies. Spiceworld sold 17 million copies by the end of 1998, making it the world's best selling girl group album of the year. Spiceworld has sold 20 million copies worldwide.

Singles

"Spice Up Your Life" was released as the lead single from the album on 13 October 1997. The song became an instant worldwide hit, although it received negative reviews from music critics. In the United Kingdom the song peaked at number one, becoming the group's fifth consecutive chart-topper, and was certified platinum by the BPI. "Spice Up Your Life" reached the top five in over 14 countries, while reaching number 18 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States. The album's second, "Too Much", was released on 15 December 1997 and hit number one in the UK, becoming the group's second consecutive Christmas number-one single. The song was certified platinum in the UK. In the US, "Too Much" peaked at number nine on the Billboard Hot 100, their fourth and so far last top-10 hit there. The song also peaked at number nine in Australia, New Zealand and Canada.

The third single from Spiceworld was "Stop". Critically, the song received mainly positive reviews from music critics, mostly praising the Motown-inspired music and production. It was released on 9 March 1998 and peaked at number two in the United Kingdom, ending the Spice Girls' streak of consecutive number-one singles on the UK chart at six. The single received a silver certification. In the US the song reached peaked at number 16 on the Hot 100. Elsewhere "Stop" reached the top 10 in nine other countries. The fourth and final single from the album was intended to be a double A-side release of "Never Give Up on the Good Times" and "Viva Forever". However, due to Halliwell's departure from the group, the plan was scrapped. Instead, "Viva Forever" was released alone on 20 July 1998. The song received positive reviews from critics, as some called it "genuine". "Viva Forever" reached number one in the United Kingdom and was certified platinum by the BPI. The song debuted at number one in New Zealand, becoming the band's first chart-topper in that country since "Wannabe". "Viva Forever" did not receive a single release in the United States.

Live performances

The Spice Girls performed "Spice Up Your Life" for the first time in the United Kingdom on 27 September 1997, on the BBC's National Lottery programme, which attracted more than nine million viewers. The song was subsequently performed many times on television, in both Europe and the US, including An Audience with..., Top of the Pops, All That, The Jay Leno Show, Late Show with David Letterman, and The Oprah Winfrey Show. "Spice Up Your Life" was also performed in many award ceremonies such as the 1997 Smash Hits! Awards, the 1997 MTV Europe Music Awards, the 1997 Billboard Music Awards, the 1997 Premios Ondas, the 1997 Channel V Music Awards, and the 2000 Brit Awards. "Too Much" was performed several times on television, including An Audience with..., Top of the Pops, and the 1997 Royal Variety Performance. The group also performed it at the 1997 Smash Hits! Awards, and at the 25th Annual American Music Awards. "Stop" was also performed many times on television, in both the UK and the US, including An Audience with..., Top of the Pops, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, and the Late Show with David Letterman. For their "Stop" performance at the 1998 Brit Awards, the group adopted a Supremes-like look, and appeared on the stage in a 1960-style car. The group performed "Stop" and "Viva Forever" without Halliwell in Modena, Italy; for the annually hosted Pavarotti and Friends charity concert in June 1998. "Viva Forever" was performed with Halliwell on Top of the Pops on 21 May 1998 and without her on 27 May 1998 at the National Lottery. In October 1997 the Spice Girls held a two date concert on Abdi İpekçi Arena in Istanbul, Turkey, performing four songs of Spiceworld; "Spice Up Your Life, "Too Much, "Saturday Night Divas and "Stop". The performance was broadcast on Showtime in a pay-per-view event titled Spice Girls In Concert Wild!.

Concert tour

In early 1998, the Spice Girls embarked on their first world tour that Fuller had set up for them covering Europe and North America for 97 dates. The Spiceworld Tour kicked off in Dublin, Ireland on 24 February 1998 before moving on to mainland Europe and then returning to the UK for two gigs at Wembley Arena and 12 gigs at Birmingham's NEC Arena. On 31 May 1998, Halliwell left the group during the tour's run. The remaining girls continued the tour to its last date without Halliwell. A VHS release of the group's performance at Wembley Arena, titled Live at Wembley Stadium, was released on 24 November 1998.

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Spiceworld.