Wannabe (song)

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"Wannabe"
Single by Spice Girls
from the album Spice
B-side(s)	"Bumper to Bumper"
Released	July 8, 1996 (UK) January 14, 1997 (U.S.)
Format	CD single
Recorded	1996
Genre	Pop
Length	2:53
Label	Virgin Records
Writer(s)	Richard Stannard Matt Rowe Spice Girls
Producer(s)	Richard Stannard Matt Rowe
Certification	2x Platinum (RIAA) Platinum (ARIA)
Chart positions
#1 (Australia, Canada, Netherlands, France, Germany, Ireland, Spain, Latvia, United Kingdom, United States) #2 (Austria)
Spice Girls singles chronology
	"Wannabe" (1996)	"Say You'll Be There" (1996)
Alternate cover
Japanese CD cover
Audio sample
Play (in browser) (help·info)

"Wannabe" is the first single from the Spice Girls' first album, Spice. Released in 1996/1997, the single peaked at number one in the UK becoming the Spice Girls' first number one single; it also peaked at number one in the USA.

Contents 1 Song information 2 Chart performance 3 Music video 4 Live performances 5 In pop culture 6 Track listing and formats 7 Music charts

[edit] Song information

"Wannabe" was co-written by Richard Stannard, Matt Rowe and the Spice Girls. It was co-produced by Stannard and Rowe. The song depicts the girls explaining what someone has to do "if you wannabe my lover". With its choruses, the song is also famous for placing "zig-a-zig-ah" into the lexicon. The song is considered to be the Spice Girls' signature song.

[edit] Chart performance

"Wannabe" is one of the most recognisable and successful songs of the 1990s. It climbed to the top of the charts in thirty-seven nations, before becoming the best-selling single by a female group in the history of recorded sound, shifting over six million copies worldwide.

Released in the UK on the July 8, 1996, "Wannabe" debuted on the UK Singles Chart at number three, before climbing two places to number one. It then spent seven weeks at the top: a record by a female group. With twenty-six weeks in the top forty, it sold over 1.27 million copies, becoming the second biggest selling single of the year, the twelfth best selling single of the decade and at the time of its release, the thirty-fifth best selling single ever in the UK. It is still the biggest selling single by a female group in the UK.

When the impact of "Wannabe" began to wear away in the UK and the track slowly slipped out of the top forty, the song was still popular around the globe. "Wannabe" was number one in Australia for eleven weeks and number one in Canada for five weeks, during which the time "Say You'll Be There" and "2 Become 1" were number one back in the UK.

In the US, the song was number one simultaneously with the girls' fourth single ("Mama"/"Who Do You Think You Are") being at number one in the UK. "Wannabe" became the only Spice Girls single to top the Billboard Hot 100. It was a successful number one single, becoming a huge hit on radio (topping the Hot 100 Airplay chart) and selling well (topping the Hot 100 Singles Sales chart). It became very successful as a dance single, hitting the top twenty of the Hot Dance Club Play chart and topping the Hot Dance Singles Sales chart.

[edit] Music video

When the music video for "Wannabe" was released and first appeared on UK cable satellite network "The Box", it was selected so frequently that the promo was being aired up to six times per hour at its peak and still remains the most requested track in the channel's history. The clip appears to be one continuous shot (although there were two barely noticeable edits) of the girls' creating mischief at the Midland Grand Hotel in St. Pancras. Among their antics is Melanie Chisholm's back handspring on one of the tables. The video won Best Dance Video at the 1997 MTV Video Music Awards.

[edit] Live performances

"Wannabe" was usually introduced by Melanie Brown. During the bridge ("here's the story...") Mel C did some acrobatics as in the video, always earning a big ovation from the public. After Geri Halliwell left the band, her parts were replaced by Emma, Mel C and Victoria, this way:

Lift ("tell me what you want..."): Melanie C
Verses ("get your act ... if you really..."): Victoria
Bridge ("easy V doesn't..."): Emma

The line "easy V doesn't come for free, she's a real lady" was altered for their World Tour (for some shows) to "easy V doesn't come for free, 'cause she's havin' a baby!"

[edit] In pop culture

A September 1996 episode of TFI Friday featured a skit entitled, "Peter O'Toole Reads Lines That are Quite Clearly Beneath Him," in which O'Toole read the song's lyrics, finishing with the comment that he really really wanted a "zigazig ha." Ronald Fraser replied, "Do you really?"

The song was used in "Weird Al" Yankovic's "Polka Power!" on his album Running with Scissors.

In the Simpsons episode Maximum Homerdrive, Homer plays the song in the truck and refers to it as the ultimate truck-driver song. Also, in the later episode, Fraudcast News, Homer listens to it briefly on a boom box.

This song was used in Disney's 2005 animated film Chicken Little and Small Soldiers.

Was used in a McDonald's commercial also featuring the Spice Girls.

Was used in the movie "Small Soldiers" as the 'psychological warfare' the robotic antagonists used.

[edit] Track listing and formats

• UK CD1

1. "Wannabe" (Radio Edit)
2. "Bumper to Bumper"
3. "Wannabe" (Vocal Slam)

• UK CD2

1. "Wannabe" [Radio Edit] - 2:52
2. "Wannabe" [Dave Way Alternative Mix] - 3:27
3. "Wannabe" [Dub Slam] - 6:25
4. "Wannabe" [Instrumental] - 2:52

• U.S. CD Single

1. "Wannabe" (Single Edit)
2. "Bumper to Bumper"

[edit] Music charts

Chart	Position
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	1
ARC Weekly Top 40	1
Canadian Singles Chart	1
Philippine Singles Chart	1
Australian Singles Chart	1
UK Singles Chart	1
Irish Singles Chart	1
French Singles Chart	1
Dutch Singles Chart	1
German Singles Chart	1
Austrian Singles Chart	1
Swiss Singles Chart	1
Swedish Singles Chart	1
Norwegian Singles Chart	1
Finnish Singles Chart	1
New Zealand Singles Chart	1

UK Sales : 1 269 841
World Sales : 6 000 000

Preceded by "Forever Love" by Gary Barlow	UK Singles Chart Number 1 single July 21, 1996 for 7 weeks	Succeeded by "Flava" by Peter Andre
Preceded by "What's Love Got To Do With It" by Warren G	RIANZ (New Zealand) number one single 8 November 1996	Succeeded by "No Diggity" by the Blackstreet
Preceded by "Un-Break My Heart" by Toni Braxton	Billboard Hot 100 number one single February 22, 1997- March 15, 1997	Succeeded by "Can't Nobody Hold Me Down" by Puff Daddy featuring Ma$e