Spiceworld (album)

Spiceworld
Studio album by Spice Girls
Released	4 November 1997
Recorded	1997
Genre	Dance-pop pop
Length	38:47
Label	Virgin
Producer	Absolute Matt Rowe Richard Stannard
Spice Girls chronology
Spice (1996) Spiceworld (1997) Forever (2000)
Singles from Spiceworld
"Spice Up Your Life" Released: 13 October 1997 "Too Much" Released: 15 December 1997 "Stop" Released: 9 March 1998 "Viva Forever" Released: 20 July 1998

Spiceworld is the second studio album by British girl group the Spice Girls. Its music incorporates dance-pop music and production. The album became a huge hit worldwide, lengthening the so-called "Spicemania" of the time. It debuted at number one in the UK, with first-week sales of 190,000 and shipped 1,400,000 copies in two weeks.^[1] The album also reached number one in 13 countries, while peaking inside the top three positions in Australia, Canada, France, Switzerland and the United States. It has sold 4.1 million copies in the US,^[2] 5 million across Europe^[3] and over 20 million copies worldwide.^[4]

It produced four singles all of which saw commercial success. Its lead single "Spice Up Your Life" became an international hit, peaking in the top five positions in the most countries, it was followed by "Too Much" as the second single, "Stop" as the third single and "Viva Forever" as the final single, all receiving commercial success in the charts. To promote the album, the group embarked on the Spiceworld Tour, covering Europe and North America.

Background

Due to the success of one of the best selling albums and best selling albums in the United Kingdom, the group later announced they would be in the works of a second studio album.^[5] But before production had started for the album, a lot of media and worldwide attention had started over the group. The group had started their concert Girl Power! Live in Istanbul which they travelled to Turkey. It only spanned two shows in the country. They were also sponsored by Pepsi throughout the tour. After this, they announced a film called Spice World. Despite negative reviews from film critics, the film was a box office success. Girl Power! was the group's first book published and sold over 200,000 copies in one day, becoming a success.

However, with all the Spice Girls receiving media attention, came some controversies. The group performed their first live British show, 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' cheeks and pinched his bottom. Because of this, it received ultimate controversy throughout the media. The group were criticized in the United States, because of the album just releasing nine months after its debut. They were later criticized because of the impact and amount of sponsor deals they had signed... Over twenty in total.^[6] They later sung their "future-then" song "Spice Up Your Life" at the MTV Europe Music Awards. They also made a decision to fire their manager Simon Fuller, receiving media backlash. But after a while through all backlash, it all became better over the year of the album production and releases. Geri Halliwell, member of the group and known as Ginger Spice had departed from the group in 1998, when the last single "Viva Forever" was released. The tabloids and media had criticized the group and released controversy of the leaving of Halliwell.

Composition

"Spice Up Your Life" A 20-second sample of the song, featuring the group singing the last part of the chorus, followed by a spoken bridge, in which they mention different dance styles, with a backing track that have influences of Latin rhythms such as salsa and samba. "Too Much" A 26-second sample of the song, featuring the group during the second chorus. Bunton sings the high part; Brown, Beckham and Halliwell the lower and middle parts, while Chisholm adds the ad-libs

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The album consists of pop music with dance-pop songs and production, they had said that most of the music was "catchier" and had an "intoxicating sense of fun".^[7] The album was also used as a possible soundtrack of their 1997 movie Spice World. "Spice Up Your Life" is an uptempo dance-pop song, with influences of Latin rhythms such as salsa and samba.^[8][9] The first verse follows, the lyrics are an international rally cry, targeted to a global market,^[10] as Melanie Chisholm described it: "We always wanted to do a carnival tune and write a song for the world."^[11] After the first verse, the group sings the pre-chorus and the chorus. The same pattern occurs, leading to the second chorus. A spoken bridge, in which the girls mention different dance styles,—flamenco, lambada, hip-hop, foxtrot, polka and salsa—precedes the third chorus.^[12] "Too Much" is a pop ballad, with influences of R&B music and doo-wop sounds.^[13] "Stop" is an uptempo dance-pop song with influences of Motown's blue-eyed soul,^[14] and is reminiscent of classic singles by The Supremes or Martha and the Vandellas.^[15] 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.^[16] Viva Forever is a pop ballad with influences of Latin music.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[17]
Robert Christgau	[18]
Entertainment Weekly	(B+) [19]
Houston Press	[20]
Rolling Stone	[21]

Spiceworld had received mixed 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."^[21] 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!"^[20]

Commercial performance

Spiceworld topped the charts in 13 countries, although some countries less than the group's previous album Spice. The album went to number one in most European countries, including the United Kingdom. The album debuted at number one in the UK, with first-week sales of 190,000 and shipped 1,400,000 copies.^[1] In total was certificated 5× Platinum in the UK, and sold 1,575,941 copies.^[22] It also made an impact in Asian countries, peaking at number one in Japan. It was certificated 2× Platinum by Oricon. It sold over 420,000 copies in Australia, certificated 6× Platinum by ARIA and peaked at number 2 on the charts. The album is currently number 39 on Australia's Best Of All Time.^[23] The album peaked at number one in New Zealand, being certificated 3× Platinum by RIANZ, and shipping over 45,000 copies in the country.^[24] Prior to the positions and charts, the album became a great success.

The album debuted at number 8 in the Billboard 200 with 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 top ten, becoming the first British band to have two albums in the Billboard 200 Top Ten at the same time since the Rolling Stones in summer 1975.^[25] In the first 12 weeks the album sold 1,740,000 copies,^[26] and in the first ten months the album sold 3.2 million.^[27] In total sold 4.1 million copies and certified 4× Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA)^[28] In Canada, the album debuted at number two in the Canadian Albums Chart. It was certified 10× Platinum (Diamond) by the Canadian Recording Industry Association (CRIA) for shipments of 1 million copies. Worldwide the album has sold 20 million copies.

Singles

The group performing a remix version of the "Spice Up Your Life" during the show's encore, at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto.

The first single from the album was "Spice Up Your Life". The song became an instant worldwide hit, although it received negative reviews from music critics. In the United Kingdom, the song peaked at number 1, certified Platinum from BPI. The song became an instant hit in the Australasian part of the world, peaking at number 8 in Australia and number 2 in New Zealand. The group performed the song at 1997's MTV Europe Music Awards, the same night they announced they had fired their manager Simon Fuller. The single was released as a digital download on 27 October 1997 and remixes were released on 30 June 1997.^[29] The group's next single from the album was "Too Much". The single generated moderate success, becoming the least successful single released from the album. The song received mixed reviews from critics, mostly criticizing the R&B music through the song. The single peaked at number 1 and 9 in the United Kingdom and United States respectively. The song was certificated Platinum in the UK.^[30] The song peaked at number 9 in Australia, as well as in New Zealand. The song became a slow hit.

The group's third single from Spiceworld was "Stop". The song became a commercial success throughout the world. The song peaked at number 2 in the United Kingdom and number 16 in the United States, certified Silver in the UK. The song peaked at number 5 and 9 in Australia and New Zealand. Critically, the song received mainly positive reviews from music critics, mostly praising the Motown-inspired music and production. The group's 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. The song was another worldwide success. The song received positive reviews from critics, as some called it "genuine".^[31] The song debuted at number one in New Zealand, becoming the band's first number one since "Wannabe". The song peaked at number one in the United Kingdom and also topped the charts in the some European countries. The song peaked at number two in Australia, being certificated Platinum in the country.^[32]

Concert tour

In early 1998, the Spice Girls embarked upon the world tour that Fuller had set up for them covering Europe and North America. The Spiceworld Tour kicked off in Dublin, Ireland on 24 February 1998 before moving on to mainland Europe and then returning to Britain for two gigs at Wembley Arena^[33] and Twelve gigs at Birmingham’s NEC Arena. Performing to 150,000 fans over the course of the tour. On 31 May 1998 Geri Halliwell during the tours run left the group, however the remaining girls continued the tour to its last date without Halliwell.

Track listings

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Spiceworld.

Personnel

Charts

Certifications

See also

• List of best-selling albums worldwide

References