Spiceworld (album)

Spiceworldis the second studio album by Englishgirl grouptheSpice Girls, released on 1 November 1997 byVirgin Records. Its music incorporatesdance-popmusic and production. The album became a commercial success worldwide, lengthening the so-called "Spicemania" of the time. It debuted at number one on theUK Albums Chart, with first-week sales of 190,000 copies and shipped 1.4 million copies in two weeks. The album also reached number one in 13 countries, while peaking inside the top three in Australia, Canada, France, Switzerland and the United States.Spiceworldhas sold over 14 million copies worldwide, making it one of the world's best-selling albums by a girl group.
The album spawned four singles, all of which saw commercial success. Its lead single "Spice Up Your Life" became an international success, peaking in the top five positions in many countries. It was followed by the singles "Too Much", "Stop", and "Viva Forever", all of which attained commercial success on the charts. To promote the album, the Spice Girls embarked on their debut headlining concert tour, titled theSpiceworld Tour, covering Europe and North America for a total of 97 dates between February and September 1998. This is the last studio album with memberGeri Halliwell, who left during the tour, but rejoined in 2007. An expanded edition of the album, titledSpiceworld25, was released on 4 November 2022 to celebrate its 25th anniversary.
After releasing their hugely successful debut album,Spice, which later became one of thebest-selling albumsof all time, the group announced they were working on a second studio album.During the recording and writing ofSpiceworldthe group also filmedSpice World, amusicalcomedy filmstarring the Spice Girls as themselves. The album worked as a soundtrack to the film, with most of the songs from the album appearing in the film, with the exception of "Move Over".
Throughout 1997, the Spice Girls received massive media attention, which also included a few controversies. The group performed live for the first time for theBritish royal family. At the show, they breached royal protocol whenMel Band thenGeri Halliwellplanted kisses onPrince Charles's cheeks and pinched his bottom. The group was also criticised in the United States for releasing their second album,Spiceworld, just nine months after the American release of their debut album,Spice. They received further criticism because of the impact and amount of sponsorship deals they had signed.They also made a decision to fire their managerSimon Fullerin November 1997, which was front-page news around the world.
In October 1997, the Spice Girls held a two-date concert inIstanbultitledGirl Power! Live in Istanbul, sponsored byPepsi. During the concert the group premiered three new songs fromSpiceworld: "Too Much", "Stop" and "Saturday Night Divas". Two promotional singles fromSpiceworldwere 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 specialring pulls. The Japanese 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 a live version during its promotional release.
The album consists ofpop musicwithdance-popsongs and production. According toAllMusic, the album's music is "catchier" and has an "intoxicating sense of fun".The album was also used as the soundtrack to their 1997 filmSpice World. "Spice Up Your Life" is anuptempodance-pop song, with influences of Latin rhythms such assalsaandsamba.The lyrics to "Spice Up Your Life" are an international rally cry, targeted to a global market,asMelanie Cdescribed it: "We always wanted to do a carnival tune and write a song for the world.""Stop" is anuptempodance-pop song with influences ofMotown'sblue-eyed soul,and is reminiscent of classic singles bythe SupremesorMartha and the Vandellas.Lyrically, the song calls for a slowing down on thecourtshipprocess, and it is particularly addressed to appeal to the young female audience, as the female to female bonds are not threatened."Too Much" is apop ballad, with influences ofR&Bmusic anddoo-wopsounds,whereas "Never Give Up on the Good Times" is a dance-pop song with influences ofdisco. "Viva Forever" is a pop ballad with influences of Latin music. "The Lady Is a Vamp" has influences ofjazz.
"Spice Up Your Life" was released as the lead single from the album on 13 October 1997. The song became an instant worldwide success, although it received negative reviews frommusic 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 theBillboardHot 100in the United States.
The album's second single, "Too Much", was released on 15 December 1997 and hit number one in the UK, becoming the group's second consecutiveChristmas number-one single. The song was certified platinum in the UK. In the US, "Too Much" peaked at number nine on theBillboardHot 100, their fourth and so far last top-10 single there.The song also peaked at number nine in Australia, New Zealand, and Canada.
The third single fromSpiceworldwas "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 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 critical acclaim 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.
The Spice Girls performed "Spice Up Your Life" for the first time in the United Kingdom on 27 September 1997, on BBC's programmeNational Lottery, which attracted more than nine million viewers.The song was subsequently performed many times on television, in both Europe and the US, includingAn Audience with...,Top of the Pops,All That,The Jay Leno Show,Late Show with David Letterman, andThe Oprah Winfrey Show."Spice Up Your Life" was also performed in many award ceremonies such as the 1997Smash Hits! Awards, the 1997MTV Europe Music Awards, the 1997Billboard Music Awards, the 1997Premios Ondas, the 1997Channel V Music Awards, and the2000 Brit Awards."Too Much" was performed several times on television, includingAn Audience with...,Top of the Pops, and the 1997Royal Variety Performance.The group also performed it at the 1997Smash Hits! Awards,and at the25th Annual American Music Awards."Stop" was also performed many times on television, in both the UK and the US, includingAn Audience with...,Top of the Pops,The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, and theLate Show with David Letterman.For their "Stop" performance at the1998 Brit Awards, the group adopted aSupremes-like look, and appeared on the stage in a 1960-style car.The group performed "Stop" and "Viva Forever" without Halliwell inModena, Italy; for the annually hostedPavarotti & Friendscharity concert in June 1998."Viva Forever" was performed with Halliwell onTop of the Popson 21 May 1998 and without her on 27 May 1998 at theNational Lottery.In October 1997 the Spice Girls held a two-date concert onAbdi İpekçi ArenainIstanbul, Turkey, performing four songs ofSpiceworld: "Spice Up Your Life", "Too Much", "Saturday Night Divas" and "Stop". The performance was broadcast onShowtimein a pay-per-view event titledSpice Girls in Concert Wild!.
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. TheSpiceworld Tourkicked off in Dublin, Ireland, on 24 February 1998 before moving on to mainland Europe and then returning to the UK for two gigs atWembley Arenaand 12 gigs atBirmingham'sNEC 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 Stadium, titledLive at Wembley Stadium, was released on 24 November 1998.
Spiceworldreceived positive reviews frommusic critics.Stephen Thomas ErlewinefromAllMusicwrote that the album "boast[s] a more consistent (and catchier) set of songs [thanSpice] and an intoxicating sense of fun", concluding that "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 BrownefromEntertainment Weeklystated, "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,Spiceworldmay just be the answer to one of life's most vexing quandaries."
Rolling Stone's David Wild commented that, compared toSpice,Spiceworldis "a masterful effort; at its best, it reaches creative heights that are downrightBananaramian."In a mixed review, Craig D. Lindsey of theHouston Pressexpressed, "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 releasingSpiceworld, while the group's hype was irreversibly extinguished."
Spiceworlddebuted at number one on theUK Albums Chart, selling 192,000 copies and shipping 1.4 million copies in its first week.The album was certified five-times platinum by theBritish Phonographic Industry(BPI) on 19 December 1997,and had sold 1,603,426 copies in the United Kingdom as of October 2019.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 theInternational Federation of the Phonographic Industry(IFPI), denoting sales in excess of five million copies across Europe.In Japan,Spiceworldpeaked at number six on theOricon Albums Chartand earned a double platinum certification from theRecording 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 theAustralian Recording Industry Association(ARIA) and triple platinum by theRecording Industry Association of New Zealand(RIANZ).
The album debuted at number eight on the USBillboard200with 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, whenSpicealso returned to the top 10, making the Spice Girls the first British group to have two albums in the top 10 of theBillboard200 at the same time sincethe Rolling Stonesin mid-1975.The album sold 1.74 million copies in the first 12 weeksand 3.2 million in the first 10 months.It was certified four-times platinum by theRecording Industry Association of America(RIAA) on 19 May 1999,and by December 2007, it had sold 4.2 million copies in the US.In Canada, the album peaked at number two on theCanadian Albums Chart, with first-week sales of 34,871 copies and was certified diamond by theCanadian Recording Industry Association(CRIA) for shipments of one million copies.Spiceworld was a big success in Canada, it was the group's second diamond-selling album and spent 43 weeks in the Top 10 and 60 weeks in the Top 20 album chart.Spiceworldhad sold 13 million copies by the end of 1998, making it one of the world's best-selling albums by a girl group.
On 27 September 2022, the Spice Girls announced the release of the 25th-anniversary edition ofSpiceworld, titledSpiceworld25. The expanded edition features previously unreleased live versions and remixes, in addition to previously available B-sides "Walk of Life" and "Outer Space Girls" and amegamix.The anniversary had first been teased in July 2022, when they released an image of the Earth with a "Spiceworld25" banner across it.Their 1997 song "Step to Me" was released digitally for the first time on the same day as the album announcement."Step to Me" had originally been released in 1997 as part of a Pepsi promotion, where fans could obtain the CD single if they collected enough ring pulls.
Spiceworld25was released digitally on 4 November 2022 byUMC,as well as on double LP, double cassette,picture discand clear vinyl.On the same day, an officialmontagemusic video for "Never Give Up on the Good Times" was released, and was directed by Kiran Mistry.A two-CD and hardback book set was released on 16 December 2022.
On 11 November 2022, following the release ofSpiceworld25,Spiceworldre-entered the UK Albums Chart at number 46 with 2,257 copies sold.
Credits adapted from the liner notes ofSpiceworld.