Source: NME
The news making the rounds on social media right now is the return of the Spice Girls. “The Spice Girls are back!” says a CNN report. According to CNN, the return of the Spice Girls coincides with the 25th anniversary of their debut single and in commemoration of that, they are set to drop the Wannabe25 EP.
The EP will feature the original Wannabe single, a remix by DJ Junior Vasquez, the original demo of the song, and an unreleased ballad titled “Feel Your Love” recorded in the ’90s. The tracks featured all five original and founding members of the group. Spice Girls wrote them—Emma Bunton (Baby Spice), Geri Halliwell (Ginger Spice), Melanie Brown (Scary Spice), Melanie Chisholm (Sporty Spice), and Victoria Beckham (Posh Spice)—and Richard ‘Biff’ Stannard and Matt Rowe who co-wrote Wannabe.
The girl-power group announced a comeback on June 15 via the official Spice Girls’ Instagram page. They have since started the #IAmASpiceGirl campaign, which according to them, “We believe there is a Spice Girl in all of us, and we want you to join us on a trip down memory lane!”
The #IAmASpiceGirl challenge requires fans to send pictures and videos of them singing and dancing to the Spice Girls and displaying their love for the group. “Prepare to be transported back to 1996, where you were dancing to Wannabe in your bedroom.” They concluded. The Wannabe25 EP will be released on all digital platforms on July 9, and the vinyl and cassette will be released on July 23.
This is not the first time the Spice Girls are touting the possibility of a reunion. This comes two years after the group performed their sellout reunion tour and nine years after they reunited briefly to perform at the closing ceremony of the 2012 London Olympics. And in 2019, the Spice Girls reunited for a 13-date tour of the UK and Ireland. A tour which saw them perform in a host of cities such as Cardiff, Dublin and Manchester. Although Victoria Beckham was not a part of the tour, she last shared a stage with the rest of the group in 2012.
The Spice Girls— popularly regarded for espousing “Girl Power”— rose to prominence in 1994 after their debut single Wannabe topped several charts globally. The Spice Girls are among the highest-selling female groups of all time, with at least 85 million records sold. Also, the group topped the UK singles chart nine times with hits such as “Wannabe,” “2 Become 1,” and “Spice Up Your Life.”
The group remained the most sought-after music group until 1998, when Geri Halliwell left, announcing her departure right in the middle of their world tour. The rest of the group went their separate ways barely two years after Halliwell’s departure, and they all went on to pursue their solo career. Two decades after their disbandment, the Spice Girls have teamed up to meet on various occasions and spoken about the possibility of a reunion and reunited to share the same stage more than once. All these and judging by their social media activities through the years, suggest that even though the Spice Girls are not together anymore as a group, they have continued to remain friends.
