My first recollection of this week's tune is it being played constantly by a young man (whose name I've long forgotten and that wasn't a particularly good employee who quit without notice) during its height in popularity in the latter years of my career with Camelot Music. At first the song was kind of annoying, but over time I came to realize it was a hell of a pop song.
Not going to lie, between the invasion of Ukraine and Joe Biden's State of the Union address my weekly half-assed research was really more like one-tenth-assed since there was little time for other reading, and frankly the Wikipedia entries for the band, the album, and the single were Beatlesque in length, and the Spice Girls (Scary Spice, Sporty Spice, Ginger Spice, Posh Spice, and Baby Spice) were a) not nearly that talented, and b) not nearly that interesting. So...we'll have to settle for the first paragraph synopses. The Spice Girls were created out of a series of auditions in 1994 and released their first album in 1996--which took them into the stratosphere with regard to their popularity and commercial success. A movie followed shortly thereafter, and they also won several Brit Awards. The band would release two more albums, both of which resulted in decreasing sales before disbanding to pursue solo careers in 2000. They reunited for tours in 2007, 2012, and 2016, before reuniting for good in 2018 (though Posh Spice, aka Victoria Beckham, wife of soccer superstar David Beckham, has not been with the band since the 2007 reunion). The Spice Girls sold over 100 million records, have the highest grossing tours for female bands in history, and made a shit ton of money in endorsements and band related enterprises. My quick take on their career should not take away from the fact that the five women in Spice Girls were a significant force for female empowerment, especially for younger women, and contributed greatly to making our world more diverse and female friendly (though much work remains).
"Wannabe" was the debut single from their debut album (both released in 1996), the flavorfully entitled Spice. The single reached #1 (with a bullet!) on the Billboard Hot 100, as well as on the U.K. Singles Chart, and would top the charts in 37 countries. The album also hit number one in America and Great Britain, and just for good measure, topped the charts in 22 more countries.
Fun Fact: This week's single, as well as the album it was released on, are the best-selling single and album by a girl group in recorded music history. That's some serious success.
Alternating between a hip-hop rap and infectious pop segues, "Wannabe" stresses the importance of respecting and accepting your lady love's friends...which is actually a hell of a sentiment for a pop song (and not one I recall seeing in any other song). The Spice Girls trade off vocals, with every member of the band taking turns at singing lines/verses, and, somewhat surprisingly, their vocals mesh perfectly. Scary and Ginger rap back and forth, with a jaunty piano in the background, and the backing music for the rest of the tune is just a pop dream. I couldn't name (or probably even recognize) another song by the Spice Girls, but this one is more than enough: among the best of what pop music has to offer.
Lyric Sheet: "If you wanna be my lover/You gotta get with my friends (gotta get with my friends)/Make it last forever/Friendship never ends..."
Enjoy:
Republican = Traitor
Peace,
emaycee
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