Spiceworld (album)

''Spiceworld'' is the second studio album by English girl group the Spice Girls, released on 1 November 1997 by Virgin Records. Its music incorporates dance-pop music and production. The album became a commercial success worldwide, lengthening the so-called "Spicemania" of the time. It debuted at number one on the UK 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. ''Spiceworld'' has 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 the Spiceworld Tour, covering Europe and North America for a total of 97 dates between February and September 1998. This is the last studio album with member Geri Halliwell who left during the tour, but came back in 2007.

A 25-track expanded version of ''Spiceworld'' was released on all digital platforms on 4 November 2022, celebrating 25 years since the album's original release. Previously commercially-unreleased single "Step to Me" was released digitally on the same day as the announcement. The physical issue, CDs, cassettes, limited edition hardbound book, are to be released 16 December 2022.

Background

After releasing their hugely successful debut album ''Spice'', which later became one of the best-selling albums of all time, the group announced they were working on a second studio album. During the recording and writing of ''Spiceworld'' the group also filmed '' Spice World'', a musical comedy film starring 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 the British royal family. At the show, they breached royal protocol when Mel B and then Geri Halliwell planted kisses on Prince 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 manager Simon Fuller in November 1997, which was front-page news around the world.

In October 1997, the Spice Girls held a two-date concert in Istanbul named Girl Power! Live in Istanbul, sponsored by Pepsi. During the concert the group premiered three new songs from ''Spiceworld'': " Too Much", " Stop" and "Saturday Night Divas". Two promotional singles from ''Spiceworld'' were 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 special ring-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.

Composition

The album consists of pop music with dance-pop songs and production. According to AllMusic, the album's music is "catchier" and has an "intoxicating sense of fun". The album was also used as the soundtrack to their 1997 film '' Spice World''. " Spice Up Your Life" is an uptempo dance-pop song, with influences of Latin rhythms such as salsa and samba. The first verse follows, the lyrics are an international rally cry, targeted to a global market, as Melanie C described it: "We always wanted to do a carnival tune and write a song for the world." " Stop" is an uptempo dance-pop song with influences of Motown's blue-eyed soul, and is reminiscent of classic singles by The Supremes or Martha and the Vandellas. 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. " Too Much" is a pop ballad, with influences of R&B music and doo-wop sounds. whereas "Never Give Up on the Good Times" is a dance-pop song with influences of disco. "