"2 Become 1" is a song by the Britishgirl group theSpice Girls. Written by the group members, together with Matt Rowe andRichard Stannard during the group's first professional songwriting session, it was produced by Rowe and Stannard for the group's debut album,Spice (1996). "2 Become 1" is anR&B-influencedpopballad that features instrumentation from aguitar, anelectronic keyboard andstring instruments.[1] The lyrics focus on the bonding of two lovers, and also address the importance ofsafe sex. Its Big TV!-directed music video, which features the group performing againsttime-lapse footage ofTimes Square inNew York City, was completely shot against ablue screen at a studio in London. The backdrop was later superimposed.
Released as the group's third single on 16 December 1996 byVirgin, it was generally well received by music critics and was a commercial success. It topped theUK Singles Chart for three weeks, becoming the group's third consecutive chart-topper, their second million-selling single, and their firstChristmas number-one single in the United Kingdom. In July 1997, the song was released in the United States, peaking at number four on theBillboard Hot 100, and receiving agold certification by theRecording Industry Association of America (RIAA). It performed similarly internationally, peaking inside the top ten on the majority of the charts that it entered. The song was named "Song of the Year" at the 1998ASCAP London Music Awards.[2]
In 2019,Emma Bunton covered the song, as a duet, withRobbie Williams on her fourth solo album,My Happy Place. In December 2024, an orchestral version by Bunton with the Budapest Scoring Orchestra was released.[3]
In December 1994, the Spice Girls persuaded their former managers—father-and-son teamBob andChris Herbert—to set up a showcase in front of industry writers, producers andA&R men at the Nomis Studios inShepherd's Bush, London.[4][5] ProducerRichard Stannard was originally at the studio to meet pop starJason Donovan, but he ended up in the showcase after hearingMelanie Brown, as she went charging across the corridor. Stannard recalls:[6]
More than anything, they just made me laugh. I couldn't believe I'd walked into this situation. You didn't care if they were in time with the dance steps or whether one was overweight or one wasn't as good as the others. It was something more. It just made you feel happy. Like great pop records.
Stannard stayed after everyone had left the showcase to talk to the group. He then reported back to his songwriter partner Matt Rowe that he had found the pop group of their dreams. In January 1995, Chris Herbert booked the group's first professional songwriting session with the producers at the Strongroom in Curtain Road, East London.[6] Rowe remember feeling similarly to Stannard when he first met the group, "I love them. Immediately. [...] They were like no one I'd met before, really." The session was productive as the duo seemed to get along with the group; together they discussed the songwriting process and what they wanted to do with the record.[6] In her autobiography, Brown recalled that the duo instinctively understood their point of view and knew how to incorporate "the spirit of five loud girls into greatpop music".[7]
"2 Become 1" was co-written by the Spice Girls along with partners Richard Stannard and Matthew Rowe. Stannard and Rowe also co-produced the track. After writing moreuptempodance-based songs, such as "Wannabe", the group and the two producers decided to write a slowballad. But as the group were writing the song, they realised that it was a bit too slushy, so it was decided to address the importance ofcontraception with the lyrics: "Be a little bit wiser, baby. Put it on, put it on".[8]
The song was inspired by the "special relationship" that was developing betweenGeri Halliwell and Rowe.[9] Brown hinted at this development in her autobiography, commenting: "When [Rowe] and Geri started making eyes at each other I knew what was going on, even though they denied it. I knew them both too well for it to be a secret for me."[10] Stannard commented about the fondness between Halliwell and Rowe: "I don't want to get into the side of things. They were very close. They clicked. And I think the lyrics in '2 Become 1' came from that, especially the first verse, which they wrote together."[9]
The group recorded aEuropean Spanish version of the song, written by them, Rowe, Stannard, and N. Maño.[11] The title was "2 Become 1" (Spanish Version), although the title is loosely translated in one line of the song, "Seremos Uno Los Dos". It was released as the eleventh track of their debut album,Spice, in Latin America and South Africa, in a special re-edition of the album in Spain, and as one of the tracks of the "2 Become 1" maxi-single in the US.[11][12] ASpanglish edit that traded verses between the English and Spanish versions was created by DJMike Rizzo and production director Bill Schultz for New York-based radioWKTU.[13]
The lyrics focus on how the bonding of two lovers can become so strong that they practically become one entity, through the act ofsexual intercourse.[17] Apart from the sexual connotations, there is an aspirational undercurrent to the lyrics, and like many of their subsequent songs, desire is explicitly linked to ambition: "Free your mind of doubt and danger/Be for real don't be a stranger/We can achieve it/We can achieve it".[9]
Two different versions of the song, each with different lyrics, were recorded: in the album version, the two first verses are sung byMelanie C andMelanie Brown,Emma Bunton sings the pre-choruses, the next second two verses are sung by Melanie C andGeri Halliwell, and the first and third lines of the chorus are sung by Bunton and Halliwell together, the second and fourth lines are sung by Melanie C andVictoria Beckham together and the fifth line is sung by Brown. The second line of the second verse, "Any deal that we endeavour/Boys and girls feel good together",[15] was changed in the single version to: "Once again if we endeavour/Love will bring us back together".[18] Halliwell sings on the album version, while Beckham sings on the single version, after Halliwell confessed that she had a hard time singing in that particular key. Bunton later stated that the lyric change was necessary after realising that the group had become LGBT icons.[19] Despite the original lyrics still being used in album pressings ofSpice, due to the album not being revised since 1997, the single version appeared on the 25th anniversary reissue of the album, in place of the album version. The single version also contains slightly different vocals from the rest of the group.
The single version appears in the music video and is available on the group'sGreatest Hits album, and on stage the girls always performed the single version before and after Halliwell's departure.
"2 Become 1" was released in the United Kingdom on 16 December 1996, in three single versions.[20] The first one, amaxi single that included the single version of the track, an orchestral take, theJunior Vasquez remix of "Wannabe", and "One of These Girls", a song written by the group with Paul Wilson and Andy Watkins—the songwriters and production duo known asAbsolute. The second version was the special Christmas pack, a standardCD single in a cardboard case that included a signed postcard with a Christmas message from the group. This version contained the single version, theDave Way remix, and their own version ofLeroy Anderson's "Sleigh Ride". The third version was a two-trackcassette single, featuring the single version and the orchestral take of the song. The same track listing was also used for the release of the European CD single.[21] In the United States, the single was serviced tocontemporary hit radio on 1 July 1997.[22] Four weeks later, on 29 July, two CD singles were issued in the US.[23]
The song was generally well received by music critics. Brian Grosz from Albumism described it as "a smoothR&B jam".[24]Stephen Thomas Erlewine ofAllMusic called it a "perfectadult contemporary confection".[25] In a review of the group's 2007 compilation album,Greatest Hits, Talia Kraines ofBBC Music called it "shimmering", adding that "only a cold heart could fail to love their first festive #1".[26]Larry Flick ofBillboard magazine said that "they are surprisingly adept at weaving warm and romantic imagery over a sweet melody", adding that "[Everyone] will delight in the track's arrangement of soft harmonies and delicate acoustic guitar riffs".[27]Greg Kot of theChicago Tribune said that their first album "is a compendium of slick secondhand urban pop encompassing [...]G-funk synths on 'Say You'll Be There' [...] andBabyface's guitar and strings balladry on '2 Become 1'".[28]Digital Spy's Nick Levine noted that the group's slower songs were "probably their strongest suit", and thought that the song "manages to combine every element of the perfect Christmas ballad–a touch of elegance, a hint of romance, a soupcon of sexiness and a generous sprinkling of sparkle–and still finds time for a coy safe sex message".[29] Whitney Pastorek ofEntertainment Weekly said that it is "too slow, and the lyrics appear to have been written by a safe-sex-loving unicorn", adding that "it's almost impossible to identify the individual Spice Girls by their voices here, so airbrushed are the proceedings".[30] A reviewer fromMusic Week rated the song five out of five, adding, "No turkey this as Spice Girls virtually guarantee a third chart topper and look a strong bet for the Christmas number one with a seasonally lush ballad. Anticipate much smooching 'neath the mistletoe."[31]Time magazine'sChristopher John Farley called it a "slumberous ballad [...] [that] seem[s] designed to amuse, titillate, ingratiate".[32] In a review of the group's debut albumSpice, Dev Sherlock ofYahoo! Music Radio called it a "glossy ballad that would doMariah Carey proud".[33]
"2 Become 1" was originally going to be released in the UK on 9 December 1996, but the release date was delayed to letDunblane's "Knockin' on Heaven's Door"—a tribute to the children killed at theDunblane Primary School in Scotland—stay at the top of theUK Singles Chart.[34] The single was released the next week, debuting at the top,[35] becoming the group's third chart-topper and their firstChristmas number-one single in the UK.[36][37] It sold 209,000 copies in the first three days of release and 462,000 in the first week,[38][39] becoming the fifth best-selling single of the year.[40] "2 Become 1" sold 1.14 million copies in total,[41][42] giving the Spice Girls their second and final million-selling single in the UK.[43] Despite being released during the final two weeks of 1996, "2 Become 1" was the 5th best seller of the year and that year's fastest selling single of the year.
In Ireland, "2 Become 1" was the group's second number-one single, and their first to debut at the top of theIrish Singles Chart.[44] It stayed at the top position for six weeks,[45] and became their first Christmas number-one single in the country.[46] "2 Become 1" peaked at No. 3 on theEurochart Hot 100,[47] and performed similarly across the rest of Europe, topping the singles chart in Spain,[48] peaking inside the top ten in Austria, Denmark, Finland, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland,[47][49][50][51] and inside the top fifteen in Belgium and Germany.[52][53] It was also commercially successful in Australia and New Zealand, peaking inside the top three on both countries.[54][55]
In July 1997, "2 Become 1" debuted on the CanadianRPM 100 Hit Tracks chart at No. 87,[56] peaked at No. 3 on its fifth week,[57] and ended at No. 25 on the year-end chart.[58] On the Adult Contemporary chart, it peaked at No. 4,[59] and ended at No. 27 on the year-end chart.[60] In the United States, the song debuted on 16 August 1997 at No. 6,[61] reaching a peak of No. 4 in its fourth week,[62] becoming the group's third consecutive top five in the country.[63] The song has sold 700,000 copies in the US as of December 1997.[64] It peaked at four on theTop 40/Mainstream chart and hadcrossover success, peaking at four on theRhythmic Top 40 and at number eight on theAdult Contemporary chart.[65][66][67]
The music video for "2 Become 1" was directed between 5 and 6 November 1996 by Big TV! at a studio inOld Compton Street, London. Cinematographer Stephen Keith-Roach, who worked in other music videos such asJamiroquai's "Virtual Insanity" andU2's "Discothèque", was in charge of the photography.[17] The shoot involved the group dressed in winter attire, wandering around the studio against agreen screen, interspersed withclose-upcamera angles, so that the backdrop could be superimposed later.[68][69] To achieve the effect of the wind rippling through their hair, the group was required tolip synch the song indouble time while wind machines were blowing on them.[8]
The music video features the group members in various places inNew York City, includingTimes Square, withfast moving cars appearing around multi-coloured lights; scenes of the members appearing alone, with one other member, or as a quintet, are intercut with scenes of lovers experiencing moments of togetherness. According to the group's first official bookGirl Power!, the closing scene, which features a deer in the middle of Times Square, gave them a running gag all throughout the shoot—"Whenever anyone made a mistake it was, 'Oh, deer'."[17] Sometimes, the closing scene would not be shown on television, due to the song fading out following a 40-second instrumental.
In the same book,Victoria Beckham wrote about the shoot: "I think '2 Become 1' is my favourite video. [...] It was really different to the other videos–shot entirely in the studio, with high technology and loads of effects. It was really weird having to sing passionately into the camera, I was feeling a right mug in front of all those people singing 'wanna make love to ya baby'."[17]
The song was performed many times on television, including theBravo Supershow,GMTV,Live & Kicking,Noel's House Party, andTop of the Pops.[70][71] In October 1997, the group performed "2 Become 1" as the eighth song of their first live concert at theAbdi İpekçi Arena inIstanbul, Turkey. The performance was broadcast onShowtime in a pay-per-view event titledSpice Girls in Concert Wild!,[72] and was later included in the VHS and DVD releaseGirl Power! Live in Istanbul.[73] The group was scheduled to perform the song on the semi-final of thefifth season of the British television showStrictly Come Dancing, on 16 December, but it was postponed to the finale, 22 December, as Emma sprained her ankle badly and was not able to perform.[74]
The Spice Girls have performed the song on their four tours, theSpiceworld Tour, theChristmas in Spiceworld Tour, theReturn of the Spice Girls Tour and theSpice World - 2019 Tour. After Halliwell's departure in 1998, Bunton sang the first and third lines of the chorus alone during the Spiceworld Tour, but in the Christmas in Spiceworld Tour Beckham replaced Halliwell during the first and third lines of the chorus along with Bunton, while Brown replaced Beckham during the second and fourth lines of the chorus along with Melanie C.[75][76][77][78] The performance at the Spiceworld Tour's final concert can be found on the video:Spice Girls Live at Wembley Stadium, filmed in London, on 20 September 1998.[79] For the Return of the Spice Girls Tour, the group performed it during the second segment of the show. After the "Too Much" performance, each of the girls emerged from a cocoon of oversized swan wings and danced around a set of barber's poles while singing the song.[80] For the Girls return without Beckham forSpice World - 2019 Tour, Halliwell sang a mixture of her and Beckham's original lines – "Any deal that we endeavour/Love will bring us back together...". This was the first time Halliwell had sung a solo live on the track since theSpice debut album.[citation needed]
Wildside recorded adance remake for the 1997 albumMega Hits Dance Party, Vol. 1, which was later included on the 2005 albumLet's Hear It for the 90's, Vol. 1.[84][85]
During her solo career,Emma Bunton has performed live covers of the song on television programmes such asCD:UK andPopworld,[87][88] and it was also included as part of her set list for thePepsi Silver Clef Concert.[89] She performed the song as a duet twice with her former bandmateMelanie C on 9 November 2013 as part of the Oxford Street Lights Switch on and on 11 January 2014 for Sporty's Forty at 02 Shepherd's Bush Empire.
In December 2016, Melanie C performed the song with former bandmateVictoria Beckham at the latter's New Year's Eve party concert.[90] She also performed the song on her own for a live session onBBC Radio 2 in January 2017, and with both Bunton andNicole andNatalie Appleton fromAll Saints at her one off concert for her 50th birthday atKoko in London in January 2024.
On 20 December 2024, Emma Bunton released an solo, orchestral version of "2 Become 1"; the single was created with the Budapest Scoring Orchestra.[92][93] Bunton performed the single on the Christmas special of BBC'sStrictly Come Dancing, which aired on 25 December 2024.
* Sales figures based on certification alone. ^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. ‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.
^Cliff, Aimee (19 May 2019)."Spice Girls: Spice".Pitchfork. Retrieved14 July 2022.Then, there's the softer-edged R&B-influenced ballads like "Mama," "2 Become 1," and "Naked."
