"Spice Up Your Life" is a song by Britishgirl group theSpice Girls from their second studio album,Spiceworld (1997). The song was co-written by the group with Matt Rowe andRichard Stannard, at the same time as the group was shooting scenes for their 1997 filmSpice World, while production was handled by the latter two. It is adance-pop song, with influences ofLatin rhythms such assalsa andsamba. The song's theme reflects the group desire to "write a song for the world" while the lyrics have been labeled as dance-oriented with aself-promoting message.
Released as thelead single ofSpiceworld in October 1997, "Spice Up Your Life" received an extensive worldwide promotional campaign that included a series of appearances on television programmes and presentations at award shows. It received mixed reviews fromcritics, obtaining divisive opinions for its production and lyrical content. Despite the lukewarm critical reception, the song was a commercial success. It debuted atop theUK Singles Chart, becoming the group's fifth consecutive number one in the United Kingdom and has since been certifieddouble platinum by theBritish Phonographic Industry (BPI). It performed similarly on the music charts in the rest of Europe and Oceania, while in the United States, the song did not perform as well as their previous releases, peaking at number 18 on theBillboard Hot 100.
An accompanyingmusic video, directed byMarcus Nispel, features the group in a futuristic setting, inspired by the 1982 filmBlade Runner, controlling every aspect of society in a darkpost-apocalyptic cityscape. The song has been regularly included on the setlists in most of the group's concerts and presentations, most notably their performance at the2012 Summer Olympics closing ceremony in London. It was also used in the 2023 filmBarbie[1] and the third of theDoctor Who 60th anniversary specials, "The Giggle", in which the main villain of the episode (The Toymaker) makes a grand entrance with the song playing in the background.[2]
In May 1997, the Spice Girls went on a promotional visit to theCannes Film Festival in the south of France, where they announced their then-upcoming movieSpice World (1997).[3] The group began shooting scenes for the movie in June. Meanwhile,Virgin Records started the first marketing meetings for the promotional campaign for their second albumSpiceworld, which was set to be released in November 1997.[4] No song had been written for the album at this point, so the Spice Girls had to do all the songwriting and recording at the same time as they were shooting the movie.[5] Between takes and at the end of each filming day,[6] the group usually went straight into a mobile recording studio set up in aWinnebago, which followed them between film sets.[5] Their schedule was physically arduous with logistical difficulties,[4] asMelanie Brown commented in her autobiography: "doing the two full-time jobs at the same time took its toll and within a couple on weeks, exhaustion set in".[6]
For the album, the Spice Girls worked with the same songwriting teams and producers from their debut studio album,Spice (1996). But during the recording of theSpiceworld tracks, the group was so busy with the filming schedule that the quality of their musical contributions became more erratic and piecemeal.[7] Andy Watkins, of the production duoAbsolute, co-writers of "Who Do You Think You Are" remembered: "We'd sit there literally all day long and quite often we wouldn't even get them at all."Eliot Kennedy, who co-wrote "Say You'll Be There" with the group, worked on a couple of backing tracks forSpiceworld, but decided not to get involved in the album after hearing from the other teams about the complications of the recording schedule.[8]
In May 1997, the Spice Girls did a promotional trip to North America in support of their second single "Say You'll Be There",[9] which included a performance on the Mexican television showSiempre en Domingo inAcapulco.[10] According toEmma Bunton, their visit to Mexico was the inspiration behind the song's "Latin feel".[11] The song was written by the Spice Girls with thesongwriting teamRichard "Biff" Stannard and Matt Rowe.[12] In an interview withMusic Week, Stannard commented about their initial ideas for the song: "We were talking aboutBollywood films, the colours and how the Spice Girls could present themselves. It was a matter of how do we get everything in to one song?"[13] Rowe recalled the chaotic experience of the recording process of "Spice Up Your Life":[7]
It had been booked in, that they were coming in to record their next single, and write it, with us. It was atWhitfield Street Studios and there was going to be anMTV crew there filming them as they did this, which there was. Well, how on earth can you possibly do this? You can't write and record a song in half-an-hour with a film crew watching.[14]
The session was interrupted constantly, with label executives entering the building, phoning the group, or throwing things through the window. Eventually, when the producers ordered the filming crew to leave the room, the group managed to finish the song.[7] The vocal recording was completed the same day, and instead of taking turns, the five members went inside theisolation booth and recorded the chorus together.[7] Brown commented that for this reason the final mix sounds "spontaneous and full of energy".[6]
"Spice Up Your Life" was already finished and ready to be released, but nothing was recorded for theB-side; every other song available had been used inSpice and the group needed a new track for their nextsingle. A session with Paul Wilson and Andy Watkins—the songwriters and production duo known as Absolute—was booked. Because of the limited time and the scarce creative inspiration during the filming ofSpice World, Virgin told Absolute to make anything they liked.[8] The duo created "Spice Invaders" by placing four microphones and telling the group to talk about anything they wanted. The conversation was recorded and as Wilson later described it, a "hideousbubblegum"backing track was added to the recorded session. Watkins andmix engineer Jeremy Wheatley, finished the track during the night.[8] It received mixed opinions from music critics. El Hunt ofNME placed it at number eight on his list of "The 10 Best Spice Girls Songs", characterizing it as "an absolute train wreck of apop song", he called it an "under-appreciated gem" and praised Brown's delivery.[15] TheEvening Standard's Jessie Thompson commented that the song "represents everything they were loved for".[16] On the contrary,Alexis Petridis ofThe Guardian placed "Spice Invaders" at the bottom of his 2018 ranking of the Spice Girls' whole catalog, describing it as "the sound of a group who could, by this point, get away with anything".[17]
A 20-second sample of the song, featuring the group singing the last part of thechorus, followed by a spokenbridge, in which they mention differentdance styles, with a backing track that have influences ofLatin rhythms such assalsa andsamba.
Musically, "Spice Up Your Life" is anuptempodance-pop song, with influences ofLatin rhythms such assalsa andsamba.[18][19][20] Critics noted that the song incorporates an infectious melody and "haunting"harmonies,[15][21][22] mixed with a pianohook and a "relentless"drum beat,[15][23] that creates acarnival atmosphere.[24][25][26] It is written in thekey ofF minor, with atime signature set on common time, and moves at a fasttempo of 126 beats per minute.[27] The song is constructed in averse-pre-chorus-chorus form, opening with anintroduction, which consists on the repeated use of the word "la".[27] The first verse, pre-chorus andchorus follows, using a simplechord progression of Fm–C7.[27] The same pattern occurs leading to the second chorus. At the end of the song, a spokenbridge precedes the third chorus, and then closes by repeating the chorus for a fourth time.[27]
Lyrically, "Spice Up Your Life" have been described as an "international rally cry" byMusic Week,[13] aimed at a global audience.[28][29]Melanie C commented about the inspiration behind the song's theme: "We always wanted to do a carnival tune and write a song for the world".[30] Some critics considered the song to be an example ofbranding or "sloganeering",[31][32] while the lyrical content has been labeled as dance-oriented ("Slam it to the left / If you’re having a good time / Shake it to the right / If you know that you feel fine"),[21][33][34] with a self-promoting message ("Every boy and girl / Spice up your life").[34][35][36] The song includes mentions of differentdance styles during the bridge ("Flamenco /Lambada / Buthip-hop is harder / Wemoonwalk thefoxtrot / Thenpolka thesalsa / Shake Shake Shakehaka"),[15] and lyrics in Japanese, Spanish and German at the end of each chorus ("Hai, si, ja").[29] The lines "Yellow man inTimbuktu / Colour for both me and you" during the second verse have received criticism for its racist connotation.[37] El Hunt fromNME called it "regrettable",[15] whileThe Irish Times andThe Guardian referred to them as "woeful lyrics".[17][38]
The promotional campaign for the release of "Spice Up Your Life" began the last week of September 1997, when the song started to receive airplay across Europe.[39] On 6 October, the Spice Girls officially unveiled all the tracks fromSpiceworld in a press conference inGranada, Spain.[40] The same week, they appeared on the British television programmesTalking Telephone Numbers,GMTV, andThe Big Breakfast.[41] The single was originally going to be released in the United Kingdom on 6 October 1997, but the date was delayed for a week in an attempt to displaceElton John's "Candle in the Wind 1997"—a tribute toPrincess Diana, who had died two months before—from the top position.[42][43]
"Spice Up Your Life" was commercially released in the UK on 13 October 1997, in two single versions.[44] The first one, released incassette andCD maxi single format, included two radio mixes, one from record producerMark "Spike" Stent, and another from American DJDavid Morales, an instrumental version of the song, and theB-side "Spice Invaders". The second version, released in adigipak, contained three tracks: the Stent radio mix, a club mix by David Morales, and a remix byhouse production teamMurk.[44] In the United States, Virgin Records America sent the song to radios on 1 October and the single to record stores on 21 October.[45] The American edition, released in both cassette and CD maxi single format, featured the same track listing as the first UK version.[46][47]
On 12–13 October 1997, the group performed songs fromSpiceworld including "Spice Up Your Life" in atwo-night concert in Turkey, as part of a sponsorship deal organized byPepsi.[48] Following the concerts, the Spice Girls made a couple of weeks of promotion in Singapore, Thailand, India, Hong Kong and Japan,[49] and attended theBambi Awards in Germany.[50] In November, they appeared at a charity event in South Africa,[51] taped a special concert forAntena 3 in Spain,[52] and did promotion in Italy, France, the Netherlands, and the UK.[53][54] In December they traveled to Brazil for a press conference,[55] and then to the US to made televised appearances onThe Tonight Show with Jay Leno andDick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve, whileUPN released a one-hour special dedicated to the group titledToo Much Is Never Enough.[56] During January 1998, while promoting the album and the release of their movieSpice World, the group appeared on theLate Show with David Letterman andThe Oprah Winfrey Show, and were featured on the cover ofVogue magazine.[57]
"Spice Up Your Life" received mixed reviews frommusic critics, with the Latin-inspired production garnering divisive opinions. Andy Gill ofThe Independent called it a "pseudo-salsa [...] pop pastiche",[19] while the staff of theMiami Herald considered it "a condescending dud".[58] In a similar review,David Browne ofEntertainment Weekly described it as a "ha-cha-cha slice of tropical-boat-cruise frivolity".[59] George Varga ofThe San Diego Union-Tribune believed that the song "does for Latin music whatHanson has done fordeath metal".[60] Conversely,Newsday's Scott Schinder was pleased with the track, referring to it as a "silly but irresistible uplift".[20] TheSun-Sentinel's Sean Picolli described it as a "salsa-litehootenanny".[61] The staff ofSmash Hits gave it a positive review, calling it a "maraca-shaking Latino aceness" that features a "totally fab chorus".[62]Charlie Porter ofThe Times called it "fantastic" but described it as "a chorus in search of a good verse".[63] Critic Ian Watson from theMelody Maker was less enthusiastic, commenting that the song's production and instrumentation have a "black magic feel" that evokes depictions of theMardi Gras and theDay of the Dead, he added that the introduction "sounds almost demonic" and that it resembles the "chant of a dance that goes on for all eternity".[23] The song drew comparisons to the work of other artists. The staff of theContra Costa Times noticed that the song have shades ofGloria Estefan.[64] TheDaily Record went even further, considering that it was a rehash of Estefan's '80s music, labeling it a "throwaway Latinstyle song".[65] Melissa Ruggieri of theRichmond Times-Dispatch believed that the song was a copy ofMiami Sound Machine's "Conga", and added that it had a "zingymariachi-flavored rhythm and infectious chorus chant",[66] whileAnn Powers ofThe New York Times said that it "skates overLatin hip hop fromLisa Lisa to theLambada".[67]The Dallas Morning News noted influences ofABBA,Bananarama andBow Wow Wow in the song, and added that it "doesn't quite reach the pop heights of 'Wannabe'".[68] Jim Sullivan ofThe Boston Globe concurred about the ABBA reference, while describing the song as an "audioBenetton ad".[69]
Some reviewers were critical of the lyrical content.NME'sDele Fadele called "Spice Up Your Life" "the poppermost pop single ever invented", and remarked about its "nonsense lyrics" saying that it represented "the Spice Girls' message of peace to the world".[70] Kevin Courtney ofThe Irish Times commented that the song "is peppered with the usual 'girl powaaah' cliches", and added that it has "absolutely woeful lyrics".[38] Writing for theAssociated Press, David Bauder dismissed it as a song "written by afocus group who told them to add a Latin flavor".[71] TheTelegram & Gazette's Craig S. Semon enjoyed the song's melody and harmonies but criticised the lyrical content, commenting that the Spice Girls were "concerned more with shaking hips than moving social consciousness".[21]Larry Flick ofBillboard magazine was mixed on the track. Although he described it as "insanely catchy and devilishly fun", he did not considered it a real song, calling it "just a festivecha-cha groove and a lyrical command to add some 'spice' to your life by way of countless dance moves".[72]David Wild ofRolling Stone magazine's had a similar opinion, he called the song "a global call to arms and legs with a distinct carnival-like flavor and a message of Up With Spice People positivity".[28] TheHartford Courant's music critic Roger Catlin called the lyrics during the verses "goofy", and described "Spice Up Your Life" as a combination of "savvy Latin rhythms and a self-promoting lyric of dizzyEsperanto".[35]Chicago Sun-Times criticJim DeRogatis was unimpressed with the lyrics, yet when comparing it toAqua's "Barbie Girl", he found that its "unifying sentiment is more admirable".[73]
Retrospective reviews have been generally positive.AllMusic's criticStephen Thomas Erlewine, commented that the song added Latin rhythms that "consolidates and expands the group's style".[74] OnBillboard's 2017 list of the "100 Greatest Girl Group Songs of All Time" it ranked at number 62. On behalf of the publication, Joe Lynch commended the song's "unquenchable energy" and lauded its "joyous samba rhythms and irresistible [...] refrain".[29] Anne T. Donahue ofVulture.com felt that "it kept its energy up to the end and left us wanting more".[33] Alexis Petridis ofThe Guardian believed that it has a "certain raw energy that powers it along".[17] TheEvening Standard reviewer Luke Abrahams described "Spice Up Your Life" as an "instant, wild, chaotic and nonsensical classic", he believed that it "captured the sheer might, power and energy" of the Spice Girls.[16] Will Stroude ofAttitude named it the best of the group's single releases, characterizing it as an "unapologetically brash banger which perfectly encapsulates the Spice Girls' bolshy philosphy [sic]".[75] On a 2018 ranking of the group's songs,NME writer El Hunt praised the song for its "haunting harmonies and chaotically plunking piano hooks", and called the "nonsensical bridge" the best part of the song.[15]
Upon its release as a single, "Spice Up Your Life" debuted on 19 October 1997 atop theUK Singles Chart, with 321,000 copies sold in its first week.[76] This made the Spice Girls the first act to reach number one with their first five singles, and the first to debut at the top of the chart four times in a row.[77] The song spent one week at number one, 12 weeks in the top 40, and 15 weeks in the top 75,[78] ending at the 10th position on the 1997 year-end chart.[76] It was certifieddouble platinum by theBritish Phonographic Industry (BPI) for sales and streams of 1,200,000 units in December 2022.[79] As of October 2017, it had sold 887,000 copies and had been streamed 4.5 million times in the UK.[76]
The group performing a remix version of the song during the encore ofThe Return of the Spice Girls Tour in Toronto, Canada, in February 2008.
"Spice Up Your Life" was commercially successful in the rest of Europe. It reached number three on theEurochart Hot 100,[80] topping the charts in Hungary, Iceland and Romania,[81][82][83] while peaking inside the top five in Belgium (both the Flemish and Walloon charts), Denmark, Finland, France, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland,[84][85][86][87] and inside the top 15 in Austria and Germany.[88][89] The song was also a radio hit across the continent, reaching the top position of the European Radio Top 50 for three weeks,[90] topping the airplay charts in theBenelux region, Italy andScandinavia,[91][92] and peaking inside the top five in the German-speaking countries,[93] Hungary,[91] Spain,[94] and the UK.[92] The song debuted on theOfficial New Zealand Music Chart at number two on 26 October 1997, where it stayed for four consecutive weeks.[95] It remained on the chart for 15 weeks in total, and was certified platinum by theRecorded Music NZ (RMNZ) for sales of 10,000 units in October 1997.[96] "Spice Up Your Life" debuted on theARIA Singles Chart at number 17 on 26 October 1997, peaking two weeks later at number eight, and remaining on the chart for 20 weeks.[97] It was certified platinum by theAustralian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) for selling 70,000 units in 1997.[98]
"Spice Up Your Life" had moderate success in North America. On 27 October 1997, the song debuted on the CanadianRPM 100 Hit Tracks chart at number 46,[99] later reaching a peak position of number 17 in its fifth week.[100] It fared better on theCanadian Singles Chart, where it peaked at number two.[101] In the US, "Spice Up Your Life" debuted on theBillboard Hot 100 at number 32 on 8 November 1997, at the time it was the group's lowest debut in the country.[102] The song received little support from radio programmers,[103] but it peaked at number 18 on the Hot 100 during its fourth week.[104] The song reached number four on theDance Club Play chart but only had moderate success on other formats, reaching number 22 on theMaxi-Singles Sales chart, number 27 on theRhythmic Top 40, and number 37 on theMainstream Top 40.[105][106][107] It received a gold certification by theRecording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for selling 500,000 copies on 13 January 1998.[108] New remixes by Americanhouse musicianRalphi Rosario released during the group's 2007–08The Return of the Spice Girls Tour, reached number 17 on the Dance Club Play chart in July 2008.[109]
A scene from theBlade Runner-inspiredmusic video for "Spice Up Your Life", showing the group inside a spaceship going through a dark city, controlling every aspect of society.
Themusic video for "Spice Up Your Life" was directed on 6 September 1997 byMarcus Nispel in a two-day shoot located in New York City.[110][111] It was edited at Red Car Inc in Los Angeles, and includedvisual effects by Craig Price.[112] The video features the group in afuturistic setting, inspired by the 1982 filmBlade Runner, controlling every aspect of society in a darkpost apocalyptic cityscape.[113] Nispel came up with the concept based on a sketch that was faxed to him signed "Ginger Spice". He recalls: "I looked at whatDisney did toTimes Square in NYC and tried to imagine how the Spice Girls would transform it, as their career seemed to have no limits—at the time."[114] The group was not consulted about the concept. According to Brown's autobiography, they wanted a carnival party theme, but were too tired to fight about it with the label, and ended up with a concept linked to the theme ofworld domination. Brown commented: "It wasn't right. I don't think any of us liked it much, even though we enjoyed making it. I still can't understand what's going on in it half the time."[115] The music video and a half-hour special withbehind-the-scenes footage from the shoot, exclusively premiered onMTV in September 1997.[116]
The video shows the Spice Girls in a spaceship going through a dark rainy city, looking at themselves on various billboards,[112] while shoots of rooms, bars and a prison with televisions plays the videos for "Say You'll Be There" and "Wannabe", and also broadcast live footage of the group inside the spaceship.[117] The girls then zoom aimlessly around the city, between buildings, on flyingsurfboards. The scenes are interspersed with shoots of each group member in different activities, such as Brown doingturntablism with bright flashing lights and a large rotating fan, Beckham posing on top of a platform while photographers takes pictures of her, Bunton in a room surrounded with neon-blue balloons, Melanie C winning a boxing match and Halliwell giving a speech at a press conference to a crowd of journalists. The video won the award for Best Video at the 1998Edison Music Awards,[118] and was nominated forBritish Video of the Year at the1998 Brit Awards,[119] and for Best Special Effects at the 1997Music Video Production Association (MVPA) Awards.[120]
On 13 October 2022, the Spice Girls released a new, alternative, version of the "Spice Up Your Life" video, using previously unused visual from the originalvideo shoot.[121]
The group performed the song in November 1997, as part of their setlist for theTwo Nations in Concert charity event held inJohannesburg, South Africa, presented by the Nations Trust foundation.[135] The song was also used during the final segment of their 1997 film,Spice World.[136] In the scene, the group performed it at London'sRoyal Albert Hall, surrounded by the media and thousands of fans, while the rest of the supporting cast can be seen dancing and singing during the show.[137] At the2000 Brit Awards, the group performed "Spice Up Your Life" at the end of the show as part of their setlist for winning the award for Outstanding Contribution to Music.[138] The Spice Girls performed the song on 12 August 2012 at theSummer Olympics closing ceremony in London in a medley with "Wannabe".[139] They arrived onstage on glitteringLondon cabs decorated with their individual trademark emblems. During the event, they ascended onto the roofs of the cabs and proceeded to race around the stadium whilst singing and dancing.[140]
The Spice Girls wearing updated versions of their signature outfits while performing "Spice Up Your Life" on theSpice World – 2019 Tour atWembley Stadium in June 2019.
The Spice Girls have performed the song on their four tours, theSpiceworld Tour,[141][142] theChristmas in Spiceworld Tour,[143] theReturn of the Spice Girls Tour,[144] and theSpice World – 2019 Tour.[145] For the Spiceworld Tour, during their performance of "Spice Up Your Life", the group dressed in re-imagined outfits of the group's signature look, designed by British stylistKenny Ho.[146] The performance at the tour's final concert can be found on the video:Spice Girls Live at Wembley Stadium, filmed in London, on 20 September 1998,[147] and released onVHS around two months later.[148] In the Return of the Spice Girls Tour (2007–2008), the group performed "Spice Up Your Life" as the opening song of the show. It started with the screens above the stage displaying an introductory film, which featured five little girls—Spice Girls' look-alikes—opening a magic box, dancing and talking about their wish to be world-famous.[149] Old headlines about them flash up—the last one announcing the end of the group. Then the group appeared standing motionless in five ascending platforms, dressed in tight bronze and copper coloured outfits made by Italian fashion designerRoberto Cavalli.[150][151] During theencore, the group closed the show performing a remix version of the song, each dressed in a glittery outfit of a different colour. At the end, a cannon exploded showering the stage with pieces of paper strips, while flags from different countries flashed across the backdrop screens. As they left the stage, the words "Mission accomplished" appeared on the screens.[151][152] For the Spice World – 2019 Tour, the group performed it as the opening song of the show.[153] Each member dressed in updated versions of their90s looks, designed by Gabriella Slade,[154] including Brown in a leopard printcatsuit, and a floor-length gown adaptation of Halliwell's 1997Union Jack dress.[155]
* Sales figures based on certification alone. ^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. ‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.
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