The Spice Girls are an English pop girl group formed in 1994. The group comprises Melanie Brown, also known as Mel B ("Scary Spice"), Melanie Chisholm, Mel C ("Sporty Spice"), Emma Bunton ("Baby Spice"), Geri Halliwell ("Ginger Spice"), and Victoria Beckham née Adams ("Posh Spice"). In 1996, Top of the Pops magazine gave each member of the group aliases, which were adopted by the group and media. With their "girl power" mantra, the Spice Girls were pop culture icons of the 1990s. They led the teen pop resurgence of the late 1990s and are cited as part of the Second British Invasion of the US. Time called them "arguably the most recognizable face" of Cool Britannia, the mid-1990s celebration of youth culture in the UK.
The Spice Girls were signed to Virgin Records and released their debut single "Wannabe" in 1996; it hit number one in 37 countries and commenced their global success. Their debut album Spice (1996) sold more than 23 million copies worldwide, becoming the best-selling album by a female group in history. Their follow-up album, Spiceworld (1997), was also a commercial success, selling over 13 million copies worldwide. In November 2000, the group released Forever, which was their only album without Halliwell. In January 2001, the group began an indefinite hiatus to concentrate on their solo careers but stressed that they were not splitting.
Measures of the Spice Girls' success include international record sales, vast merchandising enterprises, iconic symbolism such as Halliwell's Union Jack dress representing "girl power", a film, Spice World (1997), and two reunion tours in 2007–2008 and 2019. Under the guidance of their mentor and manager Simon Fuller, the group embraced merchandising and became a regular feature of the British and global press. The group became one of the most successful marketing engines ever, with their global gross income estimated at $500–800 million by May 1998.
The Spice Girls have sold 90 million records worldwide, making them the best-selling girl group of all time, one of the best-selling artists, and the biggest British pop success since the Beatles. The group have received a number of awards including five Brit Awards, three American Music Awards, four Billboard Music Awards, three MTV Europe Music Awards, one MTV Video Music Award and three World Music Awards. In 2000, they became the youngest recipients of the Brit Award for Outstanding Contribution to Music. According to Rolling Stone journalist and biographer David Sinclair, "Scary, Baby, Ginger, Posh, and Sporty were the most widely recognised group of individuals since John, Paul, George, and Ringo".
Last Updated: June 9, 2021
