The Spice Girls are probably Britain’s greatest export since The Beatles. Yes, that might be a bit of a overstatement for some, but not to me. As a former fan I can say that today’s post is somewhat nostalgic. The 90s were definitely something else and the “Spice Girls” were just one of the best things from that era.
“If you wanna be my lover, you gotta get with my friends…” Remember that song? That’s right, “Wannabe” was probably the very first song that I’ve heard from them. The Spice Girls weren’t the first ever female group to experience success. However, they are the first female group to ever experience this type of worldwide success. Hey, best-selling female group of all time. Respect!
The Spice Girls Magical “Formula”
“Girl Power”
Why were the Spice Girls so popular? Maybe I’m not the best person to give an opinion, because I liked them back in the day and I still like them now. However, if I had to guess I would say something like: “right time, right place”. Picture this, we are talking about the 90s: the rise of “girl power”. In my opinion, the “Spice Girls” were the perfect answer to that phenomenon. Look at them: they are young, strong and opinionated. Well, at least that’s how they were marketed as. In addition, there’s also something for everyone: five different ladies with five different personalities. Pick your flavour.
Catchy Songs
The girls’ vocal talent is debatable, but we all know that you don’t need a great a voice to become a big star. What they might lack in vocal talented they compensate it with catchy songs. Some may say that their music was superficial. I disagree, just because something comes in a pretty package doesn’t necessary mean it’s fake or without substance. In addition, coming up with one catchy song after another, it’s kind of genius. The people running the Spice Girls “machine” understood that sometimes is not all about your talent but your appeal to the masses and these girls had the X-Factor. As of matter of fact, Spice Girls worldwide success inspired other record labels to come up with their own female bands as well. I’m not a hater, but no other female group has ever come as close to my heart as the Spice Girls did. Oh wait, there’s only one other group: TLC. I’ll leave them for another post.
Then And Now
If the Spice Girls were put next to current female bands, where and how would they stand? I’m afraid, they would be labelled as: cheesy, corny and safe. But you have to understand: the Spice Girls belong to a different era. An era were things were “prettier”. Nowadays, it’s all about the artist’s sexual allure. What is the industry looking for? Someone that can not only sing but is also good looking and sexually attractive. Call me old fashioned, but I like the way how the Spice Girls were. All that “girl power”… you know? In my opinion, they were fun and sexy without trying too hard. In my opinion, it was never about being something else to satisfy an audience.
Having said that, there are too many reasons to love the Spice Girls. Though, they are no longer active, they are still very present in my childhood memories and I’m sure of many other millions of people who grew up in the 90s.
