Music
Because, yes, it really has been 25 years since “Wannabe” came out.
It’s been 25 years since one of the world’s most beloved girl groups released their first single Wannabe. The Spice Girls were a whole global cultural moment. Whether it was through their high-tempo pop songs and tight dance routines, or incredible fashion sense and larger than life feature film – they certainly made an impact.
And while the five-piece group got together and broken up numerous times, the fact that they are still talked about with adoration decades later is proof of their (girl) power. And one of the best ways to take a look back down memory lane is through their music videos.
Throughout their career, the Spice Girls have also had some pretty memorable music videos to go along with their singles – the unforgettable video for “Wannabe” being their very first one. In fact, BBC Radio 1 refused to play their debut, so if it wasn’t for the popularity of their “Wannabe” music video on TV, we might not have even had the Spice Girls we know today.
Some of their videos have been pretty experimental, others big-budget productions, and a few just a little odd. But, more than anything, their music videos are a nostalgic time capsule catapulting fans back to their younger years and to dance routines in their childhood bedrooms to the sounds of one of the biggest groups ever to exist.
Here’s all the Spice Girls music videos, ranked.
14. “If You Wanna Have Some Fun”
This isn’t even a music video really. I feel like in the Spice Girls’ late ‘90s and early ‘00s phase, as a four, the glory days of their music videos were coming to an end. If You Wanna Have Some Fun is just a compilation of all their other videos, so I guess in some ways if you want a trip down memory lane this is the one for you.
13. “Too Much”
This basically just a trailer for their movie, SpiceWorld, which is where most of the scenes from the music video come from. So you’re better off just watching the actual movie. Of course, it’s a great song, but between the cultural appropriation and slow pacing of the video, there are far better Spice Girls music videos out there.
12. “Headlines (Friendship Never Ends)”
The band are very much Spice Women by this point. It’s all glam dresses, stilettos, and Geri Halliwell in the lowest-rise trousers you’ve ever seen. This is the big reunion video and the first one since Geri left in 1998, so it’s just nice to see the five back together again, to be honest. But, aside from that and some reclining on chairs and tables, not much else happens.
11. “Mama”
There is no denying Mama is a really heartfelt single that makes you appreciate the maternal figure in your life, and the video does give us some great archival footage of the five as youngsters. There are the occasional scenes of their actual mums holding pictures up of their children which is adorable, but the rest is the Spice Girls singing on stage to an audience, so not super exciting.
10. “Let Love Lead The Way”
Honestly, I think I was today years old when I first watched the Let Love lead The Way music video. Things weren’t the same when Geri left the group, but the four continued on and still had some bangers. I mean the video is cute, it’s a slower track so there are lots of dramatic arms, and gazing into the camera, I don’t think this is one of their top contenders.
9. “2 Become 1”
There’s no bigger penny-drop moment as a Spice Girl fan than realising the song you were belting out as a child was really about safe sex. But that’s why we love them! This is a cute video and the girls are earnestly singing in busy streets as traffic darts around them. It’s definitely one of the videos I can remember watching as a kid.
8. “Stop”
Stop feels an ode to Britpop, but the video was actually filmed in Dublin, Ireland. In a nod to the group’s humble roots, Geri leaves a house on an ordinary suburban road and goes knocking for the other group members. Then the five take to the streets for a group number as locals peer over. There’s a fête, grannies in rollers, kids playing hop scotch, and pints in the old school hall. They even asked actual locals to be in the video.
7. “Who Do You Think You Are?”
This one is pretty unforgettable. Each member has their own colourful room which they dance around in before coming together for a classic group dance. If TikTok was around in the ‘90s, Who Do You Think You Are? would have had its very own viral dance trend. There’s metallic netted bikinis, crimped hair, mini skirts and corsets — truly the late ‘90s at its best.
6. “Say You’ll Be There”
Say You’ll Be There is basically a mini action film, and each member has their own alter-ego. Mel C plays Katrina High Kick, Geri is Trixie Firecracker, Emma, Kung Fu Candy, Victoria is Midnight Miss Suki, and Mel B is Blazin’ Bad Zula. The five fly kick, punch, and backflip their way from a desert set to a sparkling backdrop and even make time to tie a man to the top of a car and drive away into the sunset. More than anything, this is one of the most aesthetically-pleasing videos and everyone is serving a serious look.
5. “Viva Forever”
This one gets a high ranking mainly for the fairytale themes and of course, the very weird Spice Girl CGI fairies. They look slightly like demonic Bratz dolls, but you know, it’s something different! Two kids are in a forest with giant gobstoppers (maybe?) and Rubix cubes, while the Spice Girls flutter around. Viva Forever was actually the last song Geri performed with the group before leaving.
4. “Goodbye”
Needless to say for fans, this is probably one of the most painful videos. The end is here! The Spice Girls turn up at an icy manor house (it kind of reminds me of the one in their debut video Wannabe). Now, they are older, wiser, and a member down. The only reason this doesn’t get a higher ranking is because it’s just too painful.
3. “Holler”
Holler is much more of a ‘00s R&B track with the video to match. The quartet are dancing inside a GCI pyramid – and it all feels a bit more grown. Mel B’s gone blonde, Emma’s not in pink, and can we take a moment to appreciate Victoria Beckham with long hair in a white jumpsuit and sunglasses getting Matrix-style blown around in a wind tunnel?
2. “Wannabe”
The Spice Girls’ debut music video really set the bar. Set in the Midland Grand Hotel in St. Pancras, it sees the five members crash a posh party, dance around, backflip, and show off their respective personalities. It’s also impressive from a technical standpoint. Although it looks like just one take (and it was all practised as one take), it was shot in two continuous takes with a steady camera following the band around. Still, that’s a lot of rehearsing.
1. “Spice Up Your Life”
While it was a tough call, the top Spice Girls music video has to be Spice Up Your Life. Is this a Spice Girls music video or a Blade Runner sequel? You can feel the budget kick in on this one. The girls hoverboard through a moody futuristic post-apocalyptic city all dressed in black. You can even see short clips of their music videos for “Say You’ll Be There” and “Wannabe” playing on TV’s in the background, it’s like they’ve created a Spice Girls universe.
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