| Spice Up Your Life by Spice Girls
|
|
| Single Information
|
| Released
| July 1996 (UK) March 1997 (US)
|
| Found on
| Spiceworld
|
| Charts
|
| US Hot 100
| #18
|
| US Airplay
| #26
|
| US Sales
| #3
|
| US Clubplay
| #1
|
| UK Top 40
| #1
|
| Video
|
| Q
| 4 stars out of 5
| November 2000 (http://www.q4music.com/nav?page=q4music.review.redirect&fixture_review=117571&resource=117571&fixture_artist=144975)
|
| AMG (http://Allmusic.com)
| 5 stars out of 5
| link (http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&uid=UIDSUB020405101952141101&sql=Ayy09kent7q7x)
|
| Beatles Chronology
|
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
(1967)
| Magical Mystery Tour
1967
| The Beatles
(1968)
|
Spice Up Your Life is a song released by the Spice Girls. Like much of their second album, Spiceworld, was premiered during the girls' first-ever live concert in Istanbul, Turkey. After debuting on UK radio, the song had an overwhelmingly positive initial reaction and, just a week after its first spin, entered the singles chart at #19 on airplay alone.
The original release-date of "Spice Up Your Life" was delayed for seven days to allow Elton John's "Candle In The Wind" to reach the top of the charts. The tribute to Diana, Princess of Wales, who had died the month before, subsequently went on to become the world's biggest-selling single of all time. "'Life" hit the top-spot the following week, a feat echoed in the major music markets of Canada, Australia and Spain, and became the Spice Girls' fifth consecutive UK number one.
The chart trajectory of "Spice Up Your Life" in the United States, however, was somewhat less successful. Due to the song's idiosyncratic sound- a hybrid of pop and samba- it was unable to fit into a particular musical mould. Hence, the song was seldom played on US radio, resulting in it stalling at a lowly #18 on the Billboard 100. Some would argue that it would have been wise for Virgin to release the more US-friendly tracks from Spiceworld to radio instead, namely "Saturday Night Divas" or "Denying". Despite it's disappointing chart position Stateside, the track added another US Top 20 to the groups' already impressive list. "Life" also helped the LP Spiceworld debut on the Billboard Album Charts at an impressive #8 (it would eventually climb to a peak of #3 after the release of the group's first film, the appropriately titled, Spiceworld: The Movie).
The video is considered by many to rank among the Spice Girls' best. With a multi-million dollar budget, the ironic promo sees the group in a futuristic setting, controlling every aspect of society. The group stated that the video was a reaction to the press who criticized the group for "selling out" to a number of worldwide brands in the summer of 1997, including Pepsi, Walkers, Cadbury's, ASDA and Polaroid.
Trivia
The Spice Girls premiered "Spice Up Your Life" in the USA at that year's MTV VMAs before winning the award for "Viewer's Choice" and dedicating their gong to Diana, Princess of Wales.
|
