Wannabe (song)

Infobox Single
Name = Wannabe


Artist = Spice Girls
from Album = Spice
B-side = "Bumper to Bumper"
Released = Flagicon|Japan 26 June 1996 Flagicon|UK 8 July 1996
Flagicon|Australia 26 August 1996
Flagicon|USA 14 January 1997
Format = Vinyl record (12"),
cassette, CD single
Recorded = 1995
Genre = Dance pop, teen pop, bubblegum pop
Length = 2:52 (album version)
4:11 (music video)
Label = Virgin Records
Writer = Richard Stannard, Matt Rowe, Spice Girls
Producer = Richard Stannard, Matt Rowe
Certification = Platinum (BPI, RIAA)
Artist = Spice Girls
Type = singles
Last single =
This single = "Wannabe"
(1996)
Next single = "Say You'll Be There"
(1996)Extra album cover 2
Upper caption = Alternate covers
Type = Single


Lower caption = Japanese CD coverExtra album cover 2
Type = Single


Lower caption = US CD cover

"Wannabe" is a song by the British pop group Spice Girls, released as their debut single, and widely considered to be their signature song. [Kingsley, Madeleine. [http://aunom2geri.ifrance.com/ihello.htm "'(au nom de Geri)'"] . "Hello! Magazine". March 2007. Retrieved 3 November 2007.] It was written by the Spice Girls, Richard Stannard and Matt Rowe for the group's debut album "Spice" (see 1996 in music).

The single was released in July 1996 in the United Kingdom, reaching the top of the UK Singles Chart for seven consecutive weeks, and received a platinum certification by the BPI. In January 1997 the song was released in the United States topping the Billboard Hot 100 for four weeks, becoming their only number-one single in that country.

"Wannabe" is one of the most recognisable and successful songs of the 1990s. By the end of 1996 it had topped the charts in 22 nations, [Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:gjfexq8gldfe~T10 "Spice Girls - Biography"] . "Allmusic". Retrieved 1 June 2007.] and by March of 1997 this number had climbed to 31,McGibbon, 1997. pp. 124-125,128.] before it became the best-selling single by a female group in the history of recorded sound, selling over six million copies worldwide. [ [http://topmuzik.com/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?topic_id=8588 Worldwide sales] . Topmuzik.com . Retrieved 13 October 2007.]

Writing and inspiration

"Wannabe" was co-written by the Spice Girls, Richard Stannard and Matt Rowe. Stannard and Rowe also co-produced the track. The song's central emphasis is the union and solidarity of friends, an implicit challenge to any "wannabe" lovers.Spice Girls, 1997. pp. 34-35.]

Stannard and Rowe began writing with the group in January 1995, and the first song they wrote was called "Feed Your Love", a slow, soulful song which was eventually recorded and mastered for the "Spice" album – but not used because it was considered "too rude" for their target audience. Having completed that one, the girls wanted to write something a bit more uptempo.Sinclair, 2004. p. 42.] Rowe set up a drum loop on his MPC 3000 drum machine, which was quite fast but also had a strutting quality about it. For Stannard the rhythm brought to mind the spirit of John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John performing "You're the One That I Want" in "Grease". Then the girls added their own contributions into the mix.

Rowe commented: "They made all these different bits up, not thinking in terms of verse, chorus, bridge or what was going to go where, just coming up all these sections of chanting, rapping and singing. And then we just sewed it together."

Halliwell wrote in the group's first official book "Girl Power!" that Melanie Brown and Emma Bunton came up with the song's chorus, and was in that moment that they realised they had something good.

The group and the producers were working all week on the song, but only half was completed by Friday night, so it was decided to finish it the following week.According to Victoria Beckham's autobiography "Learning to Fly", that week she traveled to Torquay to attend the wedding of a friend of her then boyfriend Mark Wood; she communicated with the other girls with a cellphone she and Halliwell recently bought; even thought Beckham wrote: "It's not the same thing by phone".Beckham, 2001. p. 205.]

The song was finished and by the time they were going to record it, every solo parts were already divided beetween the four girls. Beckham only participates during the choirs of the song.

While other tracks on the album each required two or three weeks of studio time, the group was able to record "Wannabe" in under an hour – mainly because they had already written parts of the song beforehand. The song won International Hit Of The Year and Best British-Written Single at the 1997 Ivor Novello Awards presented by the British Academy of Composers and Songwriters. [McGibbon, 1997. p. 140.] It also won "Best Single" at the 1997 BRIT Awards. [ [http://brits.co.uk/winners/1997/index.php Brit Awards] . Brits.co.uk . Retrieved 27 October 2007.]

Critical Reception

"Wannabe" received mixed reviews from music critics. Allmusic's reviewer Stephen Thomas Erlewine said "none of the Girls have great voices, but they do exude personality and charisma, which is what drives bouncy dance-pop like 'Wannabe', with its ridiculous 'zig-a-zig-ahhh' hook, into pure pop guilty pleasure". [Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. [http://wm03.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:dxfoxqrhldse~T1 "Spice > Review"] . "Allmusic". Retrieved 27 October 2007.]

Christina Kelly from "Rolling Stone" called the Spice Girls "another bubblegum pop group that offer a watered-down mix of hip-hop and cheesy pop balladry, brought together by a manager with a marketing concept", adding "Spice Girls' idea of power seems to be flaunting that they are all that, but the lyrics make Alanis Morissette's sound like Patti Smith's. A few nuggets: 'If you want to get with me, better make it fast...' Despite their pro-woman posing, the Girls don't get bogged down by anything deeper than mugging for promo shots and giving out tips on getting boys in bed." [ Kelly, Christina. [http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/spicegirls/albums/album/126409/review/5943416/spice "Album Reviews: Spice Girls: Spice"] . "Rollingstone". 25 February 1997. Retrieved 27 October 2007.] In a poll conducted by the magazine to identify the ten most annoying songs, this song was ranked eighth. [ ANI. [http://www.rediff.com/movies/2007/jul/03songs.htm "The 10 most annoying songs"] . "Rediff.com". 3 July 2007. Retrieved 13 October 2007.]

Matt Diehl from "Entertainment Weekly" also noticed the combination of genres describing "Wannabe" as "more a compendium of music styles (from ABBA-style choruses to unconvincing hip hop) than an actual song", but added that "there's something endearing about this goofily formulaic Euro pop". [ Diehl, Matt. [http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,286533,00.html "Music Capsule Review: Wannabe (1996)"] . "Entertainment Weekly". 24 January 1997. Retrieved 27 October 2007.]

Sputnikmusic in a review for "Spice" called the lyrics "dire" and wondered "how could parents feed this to their 10-year-olds? The album's lyrics are so heavily laden with smut, I'm surprised they even let their kids have the album" and then used "Wannabe" as an example saying "The gist of the song is basically get your act together and treat me right, or there's no show. Not to mention the famous zig-a-zig-ha... try replacing it with the word 'sex' in the lyrics and see how it all suddenly makes perfect sense", adding "this track is built around an infectious keyboard riff, and so profoundly annoying, you'll want to rip your toenails off just so it will stop. But it's also really catchy, which makes you hate it even more." [ ReturnToRock. [http://www.sputnikmusic.com/album.php?albumid=3524 "Spice Girls: Spice"] . "Sputnikmusic.com". 15 September 2005. Retrieved 27 October 2007.] Another review from "Sputnikmusic" said "The lively bubble-gum pop of the Spice Girls embodied a gender not willing to lie down, and their debut single "Wannabe" acted as a proverbial kick in the pants for male chauvinists worldwide." [ Incognito, Daniel. [http://www.sputnikmusic.com/album.php?reviewid=9422 "Spice Girls: Spice"] . "Sputnikmusic.com". 5 October 2006. Retrieved 27 October 2007.]

In "The Simpsons" episode "Maximum Homerdrive", Homer plays the song in the truck and refers to it as the ultimate truck-driver song. [ Robinson, Benjamin. [http://www.snpp.com/episodes/AABF13 "Maximum Homerdrive"] . "Snpp.com". 17 March 2000. Retrieved 27 October 2007.] The song was also used in "The O.C." episode "The Case of the Franks", [ [http://www.tv.com/the-o.c./the-case-of-the-franks/episode/956677/trivia.html "The O.C. - The Case of the Franks"] . "Tv.com". Retrieved 27 October 2007.] in the episode "Stand Up And Holler" of the CBS crime drama "Cold Case", [ [http://cold-case.net/index.php?categoryid=129 "Cold Case - Source #1 - Songs Season #4"] . "Cold-case.net". Retrieved 27 October 2007.] and in the finale of the fourth season of "One Tree Hill". [ [http://www.oth-music.com/episode421.html "One Tree Hill Music"] . "Oth-music.com". Retrieved 27 October 2007.] In 2007, online voters rated "Wannabe" #33 on VH1's list of "The 100 Greatest Songs of the '90s". [ [http://www.vh1.com/shows/dyn/the_greatest/127762/episode_featured_copy.jhtml "The 100 Greatest Songs of the '90s"] . "VH1". Retrieved 1 May 2008.]

Music video

The music video for "Wannabe" was shot in April of 1996, directed by Jhoan Camitz and produced by Mod Films. [ Garcia, Alex S. [http://www.mvdbase.com/video.php?id=26203 "Spice Girls: Wannabe"] . "Mvdbase.com". Retrieved 14 October 2007.] The clip appears to be one continuous take (although there were two barely noticeable edits) of the girls creating mischief at the Midland Grand Hotel in St. Pancras. Among their antics is Melanie Chisholm's back handspring on one of the tables. In their first book "Girl Power!", Geri Halliwell wrote about the video: "I remember the chaos and the cold. It wasn't very controlled - we didn't want it to be. We wanted the camera to capture the madness of "Spice".

When the music video was released and first appeared on UK cable satellite network The Box, it was selected so frequently that the video was being aired up to seventy times a week at its peak and still remains the most requested track in the channel's history. [McGibbon, 1997. p. 107.]

A promotional video for the song which includes clips from the making of the video was issued by Virgin Records before the official video was released. In the promo the group is seen singing "Wannabe" at the recording studio; they described the origin of "Spice" and their first impressions of each other, and they also sang the chorus of "One of These Girls", which would eventually was released as the B-side for their third single, "2 Become 1". [ [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZzasxV4PFHA Promotional Video] . Youtube.com. Retrieved 26 October 2007.] The video won Best Dance Video at the 1997 MTV Video Music Awards. [ [http://www.rockonthenet.com/archive/1997/mtvvmas.htm "1997 MTV Video Music Awards"] . "Rockonthenet.com". Retrieved 13 October 2007.] It was also ranked at number forty-one in the Top 100 Pop Videos of all time by Channel 4. [ [http://www.channel4.com/entertainment/tv/microsites/G/greatest/pop_videos/results.html "Channel4 - 100 Greatest Pop Videos"] . "Channel4.com". Retrieved 1 May 2008.]

Chart performance

"Wannabe" was released in the United Kingdom on 8 July, 1996, debuting on the UK Singles Chart at number three, before climbing to number one the next week, knocking Gary Barlow's "Forever Love". [ Dingwall, John. [http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-61258287.html "Watch this SPICE; Five girls are ganging up on the ball who rule the charts"] . "Highbeam.com". 23 July 1996. Retrieved 27 October 2007.] It then spent seven weeks at the top, the second longest stay by an all female group, only behind Shakespear's Sister's "Stay", which spent eight weeks at number one in 1992. [ [http://www.chartstats.com/songinfo.php?id=19510 "Chart Stats - Shakespear's Sister - Stay"] . "Chartstats.com". Retrieved 15 October 2007.] With eighteen weeks in the Top 40, and twenty-six weeks in the Top 75, [http://www.chartstats.com/songinfo.php?id=24315 "Chart Stats - Spice Girls - Wannabe"] . "Chartstats.com". Retrieved 13 October 2007.] it sold over 1.27 million copies, becoming the second biggest selling single of the year (only behind "Killing Me Softly"), [ [http://www.popreport.co.uk/chart_history/96_main.php "Top Ten Biggest Selling UK Singles of 1996"] . "Popreport.co.uk". Retrieved 13 October 2007.] the twelfth best selling single of the decade, the fortieth best selling single ever in the UK, [ [http://www.everyhit.com/record4.html "Record Breakers and Trivia : Singles : Individual Hits : Sales"] . "Everyhit.com". Retrieved 13 October 2007.] and is still the biggest selling single by a female group in the UK. [cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/1210793.stm|title="Five become none?"|publisher="BBC News"|date=2001-03-09|accessdate=2007-05-18] In Europe the song was extremely successful reaching the number-one position in almost every country it charted. On 14 September 1996 the song reached the top of the Euro Hot 100 for nine consecutive weeks, before it was replaced by the group's second single, "Say You'll Be There". [cite web|url=http://thunder.prohosting.com/~euro100/archive/1996/euro9646.txt|title=The Eurochart Hot 100 Singles - Week 46|publisher="Thunder.prohosting.com"|date=1996-11-16|accessdate=2007-10-27] In Ireland the song reached the number-one position the first week of August staying at the top for four consecutive weeks.

In France the song debuted on 27 July 1996 at number forty-seven, [cite web|url=http://lescharts.com/archive.asp?todo=show&day=27&month=07&year=1996&cat=s|title=Charts Francais: Singles - 27/07/1996|language=French|publisher="Lescharts.com"|date=1996-07-27|accessdate=2007-10-13] reaching the top position ten weeks later for three consecutive weeks, remaining twenty-four weeks in total and receiving a diamond certification by the Syndicat National de l'Edition Phonographique in June 1997.

In Germany "Wannabe" debuted on 12 August 1996 at the sixty-one position, reaching the top of the chart five weeks later for four consecutive weeks, remaining nine weeks in the top ten, twenty-two weeks in total, and eventually received a gold certification for sales of over 150,000 copies.

In the Netherlands the song reached the first position in both the Dutch Top 40 for two weeks, and the Mega Single Top 100 also for two weeks, and received a gold certification by the NVPI. In Switzerland the single debuted on 25 August 1996 at number five, [citeweb|url=http://hitparade.ch/archiv.asp?todo=show&tag=25&monat=08&jahr=1996&sparte=s|title=Die Offizielle Schweizer Hitparade: Singles - 25.08.1996|language=German|publisher="Hitparade.ch"|date=1996-08-25|accessdate=2007-10-13] reaching the top of the chart three weeks later for five consecutive weeks. It stayed fourteen weeks in the top ten, twenty-four weeks in total, and received a gold certification by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry.

In Scandinavia the single also reached the top of the charts, in Finland it reached the top in its seventh week, staying there for one week, and thirteen weeks in total. In Norway it debuted at number eight, reaching the top of the chart for five consecutive weeks, and eventually received a platinum certification. In Sweden the single debuted on 2 August 1996 at number twenty-eight, [citeweb|url=http://swedishcharts.com/archiv.asp?todo=show&tag=02&monat=08&jahr=1996&sparte=s|title=Swedish Charts: Singles - 1996-08-30|publisher="Swedishcharts.com"|date=1996-08-30|accessdate=2007-10-13] eventually reaching the top of the chart for three weeks, and receiving a gold certification by the Swedish Recording Industry Association.

"Wannabe" also reached the first position in both of the Belgian charts (Flanders and Wallonia), Denmark, the Latvian Airplay Top, and in Spain it topped both the maxi-singles sales chart and the airplay chart, it also reached the second position in Austria, and the third position in Italy.

In October when the impact of "Wannabe" began to wear away in the UK and the track slowly slipped out of the top forty, the song was still popular around the globe. In Japan the single was released in June, two weeks before it was released in the UK, and was one of the first countries were the Spicemania started. [McGibbon, 1997. p. 112.] It reached the top of the Osakan Hot 100, staying twenty-five weeks on the chart and ended at six in the Year End Chart. [ [http://funky802.com/hot100/h100_bn_1996.html Osakan Hot 100] . Funky802.com . Retrieved 23 October 2007.] "Wannabe" debuted at number forty-five in Australia, reaching the top of the ARIA Singles Chart for eleven weeks, and ending at number-five at the Year End Chart in 1996. [cite web|url=http://www.aria.com.au/pages/aria-charts-end-of-year-charts-top-50-singles-1996.htm|title=ARIA Charts - End Of Year Charts - Top 50 Singles 1996|publisher="ARIA"|accessdate=2007-10-13] In New Zealand the single debuted on 1 September 1996 at number thirty-eight, [cite web|url=http://charts.org.nz/showitem.asp?interpret=Spice+Girls&titel=Wannabe&cat=s|title=New Zealand Charts - Singles 01-09-1996|publisher="Charts.org.nz"|date=1996-09-01|accessdate=2007-10-13] reaching the first position ten weeks later, staying there for only one week, and thirty-two weeks in total.

In the United States, the song debuted on 25 January 1997 at number eleven. [cite web|url=http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/esearch/chart_display.jsp?cfi=379&cfgn=Singles&cfn=The+Billboard+Hot+100&ci=3025623&cdi=7141487&cid=01%2F25%2F1997|title=The Billboard Hot 100: Wannabe - Spice Girls|publisher="Billboard"|date=1997-01-25|accessdate=2007-10-23] At the time was the highest-ever debut by a British act in the U.S. beating the record previously held by The Beatles for "I Want to Hold Your Hand" at number twelve. [Cripps, Peachey, 1997. p. 20] It reached the top of the chart in its fifth week, knocking Toni Braxton's "Un-Break My Heart", staying there for four consecutive weeks simultaneously with the girls' fourth single ("Mama"/"Who Do You Think You Are") being at number one in the UK.

"Wannabe" became the only Spice Girls single to top the Billboard Hot 100. It was a successful number-one single, becoming a huge hit on radio, reaching the sixth position on the Hot 100 Airplay chart, [cite web|url=http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/esearch/chart_display.jsp?cfi=350&cfgn=Singles&cfn=Hot+100+Airplay&ci=3026391&cdi=7168405&cid=03%2F15%2F1997|title=Hot 100 Airplay: Wannabe - Spice Girls|publisher="Billboard"|date=1997-03-15|accessdate=2007-10-14] and selling well, topping the Hot 100 Singles Sales chart for four consecutive weeks. [cite web|url=http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/esearch/chart_display.jsp?cfi=353&cfgn=Singles&cfn=Hot+Singles+Sales&ci=3025907&cdi=7152042&cid=02%2F22%2F1997|title=Hot Singles Sales: Wannabe - Spice Girls|publisher="Billboard"|date=1997-02-22|accessdate=2007-10-13] It became very successful as a dance single, hitting the top twenty of the Hot Dance Club Play chart and the top ten in the Hot Dance Singles Sales chart. It ended at number ten at the 1997 Year End Chart. [cite web|url=http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/esearch/chart_display.jsp?cfi=411&cfgn=Year-end+Singles&cfn=The+Billboard+Hot+100&ci=3077203&cdi=9011796&cid=12%2F31%2F1997|title=The Billboard Hot 100: Wannabe - Spice Girls|publisher="Billboard"|date=1997-12-31|accessdate=2007-10-14]

The song debuted at number eight in the United World Chart, [cite web|url=http://www.mediatraffic.de/week32-1996.htm|title=United World Chart 1996 - week 32|publisher="Media Traffic"|date= week 32 - 1996|accessdate=2007-11-17] reaching a peak position of two for six weeks and staying thirty-one weeks on the top ten. [cite web|url=http://www.mediatraffic.de/week16-1997.htm|title=United World Chart 1997 - week 16|publisher="Media Traffic"|date= week 16 - 1997|accessdate=2007-10-13] It ended at number three at the 1996 Year End Chart and eighteen at the 1997 Year End Chart. [cite web|url=http://www.mediatraffic.de/countdown1996.htm|title=United World Chart 1996 countdown|publisher="Media Traffic"|accessdate=2007-11-17] [cite web|url=http://www.mediatraffic.de/countdown1997.htm|title=United World Chart 1997 countdown|publisher="Media Traffic"|accessdate=2007-11-17] In March 2007, the United World Chart ranked "Wannabe" as the forty-five most successful song in music history. Referring to that same list, "Wannabe" is also the most successful song released by a female group. [ [http://www.mediatraffic.de/alltime-track-chart.htm Wannabe, 45th most successful song in history] ]

Live performances

The Spice Girls were in Japan when "Wannabe" went to number one in the United Kingdom. The group made their first appearance on "Top Of The Pops" by satellite link from Tokyo, where they used a local temple as a backdrop for their mimed performance. [Sinclair, 2004. p. 79.]

The song was included in the set list for both the Spiceworld Tour and the Christmas in Spiceworld tour. [ [http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/spice_girls_live_at_wembley_stadium/about.php Spiceworld-Set list] . Rottentomatoes.com . Retrieved 27 October 2007.] [ [http://www.melanie-c-news.com/1999/Dec1999.html Christmas in Spiceworld-Set list] . Melanie-c-news.com . Retrieved 27 October 2007.] It was also performed several times on television, including "Top Of The Pops", [ [http://www.themusicvaults.net/videos/dvd/spicegirls/spice%20vol1.htm Top Of The Pops-Performance] . Themusicvaults.net . Retrieved 27 October 2007.] "Live with Regis and Kathie Lee", [ [http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=whatshot&id=5649708 Live with Regis and Kathie Lee-Performance] . Abclocal.go.com . Retrieved 27 October 2007.] "Live & Kicking", "Saturday Night Live", [ [http://www.tv.com/saturday-night-live/rob-lowe-spice-girls/episode/101898/summary.html Saturday Night Live-Performance] . Tv.com . Retrieved 27 October 2007.] "The Oprah Winfrey Show", the "Bravo Supershow", and many television programs across Europe. "Wannabe" was also performed in many awards ceremonies like the 1996 Smash Hits! Awards, [McGibbon, 1997. p. 117.] the 1996 Irish Music Awards, and the 1997 Channel V Music Awards held in India. [ [http://www.indiastar.com/juluri.htm Channel V Music Awards-Performance] . Indiastar.com . Retrieved 12 November 2007.]

"Wannabe" was usually introduced by Melanie Brown. During the bridge ("here's the story...") Melanie Chisholm did some acrobatics as in the video, always earning a big ovation from the public. After Halliwell left the band, her parts were replaced by Chisholm, Beckham, and Bunton this way:

Lift ("tell me what you want..."): Chisholm
Verses ("get your act ... if you really..."): Beckham
Bridge ("easy V doesn't..."): Bunton

The line "easy V doesn't come for free, she's a real lady" was altered for their Spiceworld Tour (for some shows) to "easy V doesn't come for free, 'cause she's havin' a baby!" For The Return of the Spice Girls tour, Halliwell sometimes replaced "she's a real lady!" with "she's Victoria Beckham!"

Formats and track listings

These are the formats and track listings of major single releases of "Wannabe". [ [http://www.spice-discography.co.uk/ Spice Girls Discography-Wannabe] . Spice-discography.co.uk . Retrieved 1 May 2008.]
*UK CD1/Australian CD/Brazilian CD/Japanese CD
#"Wannabe" [Radio Edit] – 2:52
#"Bumper to Bumper" – 3:43
#"Wannabe" [Vocal Slam] – 6:20

*UK CD2
#"Wannabe" [Radio Edit] – 2:52
#"Wannabe" [Dave Way Alternative Mix] – 3:27
#"Wannabe" [Dub Slam] – 6:25
#"Wannabe" [Instrumental] – 2:52

*US CD/European CD
#"Wannabe" [Single Edit] – 2:52
#"Bumper to Bumper" – 3:43

*European 12" Vinyl Single
#A1 "Wannabe" [Vocal Slam] – 6:20
#B1 "Wannabe" [Dub Slam] – 6:25
#B2 "Wannabe" [Instrumental Slam] – 6:20

*US 12" Vinyl Single
#A1: "Wannabe" (Junior Vasquez 12" Club Mix] – 9:20
#A2: "Wannabe" [Vocal Slam] – 6:20
#B1: "Wannabe" [Junior Vasquez Club Dub] – 9:20
#B2: "Wannabe" [Dub Slam] – 6:25
#B3: "Wannabe" [Single Edit] – 2:52

*2007 Club Remixes
#"Wannabe" [Soulseekerz Vocal Mix] – 6:55
#"Wannabe" [Soulseekerz Dub Mix] – 6:56
#"Wannabe" [Soulseekerz Radio Edit] – 3:32

Credits and personnel

*Spice Girls – lead vocals
*Matt Rowe – producer, keyboards and programming
*Richard Stannard – producer, keyboards and programming
*Mark Stent – audio mixing
*Adrian Bushby – recording engineer
*Patrick McGovern – assistantPublished by Windswept Pacific Music Ltd/PolyGram Music Publishing Ltd

Cover versions

*Melanie C has performed live cover versions on her Northern Star World tour.
*Geri Halliwell has performed live cover versions of the song after she left the group.
*µ-Ziq recorded a bizarre cover of this song for the album "Lunatic Harness".
*The song was used in "Weird Al" Yankovic's polka medley "Polka Power!" on his album "Running with Scissors". [ [http://www.al-oholicsanonymous.com/faq/wais.html Weird Al Yankovic-Cover] . Al-oholicsanonymous.com . Retrieved 27 October 2007.]
*The song has been covered by punk/metal band Zebrahead on their 2004 EP "Waste of MFZB". [ [http://www.zebrahead.tv/v2/index.html Zebrahead-Cover] . Zebrahead.tv . Retrieved 27 October 2007.]
*The song was covered and included in the soundtrack of Disney's 2005 animated film "Chicken Little". [ [http://wm09.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:difuxqqdld6e Chicken Little Soundtrack] . Zebrahead.tv . Retrieved 27 October 2007.]
*The song was used in the 1998 DreamWorks action/science fiction film "Small Soldiers". [ [http://imdb.com/title/tt0122718/soundtrack Small Soldiers] . Imdb.com . Retrieved 27 October 2007.]
*Snuff, a British punk rock band, made a comedy cover of the song.
*Dry Kill Logic have used characteristic "I wanna, wanna" in their song "Rot", but the rest of song doesn't contain nor lyrics, nor melody from original, so it can't be considered real cover.

Charts, peaks and certifications

Chart positions

References

* cite book
last = Spice Girls
first =
authorlink = Spice Girls
coauthors =
title = "Girl Power!"
date = 1997
publisher = Zone/Chameleon Books
isbn = 0-233-99165-4
* cite book
last = Beckham
first = Victoria
authorlink = Victoria Beckham
coauthors =
title = "Learning to Fly"
date = 2001
publisher = Penguin Books Ltd
isbn = 9780141003948
* cite book
last = Cripps
first = Rebecca
authorlink =
coauthors = Peachey, Mal
title = "Real Life: Real Spice The Official Story"
date = 1997
publisher = Zone/Chameleon Books
isbn = 0-233-99299-5
* cite book
last = McGibbon
first = Rob
authorlink =
coauthors =
title = "Spice Power: The Inside Story"
date = 1997
publisher = Macmillan Publishers Ltd
isbn = 0-7522-1142-0
* cite book
last = Sinclair
first = David
authorlink =
coauthors =
title = "Wannabe: How the Spice Girls Reinvented Pop Fame"
date = 2004
publisher = Omnibus Press
isbn = 0-7119-8643-6

Notes

External links

* [http://www.thespicegirls.com/en/index.html Spice Girls official site]
* [http://www.thespicegirlsgreatesthits.com/ "Wannabe" audio]
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M3wgaWAHo2Q "Wannabe" music video - The Official Spice Channel on Youtube]