Goodbye (Spice Girls song)

"Infobox Single
Name = Goodbye


Artist = Spice Girls
Album = Forever
B-side = "Christmas Wrapping"
Released = 14 December 1998 (UK) 15 December 1998 (U.S.)
Format = CD single, 12" single, cassette single
Recorded = 1998
Genre = Pop
Length = 4:20 (Radio Edit)
4:44 (Single Version)
4:35 (Music Video)
Label = Virgin
Writer = Victoria Beckham, Melanie Brown, Emma Bunton, Melanie Chisholm, Richard Stannard, Matt Rowe
Producer = Richard Stannard, Matt Rowe
Certification = Platinum (BPI, ARIA)
Artist = Spice Girls
Type = singles
Last single = "Viva Forever"
(1998)
This single = "Goodbye"
(1998)
Next single = "Holler"/"Let Love Lead the Way"
(2000)
Misc = Extra chronology
Artist = Spice Girls
Type = North American singles
Last single = "Stop"
(1998)
This single = "Goodbye"
(1998)
Next single = "Holler"
(2000) Extra album cover 2
Upper caption = Alternate covers
Type = single


Lower caption = UK CD 2 cover Extra album cover 2


Lower caption = Australia CD 2 cover Extra album cover 2


Lower caption = U.S. promo CD single cover Audiosample
Upper caption = Audio sample
Name = Goodbye
Audio file = GoodbyeSample.ogg

"Goodbye" is the Spice Girls' ninth single in the UK and is the group's first single without Geri Halliwell. Since the single was out of print, "Goodbye" was added to the end of "Forever" which was released two years later.

"Goodbye" was written by the Spice Girls, Richard Stannard, and Matt Rowe. The lyrics (although written before her departure) seem to pay tribute to Halliwell, who departed on 31 May 1998. It is highly rumored that the lyrics were technically penned by band mates Melanie Chisholm, Emma Bunton, and Halliwell. However until the "Forever" era, all five girls were credited as writers on previous albums.

For their reunion tour, all five of them perform the song, including Halliwell. However, "Greatest Hits" contains the radio edit of the song, without her vocals.

There are a total of three different versions of "Goodbye" (not counting the Orchestral Version). There is the standard single edit (or radio edit), which runs four minutes and twenty seconds, the single version (the full recorded version) which runs a total of four minutes and forty-four seconds, and the video edit, which runs four minutes and thirty-five seconds (the version included on the commercial release of "Forever").

Commercial release

"Goodbye" was released throughout the world in December 1998. The single was first released in the U.S. followed quickly by the rest of the world. The single was technically released in the U.S. as an EP single. Standard CD singles were released throughout the rest of the world. The song was later included on the girls' third studio album, "Forever". Some fans view this as the lead single from "Forever", when in actuality the double A-side single "Holler"/"Let Love Lead the Way" is the lead single. It was decided by Virgin that "Goodbye" be placed on the album since the CD single was out of print. "Goodbye" is not included on some international versions of "Forever".

In December 1998 "Goodbye" was released throughout most of the world in a two-CD format (stranded single and a maxi single). The typical track listing internationally followed the UK track listing. However in the U.S. the single was released as an EP and contained only the B-side, "Christmas Wrapping", and live versions of "Sisters Are Doin' It for Themselves" and "We Are Family", which were recorded at their final concert at Wembley Stadium in September 1998.

"Goodbye" was released commercially as an EP/single throughout China, South Korea, and Southeast Asian countries in a six-track format. These releases seem to be the rarest since the music video for the single was included.

In South Korea "Goodbye" was released as an EP album which still stock and sells as an album (South Korea's single CD market started booming by year 1999, before then it was not common as rest of the world). Also silver-printing picture on the CD appears to be bigger and detailed then other countries issued disc.

B-side

A cover of The Waitresses' 1981 song "Christmas Wrapping" appears as a B-side to the single. The song was released to the press and radio stations to help promote the Christmas release of "Goodbye". Bunton and Chisholm were the only Spice Girls to sing on the song because Victoria Beckham and Melanie Brown were heavily pregnant.

Chart performance

"Goodbye" is so far the Spice Girls' final commercial CD single release within the U.S. ("Holler" was released in the U.S., however a commercial CD single was never made available for purchase). The single peaked at number eleven on the "Billboard" Hot 100, but peaked at number three on the Hot 100 Singles Sales. In the United Kingdom, the single became the girls' eighth number-one single, topping the charts for only one week, selling 380,000 in the first week. "Goodbye" was also their third consecutive Christmas number-one single in the UK ("2 Become 1" and "Too Much" being the first two). Many critics believe the girls could have held the number-one spot for another two weeks with proper promotion since the single slipped to the number-two spot for two weeks.

However, the most impressive chart run of "Goodbye" was in Canada, where the single sat at the number-one position for sixteen consecutive weeks. The song ranks in Canada as the third best-selling single of the 1990s and the best-selling single of 1999.

The song topped the "MTV Asia Hitlist" one week after its debut, making it the fastest single to reach number one. It also became their third consecutive Christmas number one, topping the charts for five weeks.

"Goodbye" sold over 830,000 copies in the UK, making it their fourth best-selling single behind "Wannabe", "2 Become 1", and "Say You'll Be There".

Music video

The video was filmed at Mentmore Towers in Mentmore, Buckinghamshire on 1 and 2 November 1998. It opens with each of the girls in four different black Rolls-Royces and white wolves running. They arrive at a castle and walk up the stairs arm-in-arm. When they enter there are frozen couples that the girls observe. The video also shows shots of each girl in a different setting with falling objects and then together as a group. The video ends with the ice melting off the people and they come back to life. Then it shows the shot of the girls entering in reverse to look like they are leaving. Beckham and Brown were visibly pregnant in the video.

Live performances

During The Return of the Spice Girls, Halliwell sang the harmony with the rest of the girls. This is the only song released after her deaprture that she participated in.

"Goodbye" was performed at the 2000 BRIT Awards along with "Spice Up Your Life" and "Holler" (not broadcasted). Before this performance, Victoria Beckham had received death threats, stating that she would be killed on stage. [ [http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-69971/Victoria-Beckham-reveals-truth-death-threats.html Victoria Beckham reveals truth about death threats] ]

Track listings and formats

;UK & Australian CD 1
#"Goodbye" (Radio Edit) – 4:20
#"Christmas Wrapping" – 4:14
#"Goodbye" (Orchestral Version) – 4:14

;UK & Australian CD 2
#"Goodbye" (Single Version) – 4:44
#"Sisters Are Doin' It for Themselves" (Live) – 4:22
#"We Are Family" (Live) – 3:35CD 2 contained four limited-edition post cards of each girl.

;U.S. and Canadian CD single
#"Goodbye" (Single Version) – 4:44
#"Christmas Wrapping" – 4:14
#"Sisters Are Doin' It for Themselves" (Live) – 4:35
#"We Are Family" (Live) – 3:22The U.S. and Canadian version contained five limited-edition stickers of the Spice Girls as the Spice Fairies, as seen in the "Viva Forever" video. The singles with the alternate covers did not include "Christmas Wrapping".

;East Asian and Southeast Asian EP
#"Goodbye" (Single Edit) - 4:20
#"Goodbye" (Single Version) (South Korea only) - 4:44
#"Christmas Wrapping" - 4:14
#"Sisters Are Doin' It for Themselves" (Live) - 4:35
#"We Are Family" (Live) - 3:22
#"Goodbye" (Orchestral Version) - 4:14
#"Goodbye" (Video) - 4:35

Charts and certifications

Chart positions

Certifications

References