Spice Up Your Life

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"Spice Up Your Life"
Single by Spice Girls
from the album Spiceworld
B-side(s)	"Spice Invaders"
Released	October 13, 1997 (UK) October 21, 1997 (U.S.)
Format	CD single
Recorded	1997
Genre	Pop
Length	2:53 2:55 (Stent Radio Mix) 3:01 (Video)
Label	Virgin
Writer(s)	Richard Stannard Matt Rowe Spice Girls
Producer(s)	Richard Stannard Matt Rowe
Chart positions
#1 (United Kingdom) #2 (Canada) #8 (Australia) #18 (U.S.)
Spice Girls singles chronology
"Who Do You Think You Are" (1997)	"Spice Up Your Life" (1997)	"Too Much" (1997)
Spice Girls North American singles chronology
"2 Become 1" (1997)	"Spice Up Your Life" (1997)	"Too Much" (1998)
Alternate cover
UK CD 2 cover
Audio sample
Play "Spice Up Your Life" (in browser) (help·info)
Spiceworld track listing
	"Spice Up Your Life" (1)	"Stop" (2)

"Spice Up Your Life" is a pop–samba song by the Spice Girls. It was released as the first single from their second album Spiceworld in October 1997.

Contents 1 Song information 2 Track listing and formats 3 Music video 4 Chart performance 4.1 Chart positions

[edit] Song information

Like much of their second album Spiceworld, "Spice Up Your Life" had its premier during the group's first concert in Istanbul, Turkey. After its first appearance on British radio, the song received an overwhelmingly positive initial reaction.

The song was written by Richard Stannard, Matt Rowe, and the Spice Girls. Stannard and Rowe, who had previously collaborated with the girls on their debut album, Spice, also produced the track. "Spice Up Your Life" is known as the first track of the Spice Girls to further their sound, from bubble gum pop to a more samba/Spanish-influenced rhythm. The song is also known for the girls having a single-line solo in the third verse, whereas the rest of the track is sung by all five of them.

[edit] Track listing and formats

These are the formats and track listings of major single releases of "Spice Up Your Life".

• UK CD1/Canadian CD/US Single

1. "Spice Up Your Life" [Stent Radio Mix] - 2:53
2. "Spice Up Your Life" [Morales Radio Mix] - 2:48
3. "Spice Up Your Life" [Stent Radio Instrumental] - 2:53
4. "Spice Invaders" - 3:38

• UK CD2

1. "Spice Up Your Life" [Stent Radio Mix] - 2:53
2. "Spice Up Your Life" [Morales Carnival Club Mix] - 11:30
3. "Spice Up Your Life" [Murk Cuba Libre Mix] - 8:05

• European CD single

1. "Spice Up Your Life" [Stent Radio Mix] - 2:53
2. "Spice Invaders" - 3:38

[edit] Music video

The video is considered by many to rank among the Spice Girls' best.^{[citation needed]} With a multi-million dollar budget, the self-aggrandising 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, Chupa Chups, Impulse, ASDA, Polaroid, and Channel 5. The video shows the girls in a spaceship going through the city and looking at themselves on the various billboards. There are also shots of rooms and bars where there is a television showing the videos for Say You'll Be There and Wannabe. The girls then fly around the city on flying boards.

[edit] Chart performance

The original release-date of "Spice Up Your Life" was delayed for seven days to attempt to displace Elton John's "Candle in the Wind 1997". The tribute to Princess Diana, who had died two months before, subsequently went on to become the world's biggest-selling single of all time. "Spice Up Your Life" reached the top spot the following week, a feat which echoed in Canada and Spain, and became the girls' fifth consecutive UK number-one single. The song also reached number eight in Australia.

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 U.S. radio (peaking at a very low number seventy-two on the Hot 100 Airplay), resulting in it stalling at a lowly number eighteen on the Billboard Hot 100. Some would argue that it would have been wise for Virgin to release the more U.S.-friendly tracks from Spiceworld to radio instead, namely "Saturday Night Divas" or "Denying". Despite its disappointing chart position in the U.S., the track added another U.S. top-twenty to the group's already impressive list. "Life" also helped the Spiceworld LP debut on the Billboard 200 albums chart at number eight (it would eventually climb to a peak of number three after the release of the group's first film, Spiceworld: the Movie).

However, despite the track's weak airplay, the CD single sold well, peaking at number eleven on the Hot 100 Singles Sales. It was also a dance hit, reaching number four on the Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart, but did not succeed on the Hot Dance Singles Sales, peaking at number twenty-two. On the Top 40 Mainstream, it barely cracked the chart, climbing to number thirty-seven, and reached number twenty-seven on the Rhythmic Top 40.

Overall, despite not being as popular as the Spice Girls' first three releases ("Who Do You Think You Are" couldn't be counted, since it was only released in the United Kingdom), the song was still an international hit, peaking within the top-twenty of the majority of the charts it charted on in the world.

[edit] Chart positions

Year	Chart	Position
1997	UK Singles Chart	1
1997	Philippine Singles Chart	1
1997	Irish Singles Chart	2
1997	Canadian Singles Chart	2
1997	U.S. Singles Chart	18
1997	U.S. Billboard Hot 100	18
1997	U.S. Hot Dance Music/Club Play	4
1997	U.S. Hot Dance Singles Sales	22
1997	U.S. Top 40 Mainstream	37
1997	U.S. Rhythmic Top 40	27
1997	ARC Weekly Top 40	8
1997	Australian ARIA Singles Chart	8
1997	French Singles Chart	3
1997	New Zealand Singles Chart	2
1997	German Singles Chart	14
1997	Austrian Singles Chart	12
1997	Swiss Singles Chart	5
1997	Swedish Singles Chart	2
1997	Norwegian Singles Chart	3
1997	Finnish Singles Chart	2

UK sales : 800 000

Preceded by "Candle In The Wind '97 / Something About The Way You Look Tonight" by Elton John

UK Singles Chart Number 1 single October 19, 1997 for 1 week

Succeeded by "Barbie Girl" by Aqua