What (who) is wannabe - definition
![The Spice Girls performing "Wannabe" on the final night of their Spice World - 2019 Tour at the [[Wembley Stadium]] in London. Their outfits were recreations based from the originals from the music video](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/SpiceGirlWembley150619-122 (49000557707).jpg?width=200 "The Spice Girls performing \"Wannabe\" on the final night of their Spice World - 2019 Tour at the [[Wembley Stadium]] in London. Their outfits were recreations based from the originals from the music video")
![The [[Spice Girls]] create mischief at an eccentric bohemian party at the [[Midland Grand Hotel]] in [[St Pancras, London]].](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/Spice Girls – Wannabe (music video).png?width=200 "The [[Spice Girls]] create mischief at an eccentric bohemian party at the [[Midland Grand Hotel]] in [[St Pancras, London]].")
![The Spice Girls performing "Wannabe" at the [[Air Canada Centre]] in [[Toronto]], Canada, during [[the Return of the Spice Girls]] tour](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/Wannabetotonto cropped.jpg?width=200 "The Spice Girls performing \"Wannabe\" at the [[Air Canada Centre]] in [[Toronto]], Canada, during [[the Return of the Spice Girls]] tour")
Wikipedia
"Wannabe" is the debut single by the English girl group the Spice Girls, released on 26 June 1996. It was written by the Spice Girls, Matt Rowe and Richard "Biff" Stannard and produced by Rowe and Stannard for the group's debut album, Spice, released in November 1996. "Wannabe" is a dance-pop song that features Mel B and Geri Halliwell rapping. The lyrics, which address the value of female friendship over heterosexual relationships, became a symbol of female empowerment and the most emblematic song of the group's Girl Power philosophy. It was written and recorded quickly. The result was considered lacklustre by their label and was sent to be mixed by Dave Way. The Spice Girls were not pleased with the result, and the recording was mixed again, by Mark "Spike" Stent.
"Wannabe" was heavily promoted. Its music video, directed by Johan Camitz, became a success on the British cable network the Box, which sparked press interest in the group. Subsequently, the song had intensive radio airplay across England, while the Spice Girls performed it on television and began doing interviews and photo shoots for teen magazines.
Responding to the wave of interest, Virgin released the song as the Spice Girls' debut single in Japan in June 1996 and in the UK the following month, well ahead of the planned release of the Spice album. "Wannabe" topped the UK Singles Chart for seven weeks and has received a triple platinum certification by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI). It was released in the United States in January 1997, topping the Billboard Hot 100 for four weeks. It was the group's only number-one single in that country. By the end of 1996, "Wannabe" had topped the charts in 22 nations, and by March 1997 this number had climbed to 37.
Despite mixed reviews from critics, "Wannabe" won for Best British-Written Single at the 1997 Ivor Novello Awards and for British Single of the Year at the 1997 Brit Awards. "Wannabe" became the best-selling single by a girl group, with 1,385,211 copies sold in United Kingdom by 2017, 2,910,000 in the United States by 2014, and more than 7 million copies worldwide by the end of 1997. In a 2014 study it was found to be the most recognisable pop song of the last 60 years. An EP, Wannabe 25, was released in 2021 for the single's 25th anniversary.
