What (who) is wannabee - definition

1996 SONG RECORDED BY SPICE GIRLS

Wannabee; Wanna-be; Bumper To Bumper (song); Zig-a-zig-ahhh; Zigazig-ha; Wannabes; Wannabe (song); Wannabe (Spice Girls song); If you wanna be my lover, you gotta get with my friends; Wannabe25; Wannabe 25; Bumper to Bumper (song); Bumper to Bumper (Spice Girls song)

wannabee

/won'*-bee/ (Or, more plausibly, spelled "wannabe") [Madonna fans who dress, talk, and act like their idol; probably originally from biker slang] A would-be hacker. The connotations of this term differ sharply depending on the age and exposure of the subject. Used of a person who is in or might be entering larval stage, it is semi-approving; such wannabees can be annoying but most hackers remember that they, too, were once such creatures. When used of any professional programmer, CS academic, writer, or suit, it is derogatory, implying that said person is trying to cuddle up to the hacker mystique but doesn't, fundamentally, have a prayer of understanding what it is all about. Overuse of hacker terms is often an indication of the wannabee nature. Compare newbie. Historical note: The wannabee phenomenon has a slightly different flavour now (1993) than it did ten or fifteen years ago. When the people who are now hackerdom's tribal elders were in larval stage, the process of becoming a hacker was largely unconscious and unaffected by models known in popular culture - communities formed spontaneously around people who, *as individuals*, felt irresistibly drawn to do hackerly things, and what wannabees experienced was a fairly pure, skill-focussed desire to become similarly wizardly. Those days of innocence are gone forever; society's adaptation to the advent of the microcomputer after 1980 included the elevation of the hacker as a new kind of folk hero, and the result is that some people semi-consciously set out to *be hackers* and borrow hackish prestige by fitting the popular image of hackers. Fortunately, to do this really well, one has to actually become a wizard. Nevertheless, old-time hackers tend to share a poorly articulated disquiet about the change; among other things, it gives them mixed feelings about the effects of public compendia of lore like this one. [Jargon File]

wannabee

see wannabe

wannabe

also wannabee (wannabes)

If you call someone a wannabe, you are saying in an unkind way that they are trying very hard to be like another person or group of people. (INFORMAL)

...a feeble James Dean wannabe.

N-COUNT: usu n N, N n [disapproval]

Wikipedia

Wannabe

"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.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wannabe

Examples of use of wannabee

1. Shazia you‘re fired." The wannabee tycoon has reacted with fury to her exit, saying she was "shocked" and did not know why she had been axed.

2. Oh, and there was Faith, the perennial mayoral wannabee, who rode on a horse, her hair framed by an American flag, her ever–present trumpet at the ready.

3. The suspiciously glowing girl group looked radiant and despite all being in their thirties appear as young as they did when they dominated the charts with Wannabee in 1''6.

4. It was painful to watch! – Karen Peaurt, Northallerton, North Yorkshire She only has the interviewing technique of wannabee Big Brother contestants which is dismal and to have her own shows is way above her station.