This week in... 1996
Three of the Spice Girls have reunited... is that what we really, really want?
The Song
Wannabe
The Artist
Spice Girls
The Lyrics
If you wanna be my lover, you gotta get with my friends (gotta get with my friends) / Make it last forever friendship never ends
The Results
Wannabe, which addressed the value of female friendship over romantic relationships, became an iconic symbol of female empowerment and the most emblematic song of the British group's girl power philosophy.
Taken off their debut album Spice, this debut single topped the UK Singles Chart for seven weeks and the US Billboard Hot 100 for four weeks.
That was then...
Despite receiving mixed reviews from music critics, Wannabe won Best British-Written Single at the 1997 Ivor Novello Awards and Best Single at the 1997 Brit Awards.
It went on to hit No. 1 in 37 countries and established Spice Girls as a global phenomenon.
It also became the best-selling single by a female group in the world and in 2014, it was rated as the most easily recognisable pop song of the last 60 years.
This is now...
Three of the Spice Girls took to YouTube last week to thank their loyal fans during the 20th anniversary of Wannabe.
Melanie Brown, 41, Emma Bunton, 40, and Geri Halliwell, 43, have reunited as a trio under the name GEM (an acronym of their first names), without former members Victoria Beckham and Melanie Chisholm, both 42.
Brown, teasing the group's long-rumoured reunion gig at London's Hyde Park in July next year, said: "We want to celebrate and have a party. And when we do, you're all invited."
Last week, The Global Goals campaign released a remake of Wannabe to raise awareness of the problems many women and girls face due to gender inequality. Beckham also posted the video on her Facebook page with the caption: "20 years on - Girl Power being used to empower a new generation. I'm so proud of The Global Goals #WhatIReallyReallyWant."
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