From neon-lit R&B to postmodern jazz, a look at the finest renditions of the '90s girl group smash.
Spice Girls photographed backstage at the Brit Awards in February 1997.
Photo by Ray Burmiston/Avalon/Getty Images
On Friday (June 26), the Spice Girls’ breakthrough smash “Wannabe” turns 30. Every ’90s kid who became hooked on its infectious bubblegum pop sound, universal themes of friendship and solidarity and the mystery of the zig-a-zig-ah in the summer of ’96 or start of ’97 (depending which side of the Atlantic you’re on) will be dusting off the platform boots or breaking out a backflip in honor.
Three decades on, it’s difficult to comprehend just how much of a juggernaut the quintet’s debut single was. It topped the charts in 22 countries (going No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for four weeks in early 1997), won at the MTV VMAs and BRIT Awards and made the group a household name. A study conducted by the Manchester Museum of Science and Industry and University of Amsterdam found that “Wannabe” was the catchiest hit of the past 60 years. Furthermore, it paved the way for a whole new generation of all-female acts, foreshadowed the teen-pop boom of Y2K and inspired a wave of fandom not seen since The Beatles. All in less than three minutes.
