“Wannabe”
There is no denying the success that this “girl group” achieved. They have sold over 100 million records worldwide, making them the best-selling girl group of all time. Their “girl power” mantra redefined the entire girl-group concept by targeting a female fanbase. All of this combined might be why this particular song is being featured in this ongoing series with my buddy Randy @ Mostly Music Covers, because in 1994 when the group formed, I was neither young nor female!
Their debut album, Spice, was released in November of 1996, and my featured song, “Wannabe,” was the debut single from this album that was released in June of 1996. To be honest, whatever song that I happened to hear them sing immediately grated on my nerves, but this particular one “grated” at another level. The song was written by the Spice Girls (Mel B – “Scary Spice,” Melanie C – “Sporty Spice,” Emma Bunton – “Baby Spice,” Geri Haliwell – “Ginger Spice,” and Victoria Beckham – “Posh Spice”), Matt Rowe and Richard “Biff” Stannard. It is described as a dance-pop song, with its lyrics addressing the value of female friendship over romantic relationships. It has since become a symbol of female empowerment and the most emblematic song of the group’s girl power philosophy. I certainly do not have any problem with the cultural significance and importance of this song, or the group’s for that matter, but that alone is not enough to make me like the song, even though it reached number one on the charts of 37 countries, and the album sold more than 23 million copies worldwide, making it the best-selling album by a female group in history. What can I say? I guess I’m on the wrong side of history – Not the first time, and I am pretty sure it won’t be the last!
I suppose that it is only fitting that my choice of cover version for the song comes from a combined 2023 international venture between the record labels HYBE (South Korea), and Geffen Records (United States). The venture was a talent competition, The Debut: Dream Academy, aimed at creating a “global girl group.” The fan-interactive project involved 20 female candidates from around the world competing in three “missions,” with eliminations occurring after each mission. The show premiered in September 2023, running for twelve weeks, concluding with the announcement of the winning six-member girl group, now known as Katseye. The members of the group, Manon, Sophia, Daniela, Lara, Megan, and Yoonchae, hail from the Philippines, South Korea, Switzerland, and the United States.
The four young women who performed the cover of “Wannabe,” Emily, Ezrela, Ua, and Samara, did so for Mission #3, meaning they survived the first two missions before being eliminated. They performed their version on Oct. 28, 2023, with voting ending on Oct.30th. I feel it is safe to say, after watching their performance of this song, that they were not trying to hide the fact that they were channeling The Spice Girls. While I feel that they succeeded in this endeavor, if I may borrow from the 1976 Led Zeppelin concert film,” “the song remains the same!”
Enjoy.
Spice Girls. “Wannabe” 1996.
Dream Academy. Emily, Ezrela, Ua, and Samara, “Wannabe” cover 2023.
And just because I am certain you wanted to know what the winning group, Katseye, sounded like…
Los Angeles 2025
1. Bad. Hate this song. Don’t hate the Spice Girls.
2. They are too canned and way too young. They look like children trying to be teenagers trying to be hot sexy young woman. Now i KNOW I’m not even getting old. I’m there already.
3. Love this! A very inclusive, body-positive group of young women (real ones, not wannabes!) and talented.
Though I’m a long-time fan of disco and dance pop, I never warmed to “Wannabe”, though I can’t say I hate it. As a song, it’s just a mess and way too formula. It’s funny that a decade which saw the emergence of grunge (which I also didn’t care for at the time) would end up with a lot of banal formula music from girl bands and boy bands. Don’t care for the cover or the song by Katseye.
Well, the cover version changes nothing about the song, be it good or bad. That said, I can see and see the appeal of the Spice Girls with this song. I know a lot of people loath it, but it is a catchy hook laden pop song and if you were a thirteen year old (or so) girl at the time it would be ‘da bomb’ or whatever was the kids phraseology of the time for ‘neet-o’ or ‘groovy’ or ‘gnarly.’
Now the song ‘Gnarly?’ No. Not Gnarly. No No. No. No. More cat-spit than Katseye. And I just misspelled a word there I think.
I never cared much about the Spice Girls . I don’t ever hate any artist or band, even if I really dislike their music. Hate is never a good thing whether in music or elsewhere. I simply ignored the Spice Girls.
Without meaning to sound inappropriate, at least the young ladies in Dream Academy are kind of adorable. I also like the middle finger attitude the ladies in Katseye project.
But at the end of the day what I want, what I really really want is listen to something else!