Latest Artist News

[Mr.X]

Let's have a bit of fun!

2019 was quite the year in many ways! We had:

SPICE GIRLS



- A 13-date sold out UK & Ireland Stadium tour, Spice World Tour 2019, the largest scale set of concerts the group ever did, and the biggest ever girl band ever tour. It completely sold out (100% tickets sold for every date in the end, selling out most dates in one day, rasing over £60million in just 13 dates and winning a Billboard Live Award. It also provided us with some truly iconic moments, such as the costumes, the return of some album classics (Love Thing, Never Give Up, etc) new merchandise and some social media official videos about the tour. Sadly, not much of a press campaign, official release of the whole concert in any form nor any new dates in sight, dispite this time seemingly all girls being on board for more.

Watch an official recap video of the tour: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2yQ4b9NpdWw

Watch an official instagram recap video: https://www.instagram.com/p/B6N7Gr6g6dM/

Watch a fan-made full lenght video of the concert at Bristol: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bu5bP4hz8sM

- A 'special edition' picture disk vinyl of the Greatest Hits, which landed at #1 in the vinyl charts and sold out its original run which meant the group ended up producing more vinyls (which meant the edition was a 'limited' one anymore and delaying the release date all together). A white-vinyl edition of Spice was also released. Furthermore, fans have spotted new official vinyl pressings going on pre-sale on Amazon and FNAC online shops for Spiceworld, Forever and a new edition of the Greatest Hits with the original cover. All these have UK release dates for March 2020.

Link to Greatest Hits Picture Disk

Link to Greatest Hits vinyl release

Link to Spiceworld vinyl release

Link to Forever vinyl release

- A lenghty return of the Greatest Hits album to the charts, toping its original run (in terms of weeks in the charts) and tipping it, finally, over the Double Platinum certification. Finally the GH seems like a hit album whilst up until recently, it seemed long forgotten.

- Wannabe getting 3x Platinum certification for sales of over 1.8million in the UK. First girlband to achieve this!

- They now have 4 singles that has sold over 1 million copies in the UK, after both Spice Up Your Life and Say You'll Be There finally passed the mark!

- They also did some special one-off deals with brands such as Walkers Crips resulting in large TV ad campaigns and various billboards across the UK. The campaign of the first in a long time for Walkers that involved top celebrities and helped launch their 'baked' series to great success. They also partnered with Mr Men which produced various merchandise and a new series of small books aimed at children.

Watch the first Walkers Crips advert

Watch the second Walkers Crisps advert

Watch the Walkers Crisps behind the scenes video

- The group has also announced they are working on a new film! The movie will be an animated full-lenght feature that will see a story of the girls as superheros. Whilst no set release date is in place yet, the movie will be produced and released by Paramount Studios and will include Spice classics and BRAND NEW SONGS The movie will be voiced by the girls themselves and also include Victoria Beckham!

MELANIE C



Melanie C has seen her solo artist profile raise considerably this year, off the back of the Spice Girls tour and other ventures. Here is what we know has happened so far:

- Mel embarked on an international tour of Pride Festivals where she performed sets with London-based LGBTQ+ group Sink The Pink. The tour was highly successful, included Brazil, USA, various European cities, and saw Melanie perform in front of huge crowds (including 3.5million people in Brazil alone!). This seemed to be a welcome move for Mel and various publications and media lapped up the change to interview her - including various TV shows in Brazil, Elle Magazine, Sirius FM (USA), amongst many others. It also created extensive articles about the move and her career all over the press.

A video of the full show at London's iconic Troxy venue was uploaded in December onto YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bmqsX0n_fdo

- She released High Heels, a new single in collaboration with Sink The Pink. The single is probably her most high-profile in a long while, and its release saw her gathering attention from Rolling Stone, Billboard and Variety, as well as getting - finally - some support on release week from Spotify and TIDAL. Its streaming numbers havent necessarily sky rocketed, but at least it seems people are aware of the song. It also gathered positive reviews from various reputable publications such as The Guardian and Billboard and she has some promo lined-up for it later in November (namely on Radio 2).

Watch the official video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kUedP6NUyj0

Watch the official accoustic version here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TNB9yETujrc

Listen to the official remix here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uoXwnWV5da8

- Melanie C also announced she was working on new material to be released next year and seems to have shelved the idea of a covers album. Her album will include collaborations with Shura, Rae Morris and Little Boots (mostly in co-writing form, from what we know), and some of the songs heard by The Guardian have been discribed as "disco-tinged synth-pop that recalls classic Robyn and the carefree joy of Carly Rae Jepsen. It is her best work since she went it alone 20 years ago."

- MC has partenered with a new PR Company, the same company that works with Billie Eilish and many other current pop stars, which signals the reason why her profile has spicked up so well across mainstream media. She has also said that she is focusing on the future and looking ahead rather than back, which also meant that a much-asked for new edition or celebration of her iconic Northern Star album didnt get seen to.

EMMA BUNTON



After 12 years hiatus, solo Bunton is back and with some proper backing this time, it seems!

- Emma released her fourth studio album, My Happy Place, after signing on to BMG. The album was made up of 2 new original tracks (first single Baby Please Don't Stop and pre-release exclusive Too Many Teardrops) and 8 covers which included duets with husband Jade Jones (on second single You're All I Need To Get By), Will Young, Josh Kumra and Robbie Williams. The album landed at #11 in the UK charts, and it marked the first time a solo Spice album graced the Top20 since, well, Emma's own Free Me album! The album gathered mixed reviews, with many lamenting the inclusion of the covers and highlighting that the original tracks showed there was potential for more in the future. Unfortunately the album tanked as Emma also refocused her efforts on the Spice Girls tour.

- Alongside the album, Emma released two singles with official videos: Baby Please Don't Stop and You're All I Need To Get By, as well as pre-album buzz song Too Many Teardrops

Watch the video for the first single Baby Please Don't Stop

Watch the verticle video for Baby Please Don't Stop

Watch the video for the second single You're All I Need To Get By

Watch the Behind The Scenes video for You're All I Need To Get By

- Emma has announced a special concert at the prestigious Albert Hall in London with confirmed guests Will Young and Jade Jones set to appear and rumours of maybe another Spice or two joining her on stage. The 5500-seat venue is the most high-profile gig Emma has done in her solo career and one of the biggest ever by a solo Spice Girl (as a headline act) and it was generally regarded as a success.

Watch an instagram video recap of the show

- To mark the occasion, Emma has also released a new Christmas-themed single, Coming Home For Christmas. Whilst a digital-only release with very little fanfair attached to it (the only announcements where only via her social media), it seems the single is only in support of the Albert Hall gig. The release is accompaigned with Emma's own cover version of the Christmas classic Santa Baby.

Listen to Coming Home For Christmas and Santa Baby on Spotify

- At the Royal Albert Hall, a special 100-copies only Concert Programme was available to buy, which included a CD with both Coming Home For Christmas and Santa Baby. This made it probably the most exclusive release of any solo song ever, and all copies had gone by the time most fans had arrived at the venue for the concert. By the end of the weekend, some copies of the special edition had popped up online with selling prices between £150 and £300. A fan-led campaign for extra copies to be released was successful and Emma ended up annoncing a 500-copies edition on her website only, which sold out in 20mins. A further 500 copies was announced the next day, which also sold out in 1hour. Fans got overjoyed for a while, until it was then announced that the design for the 1000-strong edition had changed, thus making the original 100 copies even more exclusive and sought-after than before and are now on sale on Discogs for over £1200 . Technically, this is not a single release, so it doesnt count towards the charts, as it is only a Concert Programme which happens to have a CD in it. Nonetheless, it has now become one of the rarest and most saught-after Spice-related items ever.

- Emma has also engaged in some other ventures, such as a hosting gig with Disney World's Christmas special where she will be seen performing and hosting an event with Sting and Matthew Morrison. She also appears as a host on the American edition of the hit TV show Bake Off, which has led to her doing quite a lot of press in the USA.

Watch Emma's performance of Santa Baby at Disney World Christmas special

- Whilst she has been a Unicef Ambassador since 2013, Emma has also recently joined their Back To School campaign. LINK HERE

- Emma has also joined the Very's Love Giving campaign. Watch the Video of the campaign here

MEL B



Mel B has moved back to the UK and has established herself as a higly successful TV and media personality.

- She gathered the best reviews of her career with the Spiceworld Tour with most critics and fans alike noticing the same: Mel B stole the show with her sheer passion and vivacity throughout the tour! Whilst not the best singer, Mel has the most 'presence' and is the most entertaining of all. She also got to #4 on Best Girl Band Members of all Time in The Guardian, calling her the best rock star of the 90s! That energy is still present today!

- She has insisted she no longer is interested in a solo singing career ( ) but has professed profound attachment to any future Spice-related ventures!

- Melanie became a co-host of the highly successful TV show Celebrity Juice and has enjoyed many guest appereances in other TV shows across the year.

- The release of her Brutally Honest book has seen her profile sky rocket in the UK, with the now infamous TV interview with pig-headed and fascist-sympathiser Piers Morgan creating headlines throughout the year for her.

- She has become a patron of charity Women's Aid to high success, including doing high-profile fundraising campaigns such as live shows and high contested deals with Tesco.

- Mel also released a podcast called The Truth Flirts.

GERI HALLIWELL



Gerita has moved from pop star to TV judge, instagram baker and overall Lady Of The Manner personality and brand-ambassador.

- Geri fronted All Together Now, a successful show on BBC One that saw her nominated for a Best Judge at the TV Awards. After its second season, the show was eventually cancelled this year.

- She also was a guest judge on high-profile Ru Paul's Drag Race, although her appereance was met with mixed reviews.

- The most high-profile ventures this year, however, were from brand endorcements such as with L'loreal, Virgin and TAG Heuer, which go hand-in-hand with Geri's new aesthetic and personality, which saw her positioning herself as a less extravagant popstar, and more of a posh and well-to-do type of celebrity.

- This new 'era' of Geri's career has been met with mixed reviews as fans and other celebrities have criticised her new lack of personality, and many have derided her live performance during the tour.

- Geri has also announced that she is writing a novel and there are rumours she is set to become a Youtube/Instagram personality with her own channel and viral videos.

VICTORIA BECKHAM



Victoria's fashion business continues to thrive:

- Victoria launched her own make up range this year which sold out instantly and was a huge success for her.

- She also had her fashion week show in with Ana Wintour in attendance again.

- She has participated in various festivals and demonstrations of her fashion work across the (mostly Western) world.

- Victoria has also fronted the cover of various magazines, including Vogue Poland, Glamour, amongst others.

Did I miss anything?

This post has been edited by Mr.X: Dec 29 2019, 08:31 PM