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Posted by: Jay ☆ 1st November 2019, 07:43 AM

20 years ago today (1st November 1999) Emma & Geri went head to head in the UK singles chart, with What I Am & Lift Me Up respectively! Geri went to #1 while Emma peaked at #2.

Which song is the best in your opinion?







Previous Polls:

http://www.buzzjack.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=227448 [Same titles, different solo Spice songs... Mel B vs Melanie C]
http://www.buzzjack.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=226885 [Songs that were meant to be singles but didn't end up being released]
http://www.buzzjack.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=226811 [Solo B Sides with backing vocals from another Spice Girl!]
http://www.buzzjack.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=226370 [Last singles from Emma's first two albums that missed Top 10]
http://www.buzzjack.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=226185 [Uptempo songs from Double A Side singles]
http://www.buzzjack.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=225922 [Ballads from Double A Side singles]
http://www.buzzjack.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=225719 [Too Much B Sides]
http://www.buzzjack.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=225610 [Children in Need Charity Singles]
http://www.buzzjack.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=225482 [Melanie C UK #1 Singles]

Posted by: Bloodjerdling 1st November 2019, 08:53 AM

'What I Am' for sure! A cool avenue for Emma to briefly travel down. I've always found 'Lift Me Up' boring and Geri's vocals are a little strained in places.

Posted by: Mr.X 1st November 2019, 09:03 AM

What I Am for sure.

Lift Me Up is probably the third worst ever Spice related-single (after Half of Me and Angels in Chains). Geri never did solo balads any good.

Posted by: Spiceboy 1st November 2019, 10:02 AM

I liked Lift me up more back in the day, and being deaf I especially loved the signed performances. However over time What I am has definitely grown in my appreciations while Lift me up has gone down a bit.

Posted by: schizo_spice 1st November 2019, 10:58 AM

Lift Me Up. Yes Geri is my fave but I've always loved the song and have never had a problem with her vocals on it the imperfections add to its charm. I think absolute did a wonderful job of producing it too.

What I Am has grown on me but it's still just a mediocre cover versionthat didn't add much else. Emma's voice saves it.

Posted by: Hide&Seek 1st November 2019, 01:06 PM

I remember the original of What I Am. Never liked it. Always irritated the hell out of me. Emma doing it in such a cutesy way, made it even more irritating. It sounds like she should be singing it for toddlers on CBBC. I half expected the b side to be The Cow in The Meadow Goes Moo.

I love Lift Me Up. And I'm not one for remixes, but I adore the remix versions too.

Posted by: dachiki 1st November 2019, 04:01 PM

Lift me up

Posted by: Blond 2.0 1st November 2019, 04:46 PM

Lift me up

Posted by: SouthernStar88 1st November 2019, 07:38 PM

Lift me up
(What I Am is a great track but I prefer the original version)

Posted by: sammy01 1st November 2019, 09:41 PM

What I am, I cant imagine any adult finding Lift me up pleasing to the ears.

Posted by: tommie 1st November 2019, 09:50 PM

Gerita.

The Emma song is pure trash x

Posted by: Michael Andrew 1st November 2019, 09:54 PM

‘What I am’ - mainly for Emma’s vocal. But ‘Lift me up’ is also just a tad too cheesy for me nowadays.

Posted by: Jonjo 2nd November 2019, 01:49 AM

Lift Me Up.

What I Am is horrific.

Posted by: Jay ☆ 2nd November 2019, 02:17 AM

You’re horrific xox

Posted by: Slick 2nd November 2019, 03:43 PM

It's always been 'What I Am' for me. I still go back to it now whereas 'Lift Me Up' is a guaranteed skip.

Posted by: hermespice 2nd November 2019, 04:10 PM

Even though I own the physical copy of both singles, I’ve decided to download them off iTunes yesterday. And have listen to them a few times this morning. I do like both songs. And I have many fond memories from back in the day. However I think 20 years on, Lift me up sounds more dated than What I am. And the video... gosh what was Geri thinking? 😂... again... I love both songs. But now I think Emma’s a bit better.

Posted by: Piers 2nd November 2019, 05:23 PM

If Emma had gone head-to-head with Geri with one of her originals, I might feel differently. But as it is...Geri by a mile.

I really do think Lift Me Up is a very solidly crafted pop song...with some strangely imperfect early vocals. Absolute and Geri created the similar Circles Round the Moon two years later...and that one sounds vocally flawless. I'm aware of Geri's limitations as a singer. But honestly, her team should have done some easy fixes on Lift Me Up...as it's pretty good otherwise. This may be an unpopular opinion, but I think Lift Me Up is one of Geri's few songs that could have gotten play in the US. Look At Me was too strange for the market...but Lift Me Up fits adult contemporary radio.

I'll also defend the video. I actually think it's really cute and memorable. The only time it crosses the line into groan inducing for me is the spaceship taking off and spelling 'Geri' at the end.

Anyway. I adore most of Emma's original material...but her covers, by and large, are way too similar to the originals...and lack the effort to be interesting.

Emma's the better singer and entertainer...but sorry...Geri deserved the win on the charts on this one.

Posted by: Feel_The_Fever 2nd November 2019, 09:33 PM

What I am i dont really like lift me up.

Posted by: ThePensmith 4th November 2019, 04:02 PM

Hands down, 'What I Am' for me, even two decades on. I still listen to it on Spotify with regularity (it's on my 'Feel Good' playlist that I have on whilst I work, so that may explain why) and whilst Emma has had better singles as time has gone on, this was a faithful cover, very melodic and Tin Tin Out did a great job on the production. It was just very unfortunate to get caught in the crossfire of such an ugly chart battle that was mostly the media's doing, but not entirely.

Having just read 'Freak Like Me' by Malcolm McLean (which I'd recommend all Buzzjackers to read, especially those who populate this artist forum, it's a brilliant book about his experiences following popstars around at the end of 90s/beginning of the 00s. Geri and the then quartet Spice Girls feature quite heavily) it's put my perception of this 'chart battle' in even sharper focus given he was ringside for much of it.

The way I see it, a clash of release schedules was bound to happen at some point with all the girls branching out into solo ventures. That Geri happened to be at the centre of such a clash was unsurprising and surely no accident.

But 'Lift Me Up' is far from being her best solo effort (that key change remains painful), and I still stand by my belief that it got there on what goodwill there was towards her at the time, and the fact she literally flogged herself to anyone who gave her airtime promoting this single. Not to mention that Chris Evans stunt she pulled midweek which I think was undoubtedly where the rot started to set into her solo career, or at least her continuing at the level of success and fame she was at at the time.

It left a bad taste in many people's mouths because it seemed like there was nothing she wouldn't do to secure success at any cost. Of course this was tied into a wider thing with her where she was mentally not in a good place and placed her own happiness and worth so readily on her fame and success, that she talked about in quite some depth in her 'Just for the Record' book. So you can understand a lot of her motives from that, but all the same with hindsight it's very problematic to digest.

On the flipside of things though, this for me is why 1999 was one of my favourite years for music. Literally anything went, in sound and style, and it was that bit more exciting to witness because of how much competition there was each week, and nothing was set in stone, even when it seemed like it was. This chart battle, as ugly and public as it was, was a prime example of that, and I miss the charts having that same kind of excitement, however built up the hype was.

Posted by: sammy01 4th November 2019, 04:10 PM

Nice write up. Geri's transformation into the person she is now is mindboggling until you realise lady of the manor Geri is just another act and publicity stunt.

Let's not forget 3 years ago Geri was so desperate for attention and a Spice reunion that she was willing to do it as a 3 piece and took that pic of them in party hats in bed. That Geri is still there it is just right now she is getting sponsorships and attention for being Lady Horner. I'm sure in probably a couple of years that will pass and she will be back to wanting a reunion again.

Posted by: vibe 4th November 2019, 04:29 PM

What I Am was not strong enough for Emma’s debut.

Lift Me Up for me

What I Am wins the video war though

Posted by: ThePensmith 4th November 2019, 04:33 PM

I think for Geri she could never return to the levels of exposure she had when she was at the peak of her solo career, for her own sanity. I wouldn't necessarily say who she is now is another act, but it is undoubtedly so far removed from most of the public's wider perception of her that it's almost unrelatable.

But really when you get anyone who places their own self worth so heavily into what they do for a living like she used to do (and to a certain extent probably still does), you're bound to be dealing with a bit of a fruit cake. Just look at the Bros documentary and Matt Goss rabbiting on about 'life quotes' and random mantras every five seconds.

Her heart is in the right place most of the time, and when she was at the height of her fame and adulation either in the Spice Girls or at the start of her solo career, she created and released some really clever music, videos and pop imagery that even now are well remembered from a time when that sort of thing still mattered. She proved she could be the popstar/showgirl/whatever you wanna call it when she had it in her.

But she never had the patience to temper that with grounding, and she only made sense when she was in those moments of giddy euphoria where everything came together, which were all too fleeting. When she was struggling at the coal face like she was for the most of the 'Scream...' and 'Passion' campaigns it was painful to witness.

And this for me is why Emma has always had the easier and more rewarding solo career to follow. Yes she probably was the most pedestrian in some people's eyes, and maybe didn't come with the fanfare, but she gradually built her identity as a solo artist and improved with each of her offerings where Geri and the other girls largely foundered after the initial hype around Solo Spice releases died down.

Certainly if you'd said to anyone after she was dropped by Virgin in 2002 that she'd be racking up top 10 hits into 2006 they would have scoffed at the idea. She still has the most accessible profile now even if she balances it with being a presenter or doing other bits and pieces.

Posted by: Tawdry Hepburn 4th November 2019, 04:54 PM

'What I Am' comfortably has this for me.

Posted by: Babyboy 4th November 2019, 09:09 PM

What I Am for me. I really like the video.

Posted by: gabry 7th November 2019, 07:00 PM

update sales Chart battle first week Geri 139,500 Emma 106,300 with official charts

Posted by: Blond 2.0 7th November 2019, 11:06 PM

These were the days

Posted by: gabry 7th November 2019, 11:57 PM

Yes i know

Posted by: isanka 21st November 2019, 10:46 AM

i go for What i Am.

Posted by: pippa 21st November 2019, 09:07 PM

What I am.