Mel B posted on Instagram again: “studiotime”, along with a video of her recording Feels So Good. Do you guys think this is actually happening, or is it just the usual thing she says that never ends up happening? 😂 I really hope that, if it is actually happening, she decides to release a physical album or EP and does some signing events so we can meet her, like Mel C did. 🤞🏼

She has posted the setlist for the on insta , with some sings covered !! Looks pretty decent and there is a poll song option!!

Spice Girls have crossed 3 billion streams on Spotify.. 🥳

Those are global totals. No Scrubs is bigger than Wannabe in the UK currently, this can change in the future, though.

Tshirts in better quality. I actually think the blue one looks stunning, would 100% buy one if I were a Sheffield FC fan.

But if you go via Youtube then Wannabe is actually outperforming No Scrubs which actually indicates that TLC do indeed have less people actively seeking out the song and benefit from playlisting on streaming sites pushing their sales up. They have 530 million compared to the 722 million of Wannabe nearly 200 million less views.

But those are Youtube streams? Also, Spotify playlists help, but at the end of the day people will listen to what they want to regardless of playlists. Phil Collins, Bowie, Jess Glynne, Dire Straits, U2 and more English/Irish acts regularly chart within the UK/Ireland Spotify charts but not the American or Global charts. Unfortunately, SG have low streams. This is due to lack of activity and also gen z not clicking with them and they are not the only older act who suffer from this.

About flipping time!

But do they really? Or is No Scrubs simply on more playlists due to being an American track and cool enough to big on a bigger range of playlists? I highly doubt that TLC are really get a bigger volume of listeners purely picking out that song to stream.

Melanie is the new Sponsor for Sheffield FC's Women's Team. Melanie C sponsors Sheffield women's football team - BBC News Nice to see, Peter Lorraine really got their nicknames spot on didn't he! 😂

No Scrubs is just the bigger song nowadays. Remember streams show what's currently popular, not what was popular in the past. Checking each groups UK YouTube stats, these streams are for the past 28 days. 1.27m - TLC No Scrubs - 913k Creep - 105k Waterfalls - 100k Unpretty - 83.5k Red Light District - 13k 1.01m - Spice Girls Wannabe - 357k Viva Forever - 113k Stop - 94.3k 2 Become 1 - 64.5k Spice Up Your Life - 63.6k Pretty shocking

Overloaded: The Singles Collection is seemingly selling at a very slow pace in recent years! 560,896 - 27th January 2008 620,481 - 28th December 2008 650,839 - 21st June 2009 (last known total) - It was certified 2xPlatinum/600,000 in July 2013, when certifications became automatic. - I estimate that it would have crossed over 600k sales towards the end of 2008, perhaps just in advance of the Christmas sales market. - As of this week it still hasn't reached 3xPlatinum/900,000. It's interesting that Overloaded sold over 600k within 2 years of its release, while it took Spice Girls' Greatest Hits 12 years to reach that target. Yet fast forward to now, and Spice Girls GH is 3xPlatinum while Sugababes haven't yet managed that. I am rather surprised that Overloaded still hasn't made it to 900k, after 12 years of streaming counting towards sales. I wonder if it's getting close though? I wish we had a more recent total for it than 2009. The Sound of Girls Aloud - The Greatest Hits also sells quite slowly, not helped by Ten being their dominant compilation on streaming. 1,123,924 - 31st January 2010 1,200,000 - 22nd March 2013 (reported by Billboard - possibly a rounded up/down figure? Or maybe it really had just crossed over 1.2m around that time) 1,233,745 - 2nd August 2019 1,259,383 - 10th September 2021 1,283,157 - 23rd June 2023 1,290,000 - 23rd November 2023 (reported by OCC - again, possibly a rounded up/down figure) - It was certified 4xPlatinum/1.2m in July 2013, when certifications became automatic. Despite The Sound of Girls Aloud being removed from download sites and streaming platforms (which if I remember rightly was around the time of Ten's release), evidently the OCC is still allocating some streaming units to TSOGA, even though more goes towards Ten. If TSOGA is continuing to add sales to its total on a weekly basis at the same pace as between those 2021 and 2023 updates, there's a potential that it has exceeded 1,325,000 by now (or possibly more if it got a boost during the 2024 reunion). Regarding 5xPlatinum/1.5m - there is a chance it could get there eventually, but based on the above sales pace, it would be on course to do that in September 2039! A lot could change between now and then of course. Perhaps the OCC database is inconsistent with how many streaming sales goes towards TSOGA each week. I think it's safe to say that we're unllikely to see a new certification for it any time soon though. Interestingly if Spice Girls' Greatest Hits continued to sell at its current pace, it would reach 5xPlat/1.5m in August 2039, a month before Girls Aloud! In conclusion, Spice Girls definitely sell better with their Greatest Hits than Girls Aloud and Sugababes do with theirs!

Although, I much prefer No Scrubs over Wannabe, it's maddening that a Britney song reject has now surpassed an original girlband song. They didnt even bother letting Left Eye record her rap in the album version!

I read recently some of billboard stats on girlbands and Wannabe actually sold more than No Scrubs in the US!

(Super huge post alert but I hope it's of some interest 😅) Going back to an earlier discussion, I do find it a little hard to get my head around No Scrubs outselling Wannabe in the UK (with streaming factored in). Clearly No Scrubs maintains an incredible presence on streaming platforms and has retained its popularity - it's for sure a bona fide classic. However, I can't help but feel that its newfound status of being "the biggest selling girl group single in the UK of all time" feels overblown somehow, even though streaming dictates that this is the case! Wannabe It stayed at #1 for 7 weeks in the UK singles chart and became the 2nd best-selling single of 1996 (only 1,000 copies behind the best seller!). Wannabe reportedly had sold a total of 1,268,000 in 1996. However, OCC eventually downgraded sales figures of releases from 1994-1996, which cost Wannabe some of its sales. A total of 1,194,154 was shared in November 2007, so at that point it was just a little way off reaching 1.2m (for a second time!). Nevertheless, it did sell over a million copies within the year of 1996, making it the first girl group single to ever sell 1m in this country. As far as I'm aware, in terms of girl groups, only four songs have ever crossed that threshold in pure sales (physicals/downloads): Wannabe 2 Become 1 Never Ever by All Saints Whole Again by Atomic Kitten Interestingly, Wannabe is the only one to achieve a million sales within the calendar year of release. To be fair, 2 Become 1 and Never Ever were released late on in the year (December 1996 and November 1997 respectively), while January 2001 release Whole Again came close to doing it - it sold about 935k by the end of the year. No Scrubs It was undeniably a big hit in 1999, peaking at #3 in the UK and becoming the 16th best seller of that year with 553,200 sales. Presumably it sold more physical copies into 2000, but it's difficult to say exactly when No Scrubs exceeded 600,000 (Platinum) because it had already been certified Platinum in July 1999 based on shipments. I would imagine it wasn't before legal downloads started counting towards sales totals, so some time between 2005 and 2014. Its pure sales trajectory later looked like this: March 2014: 618,000 May 2017: 677,000 (a rather impressive 59k downloads in around 3 years). I'm taking what the OCC shared in 2017 as being pure sales, because not long afterwards, No Scrubs certified 2xPlatinum in July 2018 (1,200,000). This was already an early indication that streaming was hugely helping No Scrubs to increase its total in the modern age. The progress of their certifications in the age of streaming: (Firstly, it's important to note that 22nd July 2013 is the date that certifications became automatic and based purely on actual sales data. At this time, the BPI retroactively awarded every single and album a certification that matched its true sales total – provided it hadn’t already been certified higher based on old shipment rules. Therefore, 22nd July 2013 isn't the date on which Wannabe exceeded 1.2m sales. That likely happened back in 2007 or 2008, or originally in 1996 based on the official data from that time. Virgin simply didn't bother to apply to certify Wannabe 2xPlatinum, when technically they could have done so in 1996 or at any point before 2013). Wannabe 1.2m / 2xPlatinum - 22nd July 2013 [see above] 1.8m / 3xPlatinum - 15th November 2019 2.4m / 4xPlatinum - 7th July 2023 (+600k in 190 weeks) 3.0m / 5xPlatinum - 31st July 2026 (+600k in 160 weeks) No Scrubs 1.2m / 2xPlatinum - 5th July 2018 1.8m / 3xPlatinum - 12th March 2021 (+600k in 140 weeks) 2.4m / 4xPlatinum - 7th September 2023 (+600k in 130 weeks) 3.0m / 5xPlatinum - 29th May 2025 (+600k in 90 weeks) Milestone comparisions: No Scrubs achieved 3xPlat 69 weeks after Wannabe No Scrubs achieved 4xPlat 9 weeks after Wannabe No Scrubs achieved 5xPlat 61 weeks before Wannabe It's kind of wild how quickly No Scrubs has most recently sold 600k - just 90 weeks (that's roughly only 1 year and 9 months). I'm sure that must be its quickest time to achieve 600k units so far. As of 2026, No Scrubs appears to be selling almost twice as much as Wannabe does on a weekly basis. If No Scrubs manages to sell another 600k in the 90 weeks following its 5xPlat certification, it would be on course for 6xPlatinum (3.6m) in February 2027. If Wannabe requires another 160 weeks to reach 6xPlat, it will happen in August 2029 - two and a half years after No Scrubs. In theory, No Scrubs could achieve 7xPlat (4.2m) by November 2028, 9 months sooner than Wannabe making it to 6xPlat. ~~~ It's interesting to me how streaming has changed things. Despite No Scrubs having considerably higher streaming figures nowadays... I think when looking back at their original release years, Wannabe had way more of a massive impact and was truly a phenomenon, which I wouldn't really say No Scrubs was - that was more simply a big hit. That's from a UK perspective though; I appreciate that No Scrubs reached #1 in the US Billboard Hot 100, just like Wannabe did. I believe that it's the influence of the US on streaming platforms that has given No Scrubs such a boost in the streaming age, and for sure I think its perceived cool factor helps it slot easily into many more playlists than Wannabe, which feels like it's regarded as being more of a cheesy/party/throwback song. I should say that I actually do love No Scrubs! I don't resent it for outselling Wannabe, it just feels a little strange to me when considering the context of what these two singles achieved in their original years of release. This post has entirely focused on No Scrubs vs Wannabe so far, but something that really puts things into perspective - there was a time when eight Spice Girls singles had higher UK sales totals than No Scrubs had. That being every Spice Girls UK #1 single apart from Holler/Let Love Lead the Way. No Scrubs has now left all those singles in the dust... it's quite mad. One thing that is highly unlikely to ever change, is that Wannabe should always remain the biggest selling girl group single of all time in the UK (as in, only pure sales - physicals/downloads). ~~~ In terms of streaming being included, I hope that Wannabe at least manages to retain its current status as the bestselling girl group single by a UK girl group. The song that puts that in danger is Little Mix - Shout Out to My Ex. That certified 4xPlatinum on 30th August 2024 (60 weeks after Wannabe) but it isn't 5xPlatinum yet. It took slightly longer for it to make the leap from 3xPlat to 4xPlat than Wannabe. Wannabe did that in 190 weeks, while Shout Out to My Ex took 198 weeks. It'll be interesting to see how long it takes for Shout Out to My Ex to reach 5xPlat! ~~~ I find it all to be a fascinating shift in how legacy hit singles are evaluated these days. In my opinion, Wannabe will always hold the crown for cultural impact and dominance in the pure sales era, truly a phenomenon of that decade. While No Scrubs has become a juggernaut with its endurance on streaming, it’s ultimately difficult to compare streaming metrics with the era of pure sales, and therefore which song has the most impact in the here and now - but it is fair to say that both have stood the test of time.

Oh zip it you lol 😂

Probably not very well as Steam is a digital gaming platform 🤭

We love to read you chart / sales based chart essays!!! Roll on 4x platinum and it becoming a million seller in 2028! I'd be interested to know how it steams in comparison to The Sound of Girls Aloud and Overloaded: The Singles Collection. I'm guessing better since neither of them have had further certifications despite being on higher sales than The Greatest Hits in 2007 (TSOGA was 4x platinum and O:TSC 2x platinum I believe?) Wondering how long it could take them two to get to 5x and 3x platinum respectively. - Off topic thoughts lol.

Saw this article shared on Spice Circle, believe it was written by a member on there. Fascinating insight to her ancestry!

Now she will be saying she is and always has been part of the landed gentry.

Wow, that's incredibly interesting! Thank you for sharing that @ilovepollo, that's truly a fascinating insight into her ancestry. I wonder if Geri is more clued up on the details now compared to back in 1999?

The 803,000 estimate is from Friday 3rd January 2025 - but I think it making it to 900,000 now means that the 803k guess back then was likely an underestimate! It's hard to say for sure. There were some brief moments over the past year which caused sales to increase. The release of the Yoto card (which appears to have sold steadily) as well as moments including Victoria singing Viva Forever, and the Brooklyn drama. Nevertheless, 97k in 84 weeks would mean around 1,155 sales per week on average and that seems too high to me. If we go by the last officially known total, which was 726,670 on 11th November 2022... then it's sold 173,330 in the past 196 weeks (that's with considering Greatest Hits to be on exactly 900,000 sales, because we don't know the accurate total). That results in 884 sales per week on average, which seems more likely! If 884 sales per week continued, it would make it to 1,000,000 sales in October 2028. Hopefully it could be sooner than that. Who knows if they'll do a reunion before then (I'm deluded x), or maybe there'll be a 20th anniversary release for it that bumps up the sales? Anyway, I'm very pleased that it's finally 3xPlatinum! It's kind of crazy to realise that it's taken almost 19 years to achieve this. I feel like a Spice Girls Greatest Hits sounds like an album which should already be a million seller! Greatest Hits certification history is: 16/11/2007 - Gold (100k+) - This was based on shipments; this certification happened just 4 days after release, indicating that more than 100,000 copies were distributed to stores. Its first week sales were 75,787, so if back then certifications were based on sales rather than shipments, then it would have been a silver certification at first. 25/01/2008 - Platinum (300k+) - Certifications didn't become automatic achievements based on sales figures until 2013 - so back then it was based on shipments, and the record label had to apply for the award. In terms of sales, it actually exceeded 300,000 by 23rd December 2007! 21/06/2019 - 2xPlatinum (600k+) - We had to wait 11 and a half years to see it become a multi-Platinum album! Certifications had now been automatic and based on actual sales, for many years. With a reunion announced in November 2018, followed by an increase in availability of the CD in HMV, and the tour happening over May/June 2019 - this gave the album quite the considerable boost over those months. I assume had none of that happened, then the album would have taken quite a bit longer to reach this certification level. Greatest Hits reached 600k just 6 days after the conclusion of the tour, and two weeks in advance of its first time release on vinyl as a Picture Disc. 14/08/2026 - 3xPlatinum (900k+) - While not quite as long to wait for a new certification, it's still been quite a long time - just over 7 years (or to be precise, 373 weeks). As we know, Spice Girls activities have been very few and far between in the 2020s, which has resulted in Greatest Hits spending a mere 5 weeks in the Top 200 charts of the 2020s so far (that's 346 potential weeks in the chart!). Despite its lack of presence, it quietly adds sales in the background. Its average sales between the two certification updates = 804 sales per week - not much under the 884 average sales between Nov '22 and Aug '26. So it's quite consistent! If it continued to sell at that pace, then 4xPlat (1.2m) would happen in 2033. That's dependent on what its streaming levels continue to be, and of course a reunion would speed things up! (It's been a while since I wrote such a long chart-based essay )

I thought I’d share something quite fascinating that has been making the local news in my city, Córdoba, Spain, over the last few days. It turns out that Geri Halliwell’s great-grandfather was from the province of Córdoba. His name was Emiliano Hidalgo Fernández, and he was the Republican mayor of Dos Torres, a small town in the north of the province, during the Spanish Second Republic. Geri actually mentioned this family history in her 1999 autobiography If Only, although some details were slightly confused. She wrote that her great-grandfather had been mayor of Córdoba, but everything points to Emiliano Hidalgo, who was mayor of Dos Torres from 1931 to 1934. The surname also matches Geri’s mother’s maiden name, Hidalgo, and there are other family connections to the province of Huesca, where Geri’s mother was born. What makes the story particularly interesting is who Emiliano actually was. He was one of the founders of the local Socialist Party in Dos Torres and was also a member and director of the UGT, one of Spain’s main workers’ trade unions. He was involved in local politics and apparently advocated for poor agricultural workers to be able to cultivate unused land belonging to wealthy landowners. After the Spanish Civil War ended in 1939, Emiliano was arrested and put before a military court. His 116-page trial file has now been located in the archives, and the local newspaper has been going through it. He was accused by the Francoist authorities of being a dangerous socialist and of opposing the military uprising. Some of the accusations against him were extremely serious, including allegedly calling for the deaths of two local residents during the Republican takeover of Dos Torres in 1936. He was also accused of involvement in other acts of violence, including an extraordinary allegation involving the severed ear of a Guardia Civil officer. Emiliano denied the accusations. He was ultimately sentenced to death for “military rebellion”, despite the fact that he had supported the Republican government, which was the legitimate government of Spain before Franco’s military uprising. He was executed by firing squad at Córdoba’s Cementerio de la Salud on 27 December 1940, aged 61. And the repression did not stop with him. Four of his five children were prosecuted, and the family’s property was seized under Francoist legislation. His son Máximo Hidalgo Cantero, Geri’s grandfather, was also imprisoned and sentenced to 20 years. He had been a blacksmith, belonged to the Libertarian Youth and had fought on the Republican side. He was eventually pardoned in 1947. There is also a remarkable family story behind Geri’s grandparents. Máximo met the woman who would become his wife while he was in prison, where she worked as one of the women employed at the prison. Their daughter was Ana María Hidalgo, Geri’s mother. So this isn't simply a case of discovering that Geri has some distant Spanish ancestry. Her family was directly caught up in the political and social conflict of Republican Spain, the Civil War and the Franco dictatorship. As someone actually living in Córdoba, I've found it quite surreal seeing Geri Halliwell and the Spice Girls suddenly appearing in our local newspapers because of a man who was a socialist politician and trade unionist here nearly a century ago. 😂 The local newspaper Cordópolis has published two articles about the story. They are in Spanish, but browser translation works pretty well: The first article: "“The Córdoba connection of the Spice Girls: a surprising story of love and Francoist repression”" (https://cordopolis.eldiario.es/cordoba-hoy/sociedad/conexion-cordobesa-spice-girls-sorprendente-historia-amor-represion-franquista_1_13434345.html) And the follow-up, based on Emiliano’s actual military trial file: "“Red little boss” and “extremely dangerous for the regime”: the execution of Geri Halliwell’s Córdoba great-grandfather" (https://cordopolis.eldiario.es/cordoba-hoy/sociedad/jefecillo-rojo-peligrosisimo-regimen-auto-fusilamiento-bisabuelo-cordobes-lider-spice-girls_1_13447609.html) I thought some of you here might find this as fascinating as I do. It certainly wasn't the kind of Spice Girls news I expected to be reading in the Córdoba press in 2026! 😄

Literally scroll up 3 posts lol

Not sure if you guys know wannabe was certified 5x platinum 2 weeks ago