'Bag It Up' - what does that mean though?

 

Nonsense lyrics aside, it's brilliant! I would have expected Top 10 for this one.

Edited November 23, 20177 yr by Michael Andrew

Each passing day, we grow stronger still

#16. Mel B - Feels So Good [7.37]

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Highest Scores: 10: (SamJudd, Jay, Jonjo, LazySpice88), 9: (Hide&Seek, JB2o2o, missingyou, Schizo Spice)
Lowest Scores: 1: (Supercell), 5: (Jack, Liam, breezyspice)

At #16 Mel B becomes the first solo Spice to lose all her singles in this countdown, which is a shame as this deserved to be a lot higher. 'Feels So Good', released in February 2001 as the 3rd single from her debut album 'Hot' and peaked at #5 on the UK charts, making this her 3rd top 5 hit and her 2nd biggest selling hit after her debut of course with sales of over 140,000 copies making this the 80th best selling single of that year.

This is definitely one of her best solo releases as well as being a good way to open her album which is a really catchy, smooth bassy song, with some wonderful beats and great backing vocals, and this sits perfectly against her deeper purring vocals and some slick R&B production which gave her a well deserved top 5 hit. This was probably the best choice she could have chosen from an otherwise quite underwhelming album as this is one of the best and strongest moments from it with pardon the pun the song's feel good factor. Like I've already mentioned her vocals really suits this style of song as well and the vocal overlays really enhance the main vocals of the song.

So yeah I don't have a bad word to say about this at all, the tones are light and catchy that makes for a perfect summery anthem or even at the start of a new year, in other words a perfect type of song to sing-along with while playing in a car with the windows down on a hot summer's day, and to top it all of off I find that this track has aged incredibly well in my opinion and should be more remembered and lastly I just love the carefree nature of the whole thing.

The success of this song did help album sales a little bit, with the album re-entering the charts at the bottom half of the top 100 for 2 weeks before dropping back out. But this wasn't enough to guarantee the project a success and only one more single would be released (which didn't help sales at all) before she got dropped from her label and this song would be her last time in the top 10 as further release didn't make much impact, but we'll always have this great piece of R&B pop as a reminder of the best of what she had to offer, it's a shame that nothing else she brought out after this came close to the greatness of this.

Edited November 23, 20177 yr by SamJudd

God bless Mother Nature

#15. Geri Halliwell - It's Raining Men [7.388]

Highest Scores: 11: (liamk97), 10: (Hide&Seek, THEO)
Lowest Scores: 1: (engineer), 2.5: (Jonjo)

At #15 is Geri Halliwell's cover of 'It's Raining Men', released in April 2001 as the first single from her 2nd album 'Scream If You Wanna Go Faster' and would also feature on the soundtrack of the film 'Bridget Jone's Diary'. The song became her 4th consecutive #1 hit on the UK singles chart and it became her most successful solo single of her career with over 449,000 copies sold and earning a Gold disc, this would also be her final chart topper. Originally 'Feels Like Sex' was slated to be released as the album's lead single, but after Geri was offered this it got added to the album.

I think everybody knows that this was originally sung by 'The Weather Girls' back in 1982 where it also became a smash hit for them and they're version is probably the most well known. As for Geri's version I'd say it's very marmite you'll either love it or hate it and in my opinion no cover of a classic song could ever compare to the original, but Geri does leave her mark on this version replacing the disco sound with a more energetic dance/pop beat and she has enough spirt to pull it off and okay it is over-produced to give it a more modern sound and she does shout through the high notes, but she has enough charm and energy to pull it off somewhat and not the total disaster it could have been.

The song is just a fun cover and nothing more and veered Geri even further into camp, by of course covering an all-time camp classic. She does all she can with this song and while she doesn't have the strong enough vocals this song needed, she gets through it okay enough and it did get her to the top of the charts, so it can't have been that bad, people at the time seemed to like it enough as it was everywhere at the time and being featured on a soundtrack to a huge movie probably helped a tad. Even worldwide it became a smash by topping the charts in 5 other countries and top 10 peaks in 12 other countries, easily making this her biggest global hit of her career also.

Despite what you may think of this, it was probably a wise choice for her to comeback with after a year away as I doubt anything else on the album would have been half as huge, as it was released a few weeks after this and despite a respectable #5 peak it wouldn't sell half as much as her debut did by selling just a 100,000 copies which is a far cry from the double platinum status her last album received and the negative reviews probably didn't help and even with the release of 2 further top 10 hits, neither of which helped sales all that much. It's a shame that she let her desire to be a celebrity outweigh her talent, and that aspect wear very thin after this from which she would never recover from.

Edited November 24, 20177 yr by SamJudd

Considering the original was sung by two divas when i heard Geri was covering the song i was perplexed. But i do think she pulled it off. The video was great too.

 

Feel So Good is a good song too but i think its placing is fair.

They meet you high then leave you low

#14. Emma Bunton - I'll Be There [7.5]

Highest Scores: 10: (Mr.X, Michael Andrew, Spiceboy, Maurice), 9: (Schizo Spice)
Lowest Scores: 3: (Supercell), 5.5/5: (Euphorique, THEO)

At #14 is Emma Bunton's 'I'll Be There', which was released in January 2004 as the 3rd single from her 2nd solo album 'Free Me' and peaked at #7 on the UK singles chart, making this the album's 3rd top 10 single and her 6th overall with sales of over 40,000 copies and was the 153rd best selling single of the year. The black and white music video was shot by Giuseppe Capotondi in Paris and another fact he had also previously directed Melanie C's single 'Goin' Down' back in 1999.

This is a far more mellow effort than the album's previous singles and it allows her softer and gentle vocals carry the tune through the verses, whilst at the same time it has that really nice Motown feel during the chorus. Of course it follows the same 60's style the album does, but gone for something a little bit different by starting out as a soft ballad then soon explodes into an extremely catchy chorus with Emma's voice sounding fantastic as always and along with a rather beautiful string orchestration and proving once again she can deliver a high quality pop song that's both elegant and classy.

While I do really like this song, it's not quite as strong as her previous 2 singles it just doesn't quite have that spark or magic that the others had and it would be hard for any artist to match songs like those, but it's still a really good effort and what was truly great about this era was that Emma Bunton proved the critics wrong who'd had remarked that her career was over after getting dropped by her previous label, however she took her time fine tuning her magnificent follow up album and came back full force with some fantastic material that I think we all agree on here was far better than her first solo album and she had found a sound that perfectly suits her voice to a tee and would do something that none of the other Spice Girls could do, her 2nd album outsold the first and gained rave reviews which is pretty fantastic if ask me and well earned.

So yeah I would say that this was a great single choice from an album that's packed with so many gems and almost anyone of them would have made great singles, my personal faves apart from the singles are 'Tomorrow', 'Breathing', 'No Sign Of Life', 'Lay Your Love On Me' & 'You Are'.... I just love this album and it's been a long time since I've listened to it and when doing this countdown and gave it another spin and still love it to this day and would rank it as the 2nd best solo Spice album after Melanie C's 'Northern Star' of course and urge you fans on Buzzjack to check this out as it's something really special.

Here's a re-cap of the results of 30-21 (52-29 are on Page 3)

21. Mel B (Ft Missy Elliot) - Word Up = 7.074
22. Geri Halliwell - Lift Me Up = 7.037
23. Victoria Beckham - Not Such An Innocent Girl = 6.944
24. Emma Bunton (Ft Tin, Tin Out) - What I Am = 6.833
25. Geri Halliwell - Ride It = 6.685
26. Melanie C - On The Horizon = 6.574
27. Emma Bunton - All I Need To Know = 6.444 (more 10's)
28. Mel B - Tell Me = 6.444
29. Melanie C - Next Best Superstar = 6.425
30. Melanie C - Carolyna = 6.388

Another reminder of how many solo singles each of the Spice Girls has left in the running =

Melanie C = 5
Geri Halliwell = 2
Emma Bunton = 3
Victoria Beckham = 3

Mel B was the first to lose all of her singles so far with her 7 releases at #50 (Today), #48 (Lullaby), #47 (Word Up), #32 (For Once In My Life), #28 (Tell Me), #21 (I Want You Back) & '#16 (Feels So Good). Who'll be next to lose all theirs, stay tuned to find out....

Edited November 24, 20177 yr by SamJudd

I'll Be There ❤️

Too much to comment on :P Let's say I'm happy with the results this far..but most important, my compliments Sam! Thanks for your hard work. You and Jay make great topics :wub:

It's Raining Men has really held its popularity from 2001 and seems like a very beloved cover version which is nice. I don't like it being the song that defines Geri's solo career though as she's written some wonderful songs herself.

 

I'll Be There is such a beauty Emma's voice is flawless.

 

I think Mel B fans might be under-represented here. She's been trounced. Victoria, on the other hand, is faring surprisingly well!

 

I agree it's unfortunate that 'It's Raining Men' is Geri's best-known single. But still, it was a well-played release.

Edited November 27, 20177 yr by Michael Andrew

I could try and run away from the truth

#13. Melanie C (Ft Matt Cardle) - Loving You [7.518]

Highest Scores: 10: (Michael Andrew, Spiceboy, HarryApa), 9.5/9: (SamJudd, vibe, Liam, Jonjo, Jade)
Lowest Scores: 4.5: (breezyspice), 5: (Mr.X, Hide&Seek)

At #13 is a duet between Melanie C & Matt Cardle titled 'Loving You' which was released in August 2013 as the lead single from his 3rd studio album 'Porcelain'. Despite only BBC Radio 2 playlisting the song, which meant lack of airplay on radio overall, it managed to perform very well on the charts by reaching #14 on the UK charts, giving both artists their biggest hit in several years, for Mel C this was her first top 20 hit in 8 years. Another fact about this is that not only did Matt co-write the song alongside Mel C and others, but he did the drums and acoustic guitar also.

Rumours of a duet between them began in May of that year after she attended his concert at Union Chapel, and then it would later confirmed on website a month later and of the song he said that he already started writing it and thought that with a few changes it could work perfectly as a duet and he was right as the song was very well received critically and both artists a much needed hit and going to show that you don't always need massive support to succeed and therefore both artists scored that rare feat of scoring a hit on their own merits, and that music video which received media attention due to their sizzling chemistry probably helped as well.

Both artists delivered something truly great here as the track begins with a thumping underlying beat, and Matt's restrained vocals starts the song off with a bang with some very sensual lyrics without being over sexualized which would be a hard feat by someone with a lesser voice, but here the sentiments expressed sound more genuine, and when Melanie's vocal steps in they blend perfectly with his and gives the song that extra kick and like I already said that they have great chemistry together on a cleverly written song that has some spine tingling harmonies and wonderful production.

Lastly it was nice to see both artists in the charts again especially Melanie C who had been absent for a long before this and plus this made her the only solo Spice to score a hit in this decade, which is great and seeing songs like these breaking through towards the mainstream is always a welcome surprise, shame it doesn't happen often anymore.

Edited November 25, 20177 yr by SamJudd

Adore loving you :wub: Wish they would collaborate again. Imagine an album by the two of them :wub: :wub: :wub:

I adore Loving You such a fab little ballad :wub:

So sad they didn’t release a physical cd

Loving You was an unexpected surprise, it was lovely for her to achieve another UK Top 40 hit!

 

So sad they didn’t release a physical cd

I wish they had too, to perhaps help its chances of getting into the Top 10. It did get released on CD single in Australia the following year at least!

Loving You was such a cute surprise. The fact Mel managed to get another top 40 hit and that the song is actually fantastic! :wub:

Keep your eyes on me

#12. Victoria Beckham - This Groove [7.759]

Highest Scores: 10: (Lukuzz, breezyspice, mutucan, engineer, Maurice), 9: (SamJudd, Mr.X, JB2o2o, Euphorique, missingyou, Jay)
Lowest Scores: 4: (HarryApa, liamk97), 5: (letloverrule)

At #12 we finally have another Victoria Beckham single to drop, 'This Groove' which was released as a double a-side alongside 'Let Your Head Go' in December 2003 and peaked at #3 on the UK singles chart in yet another chart battle alongside singer Sophie Ellis Bextor who last time won, but Victoria won the battle this time and scored the highest new entry that week while Miss Bextor had to settle for a #9 peak. The song was intended to be included on her then upcoming 2nd solo album, but her record company 'Telstar Records' went bankrupt before it surfaced. Another fact that the song contains a sample of The System's 'Don't Disturb This Groove' from 1987.

After signing a new record deal in 2002 with Telstar Records and 19 Management worth £1.5 Million, she began recording a pop influenced album titled 'Open Your Eyes' which yielded the other song which I will talk about later, but she allegedly chose to scrap it after being disappointed with the results and instead Victoria wanted to move into a more R&B and influenced sound with another album she recorded titled 'Come Together' which would have featured this song and even worked with producer Damon Dash, and even did promo single with him titled ;It's That Simple' featuring M.O.P, which generated a mixed response and the label had issues with her for working with him and choosing this direction as they wanted her to stick with a more dance/pop sound, and so eventually a compromise was made to release 2 different styled tracks as a double a-side release to test the waters somewhat and see which would have the better response, and to their surprise in a vote on TOTP where both videos premiered, fans were asked to choose which one was better, and they chose the R&B based 'This Groove', and despite the song becoming a success after the label folded she chose not to pursue a music career even further and instead turned her attentions on the fashion world where she would find even bigger success.

Now this was a shame that this would be her final release and the album wouldn't even get chance to make it's mark, as both these songs showed so much promise, especially in this laid back R&B pop jam where despite not having one of the best singing voices out there, she can still demonstrate a unique, sexy and breathy tone to her voice and honestly she gives an excellent performance on this as the smooth production really sells it, along with her layered vocals that make her sound confident and stunning. I think that she should be proud of what she's created here, an underrated banging early 00's piece of pop/R&B tune which still sounds great to this day.

It would have been interesting to see how the album that featured this would have fared and even though several songs from these sessions have leaked, we still don't know what would have made the final cut in the end as many fans online have made their own versions of these albums which by listening to some of these tunes it does sound very interesting, but we'll never truly know what could have been. While I don't think a double album would have worked at all, maybe combining the 2 that still includes both songs would have been the better choice in my opinion. Another interesting fact that one of the songs from these sessions 'Resentment' which was first heard on a documentary of herself and husband David titled 'The Real Beckhams', would later end up on market for sale after her album was scrapped and singer Jazmine Sullivan got it and recorded it for her debut album in 2005 but that album would get shelved and eventually Beyoncé got the song and recorded it for her 2nd solo album 'B-Day' in 2006 and would become well received despite not being released as a single.

I'll mention more about this project when 'Let Your Head Go' drops out.

Edited November 26, 20177 yr by SamJudd

This Groove is ok but far too high on this in my opinion.

I love This Groove! Let your head go is fantastic too but TG was my favourite of the two. Such a shame she didn't get the #1 she wanted with this, she really deserved to have a #1 with this or OOYM.

I didn't really get 'This Groove' for years but then it suddenly clicked with me! The production is cool in particular. I'm glad that 'Let Your Head Go' has finished highest of the two however as that is Victoria's best song by miles *.* 'Loving You' is great also by the way, Melanie and Matt both compliment each other really well.