I'm relieved 'This Groove' didn't get into the top 10. Victoria's vocals are a little too tentative for the minimal production, imo.

 

Of course, Victoria is absolutely stunning in the video. And, thanks to the backing singers, it's an alright song.

 

'Loving You' is gold. That kind of music just doesn't get made anymore. The harmonies are mind-blowing. It's edgy, sexy and raw. I want more of this from Melanie!

Edited November 27, 20177 yr by Michael Andrew

Hoping to get a reaction

#11. Emma Bunton - Free Me [7.814]

Highest Scores: 10: (SamJudd, Mr.X, Jay, Maurice), 9.5/9: (Lukuzz, Spiceboy. missingyou, Jack, mutucan, engineer)
Lowest Scores: 5: (Euphorique, THEO), 6: (vibe, HarryApa, Jonjo, Jade)

Just outside the top 10 at #11 is Emma Bunton's 'Free Me' which was released in May 2003 as the lead single from her 2nd album which was also titled 'Free Me' which would come 10 months after this and first on a new label 'Polydor'. The song peaked at #5 on the UK singles chart making this her 4th top 10 hit and went on to sell over 65,000 copies, becoming the 134th biggest selling single of that year.

Coming 17 months after her last release and getting dropped from her previous label, she had a lot to prove in order to comeback into the limelight and thankfully she strikes back with this which is a really good song and great start to a brand new era for her. The song opens with that little hint of jazzy strings, then suddenly switches it up to a wonderfully 60's feeling track and can see why everybody makes compares this to a James Bond theme, I could easily picture this as an opening to anyone of those movies as this would blend beautifully together. This definitely stands as one of her best solo offerings with it's sweet and catchy chorus, complemented by some beautiful strings throughout it's strong production values.

What makes the whole thing more interesting is that you can tell that Emma's voice has improved, it's definitely more soulful through the verses and she hits those high notes throughout the chorus really well. She has definitely shook off her Baby Spice image as noted in the music video where she looks elegant and stunning as hell with some beautiful tropical imagery that definitely gives her a more grown up look. There is also a clear sense of broken-heartedness in the song's lyrics and a confusing paradox of a will to be freed, and this wouldn't be just a one-off thing it would be a theme throughout the album also.

So yes like I said this is a good start to a new chapter in her life and if there was any doubt about her going in this 60's styled direction, then songs like this and the far better follow up single which will come later, will quickly put those feelings to rest as this is a charming yet understated little track that showed that she still had fight left in her and the fact that she managed to land a new deal within weeks of losing her last label is something pretty impressive. Also this only just missed out on the top 10 by 0.5 points.

^ slightly too high for my liking

Here's what's to feature in the top 10 =

Melanie C (Ft Bryan Adams) - When You're Gone
Melanie C - Northern Star
Melanie C (Ft Lisa "Left Eye" Lobes) - Never Be The Same Again
Melanie C - I Turn To You
Geri Halliwell - Look At Me
Geri Halliwell - Mi Chico Latino
Emma Bunton - What Took You So Long
Emma Bunton - Maybe
Victoria Beckham (Ft Truesteppers & Dane Bowers) - Out Of Your Mind
Victoria Beckham - Let Your Head Go

Here's a re-cap of the results 20-11

11. Emma Bunton - Free Me = 7.814
12. Victoria Beckham - This Groove = 7.759
13. Melanie C (Ft Matt Cardle) - Loving You = 7.518
14. Emma Bunton - I'll Be There = 7.5
15. Geri Halliwell - It's Raining Men = 7.388
16. Mel B - Feels So Good = 7.37
17. Geri Halliwell - Bag It Up = 7.296
18. Melanie C - Think About It = 7.25
19. Melanie C - Anymore = 7.1
20. Emma Bunton - Take My Breath Away = 7.092

Any thoughts any predictions...

Edited November 27, 20177 yr by SamJudd

My predictions:

 

1. Maybe (Emma Bunton)

2. Never be the same again (Melanie C)

3. I turn to you (Melanie C)

4. Mi chico latino (Geri)

5. What took you so long (Emma)

6. Look at me (Geri)

7. Out of your mind (Victoria)

8. Northern star (Melanie C)

9. Let your head go (Victoria)

10. When you're gone (Melanie C)

 

Ps Melanie C has double what everyone else has left... true Queen of the Spice Girls :wub: :wub: :wub: :wub: :wub:

I think a deserving top 3 would be (in any order)

 

I Turn to You

Maybe

Mi Chico Latino

I also think 'Maybe' is going to take the crown as I said earlier in the thread, but my ideal top 3 would be:

 

01. Never Be The Same Again

02. Mi Chico Latino

03. Let Your Head Go

It'll never happen, but my ideal top 3 would be:

 

1. Northern Star

2. Mi Chico Latino

3. Maybe

These results are pretty much all an absolute mess. :(

 

Worst of all is Geri's version of 'It's Raining Men' that high, it's just so dire.

 

I wish I'd voted.

Edited November 27, 20177 yr by Tawdry Hepburn

A decent remaining Top 10 songs!

 

I probably wouldn't have Out of Your Mind or When You're Gone in my personal Top 10 (I'm sure they'd place somewhere within my Top 20). I can certainly understand both placing this high up in the results though.

 

The other 8 listed + Free Me and Think About It would be my Top 10!

 

Maybe for the win! *.* (I don't think it will though)

My preference for top 5 from the ones left are:

1. Never be the same again

2. I turn to you

3. When you're gone

4. What took you so long

5. Mi chico latino

 

My top 10 of all their singles would be:

 

1. Never be the same again

2. I turn to you

3. When you're gone (with Bryan Adams)

4. What took you so long

5. Mi chico latino

6. Think about it

7. Loving you (with Matt Cardle)

8. Out of your mind

9. I'll be there

10. Next best superstar

 

(I want you back, Anymore, Maybe, Look at me and Carolyna would all be in my top 20.)

Edited November 27, 20177 yr by Spiceboy

I'm a total Melanie C fanboy lol, so pleased she is the one continuing music she is by far my favourite with her output. :wub:

My preference

 

1. Never be the same again

2. I Turn To You

3. Northern Star

 

My prediction

 

1. Maybe

2. Never be the same again

3. What took you so long

'Ride It', 'Think About It', 'Bag It Up' and 'It's Raining Men' are fantastic! :wub: All would place in my personal Top 10 so it's saddening to see them not even come close, especially when there's two songs by Victoria Beckham placed in the Top 10.

 

'Anymore' and 'Free Me' are great too, probably ranking #11-20 for me so I'm happy with their positions.

I can almost lose my mind

#10. Victoria Beckham - Let Your Head Go [7.833]

Highest Scores: 11: (Liam, breezyspice), 10: (Michael Andrew, Lukuzz, Jay, Maurice, Jade)
Lowest Scores: 4: (HarryApa, liamk97), 6: (missingyou, engineer, LazySpice88, letloverrule)

At #10 is the other song on Victoria Beckham's double a-side release, 'Let Your Head Go' which was released in December 2003 as what was supposed to be the joint lead single from her 2nd album 'Open Your Eyes', which was the more pop influenced album, but she was disappointed with the results and opted for a more urban R&B sounding album which would also end up being scrapped and to date this would be her 4th and final single release when this peaked at #3 on the UK charts becoming her 2nd highest charting single and plus making her the only Spice Girl to have all her singles go top 10.

This is definitely my personal fave between the 2 songs, as I've always preferred her more pop oriented songs and they don't come better than this fantastic piece. A simple yet effective pop/dance tune with a killer bassline, making this the total opposite to 'This Groove' which is also great but I've already talked about that. I also love the attitude that she injects into this which is very feisty and no-nonsense, displaying a different side to the one she's known for in the press and all this comes across in the fantastic music video which shows that she can poke fun at herself and do it with such style and glamour.

Coming to a compromise by releasing a double a-side was a definitely a smart move for her as both songs got to display different ranges to her sound which is evident in this fantastic piece of pop with it's pulsating beats and stellar production that kinda made this ahead of it's time as back in 2003 this definitely stood out amongst the shuffle. Like I already said it would have been interesting to see what would her follow up being like, I know songs have leaked from the sessions but a lot of them are unfinished and we don't really know what was gonna be on the album. But due to the record company folding and the press not willing to give her a chance, she had felt discouraged to carry on and given the fact that the odds were against her, you couldn't really blame for throwing in the towel and pursue her fashion career where she became even more iconic than ever and seeing her profile rise through the roof literally.

There was another single planned for the following year titled 'My Love Is For Real' which have leaked online and to be honest it's another fantastic piece of pop music from her and would have been interesting to see how this would have fared as it could have easily given her a 5th top 10 hit, but it wasn't even given a chance as it got scrapped along with the other recording sessions. At least we got this great reminder though.

So far, so good.

They buy your dreams so they can sell your soul

#09. Melanie C - Northern Star [7.98]

Highest Scores: 11: (LazySpice88), 10: (Michael Andrew, vibe, Jay)
Lowest Scores: 4: (THEO), 5: (Hide&Seek, liamk97)

At #9 we have Melanie C with 'Northern Star', released in November 1999 as the 2nd single from her debut album of the same name and peaked at #4 on the UK singles chart, becoming her 3rd top 5 hit in a row and sold over 200,000 copies and earning a Silver disc. It received a positive reception from music critics citing it far better than the lead single and was co-written by Mel C herself and produced by Marius De Vries who also did the same for 4 other tracks on the album, including the remixed version of one of the later singles.

This was probably a smart move for her at the time, considering the mixed response to the lead single and slow album sales which would thankfully increase with later singles, but going for a wintery ballad for the X-Mas season definitely got more people interested by giving a more familiar sound and what better way to do that, than with this where she gets to show off her warm vocal skills and having award winning writer Rick Nowells (most famous for his work with Belinda Carlise, Madonna & Lana Del Ray) probably helped as the two of them work really well together and set against a beautiful string arrangement, it's a recipe for greatness.

It's been a long time since I'd heard this and going back to it now really gives me that nice warm feeling nostalgia factor. This shows why she's renowned for having the strongest voice in the Spice Girls and she really pushes it with a song that gave her a well earned hit and suits the time of year perfectly, a haunting seasonal ballad that's also inspirational without being false. This also showcases at just how talented a performer she is with great songwriting skills as shown on this with such emotional depth as well as showing how much she's matured and grown from her days as a Spice Girl. To put it simply this song is just simply beautiful and touching.

You can also say that this was a safe single choice compared to 'Goin' Down', but who cares it's still a really good song and definitely stands as one of the album's finest moments, and it's a shame that this got quickly overshadowed by the 2 #1 smashes, but as it stands it's definitely one of her greatest moments and something she should be well and truly proud of, as well as being a fantastic and great choice for a release.

NS is so beautiful especially live .

 

I love it .

'Northern Star' is underrated. It's a truly beautiful ballad. Lovely sentiment, vocals and orchestration.

 

I connect with it more than I do Melanie's chart toppers.

 

I'm starting to think I should have given it my '11' - whoops!

Edited November 30, 20177 yr by Michael Andrew

This tune's gonna punish you...

#08. Victoria Beckham (Ft Truesteppers & Dane Bowers) - Out Of Your Mind [8.296]

Highest Scores: 10: (SamJudd, Michael Andrew, Lukuzz, vibe, Spiceboy, Jack, Supercell), 9.5/9: (iiiiiiiii. Euphorique, missingyou, Jay, engineer, Maurice, Schizo Spice)
Lowest Scores: 1: (Hide&Seek), 5: (Mr.X, liamk97)

At #8 we say goodbye to the 2nd Spice Girl to lose all their singles with Victoria Beckham whose held up really well considering she only had 5 singles, the least amount of any of the others and managing to have 2 of them in the top 10 is a really good result. This now leaves Melanie C, Geri & Emma the only ones with songs still in the running.

'Out Of Your Mind' was Victoria's first solo release in August 2000 and features English garage duo Truesteppers and Dane Bowers, which made this his 2nd collaboration with them. The song didn't feature on her debut album but did feature on Truesteppers debut album 'True Stepping' as the 2nd single. Upon release the song was heavily tipped to be #1 after extensive promotional campaigns and record signings and during the mid-week chart it was, however by the end of the week Dance act Spiller featuring Sophie Ellis Bextor - 'Groovejet (If This Ain't Love)' beat them by 20,000 copies and had to settle for a #2 peak, making Victoria the only Spice Girl not to score a solo #1, but did manage the biggest first week sales of any of the other girls with 180,584 copies sold and overall sold over 395,000 and earning a Gold disc, becoming the 21st biggest selling single of that year. To date this remains Victoria's biggest selling hit.

First of all this song is a really good effort, especially for a first solo outing that plays well to her vocal range and she sounds great on this and yeah okay I have said before that she doesn't have a strong voice, but on here the song plays to her strengths thanks to the production by Truesteppers. The 2-step garage sound is very of it's time and doesn't quite have the fresh and funky sound it once did, at the time however this was the in-thing and this was one of the better songs to come out of that era. Even Dane Bowers addition adds a decent presence to the groove showcasing some great vocals to the mix giving it that extra kick to the up-tempo beat. But first and foremost this is a Victoria Beckham show and she's the one who truly shines on this in true diva fashion, and honestly if this was just her and Truesteppers it would have been just as great.

It's such a shame that this didn't end up on her debut album as this definitely would have been a welcome addiction considering that some of the tracks has that similar garage sound which it was quite dependant on and has therefore dated it. At the very least this could have been a bonus track or something and could have created a bit more hype for it's release. As it is the song's a fun throwback feel and that's all the more displayed in the music video with it's Matrix theme (another very in-thing at the time) which gives the whole thing a delicious playful feel and a relic of the early 00's. So on the whole this is a very good start to her solo career and while other releases didn't quite live up to this potential, she did produce some cracking tunes and it would have been interesting to see what would happen if she'd been given the chance.