Had they released the album the same week as the movie in the US, a number one could have happened. I recall the weeks leading up to Christmas, they were selling over 300,000 copies in some weeks while the album was between #6-#10.

10 hours ago, Piers said:

Yeah, pushing back the album release in the US would have been the wise move.

I've always had a curiosity about US radio/MTV abandoning the Spices in late '97/98. As a kid, I was paying attention to charts...and at the time, I thought it was the weirdest thing that a group with two albums in the top ten simultaneously just couldn't get radio play.

Of course, I don't know exactly what happened behind the scenes with radio/MTV. The theory that they were partial to homegrown acts is very valid. The oversaturation theory is too...though I'd argue that as big as the Spices were, they never got the push here that Britney, NSYNC, and the Backstreet Boys did.

I'll float out another theory.

Even though 1997 belonged to the Spice Girls...the Spiceworld album arrived here quietly. You think about it. Spice was still having a successful album cycle in the US. The Spices didn't have a single US performance of Spice Up Your Life ahead of the release (to my memory, those came in December and January). Not all fans would have had internet access at that time. For many...Spiceworld kinda just...showed up one day. I think a lot of people in MTV/radio may have seen that #8 chart placement and thought..."they're fading fast".

Anyway. The album went on to be super successful and had a long chart run because the Spice World movie and its commercials/trailers really got it known that...a second album does exist. But had they timed Spice Up Your Life, the Spiceworld album, and Spice World film as one big early '98 push, they would have landed a second US #1 album.

Yeah the US-first approach was always very clear when it comes to Pop music. Even across Europe, it is mainly USAmerican Pop that is put first, and it is sickening to be honest with you.

They should have taken the Backstreet Boys approach. The BB released in Europe first. In 1997, they released their second album in Europe while also releasing their first album in the US, and the same happened for the next album, eventually catching up with release dates once they got to tour.

Releasing Spiceworld in 1997 might have brought in Christmas sales but they should have waited for early 1998 so they could focus on the US market with both the album and the movie. I think you are right about them possibly getting another #1 album if that were the case.

Sad though. Spiceworld deserved waaaaay better sales. It still sold over 4.1milliom in the US (as per Billboard in 2006).

Edited Thursday at 00:413 days by Mr.X

Do you know if there is any project or something for Emma? Like Xmas shows again, presenting something or whatever? :(

On 08/10/2026 at 07:23, Mr.X said:

Yeah the US-first approach was always very clear when it comes to Pop music. Even across Europe, it is mainly USAmerican Pop that is put first, and it is sickening to be honest with you.

They should have taken the Backstreet Boys approach. The BB released in Europe first. In 1997, they released their second album in Europe while also releasing their first album in the US, and the same happened for the next album, eventually catching up with release dates once they got to tour.

Releasing Spiceworld in 1997 might have brought in Christmas sales but they should have waited for early 1998 so they could focus on the US market with both the album and the movie. I think you are right about them possibly getting another #1 album if that were the case.

Sad though. Spiceworld deserved waaaaay better sales. It still sold over 4.1milliom in the US (as per Billboard in 2006).

That BSB's approach was confusing to me as an International fan, lol. What do you mean Backstreet's back is on their first US album? But it worked out well for them since they had like five singles off that album and the album went over 12 millions. The Spice girls could have pushed with SPICE with Mama and WDYTYA as singles before Spiceworld and that album could have gone Diamond in the US too.

9 hours ago, Joshnat192 said:

Do you know if there is any project or something for Emma? Like Xmas shows again, presenting something or whatever? :(

She signed up with some big US agency but nothing came out of it, it seems. She should be doing more I agree.