Mr.X

Amazing thank you :wub:

Yes releasing during the Christmas period was crazy, she should have just waited for the new year. STILL at the time, we cannot know if she would have faired any better, since solo Spice-projects were not supported at all and mostly failed to sell (as you just proved). It probably did help that it was during Christmas and targetted at mums and grannies who watched Strictly as it might have gotten a few more thousand sales than it would have otherwise... I am not sure comparing it to Geri's or Mel C's albums of the same time, both of which flopped without much mainstream support, is worth it though. Emma had the BBC, Children in Need and a major labor backig it and still flopped...

So far, only Free Me has had no album tracks out of the race B-) And if you don't count the final 'delux version' covers at the end, all of Life in Mono tracks are also still in the race as well!

#37 Eso Beso From single: Crickets Sing for AnaMaria (CD2) Release year: 2004 Average votes: 6,73 WuY5N0GbWgQ Originally sang by Paul Anka, this fun, bossa-nova cover of the 1962 original is a perfect part of the whole brazilian-inspired release of Crickets Sing for AnaMaria. It is generally liked and one of Bunton's most celebrated b-sides, with its Maybe-like punch and sass. #36 You're All I Need To Get By (featuring Jade Jones) From album: My Happy Place Release year: 2019 Average votes: 6,76 838pa_rjxFQ When Emma decided to get back in the studio to record a new album of mainly covers, she enlisted her then husband-to-be Jade Jones to support her with it. Not only Jade did the vocal arrangements across the album, but he also jumped in to record this iconic Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell number, making it the second time on record that the two sang together. The song is cute but it flopped into oblivion when it failed to chart at all at the time, the streams are quite low (it is the third least streamed track on the album) and the video while cute barely did anything to help it. Released just after the release of the album, the song didn't receive much support as attention moved to the Spice Girls Stadium tour. At the time of its release, Emma was already deep in rehearsals for the Spice Girls tour, so promotion was quite stiffled for it with only a couple of interviews (mostly by Emma herself) and one live performance (at the time). It didn't do much for the album either as it was already out of the chart by the time of its release. Still, they sound lovely in it and very much in love. You can hear it in their voices and in their videos and performances that their romance was very much alive after so many years. Good for them! They have since performed it at Emma's Albert Hall show and then during her Christmas tour as you can see below. They sound gorgeous! It was from here that Emma was trying to establish herself as a UK 'family pop star' type of branding, where her family was right front and centre in her campaigns as well, although sadly that didn't really work either... LTUxrzIsKUA #35 Something Tells Me (Something's Gonna Happen Tonight) From album: Life in Mono Release year: 2006 Average votes: 6,80 WLG9Hg__L_U Another three covers in a row :cheeseblock: Used as a promo-song during the release of the Life in Mono album campaign, this was a very obvious cover for Emma to do as her voice really suits the song to a T. Coming off the back of the success of Downtown, it didn't do much for the album either as it stalled at #65 in the lead up to the Christmas charts... The use of this track as promo seemed odd as she had much better and original songs on the album. But Simon and the label clearly wanted to appeal to the older mums and grannies to buy the CD for their Christmas presents, so this cover of the iconic Cilla Black hit kind of made sense... But it made the album sound like it was a covers album rather than a new album with mostly original material :blink: Still, we can at least enjoy this promo TV spot for the album, where she sings it near some curtains and then Emma's legs and face in the album cover move creepily while looking at the camera :teresa: No wonder the album flopped :teresa: 4KHBuB_Dlo8

I don't know... It is a fun track but I find it a bit meh... maybe with a cute single mix it could have been a minor-hit on the level of Take My Breath Away. Certainly it would have been a better fit than We're Not Gonna Sleep Tonight thats for sure...

A dreadful day :cry: I believe it was this that made them scared of ever making new music ever since... :( What a BOTCHED release though... it was truly awful how they went on about it. Headlines isn't even a bad song, just the whole package was so dissapointing. PLUS, the fact that two girlbands of the time managed to outsell them that week with their (much much better!) own singles... tragic really

Oh I quite like this version, thanks Jay! I would LOVE LOVE an updated GH with this new cover for sure, maybe for its anniversary?... BUT I still want the original cover on vinyl, that is a MUST at least once... It's such a legendary cover imo

I highly doubt that to be honest... Simon was probably the one who told them to use the old sound/producers in the first place

Cute. Do we know if there would be a way to figure out how much it sold to reach those? They seem quite low, so probably not a lot...

Yeah I agree about the original-song + original team strategy even though the songs picked to be included in the GH are some of the most maligned of their career :cry: Maybe Mel C just doesnt remember it by that name?... They probably recorded it and discarted it so didn't think more about it... I mean, even Geri couldnt remember Outer Space Girls or Christmas Wrapping ever existing, so who knows lol I would LOVE to hear Angels though... An updated GH with some more rarities could include this and give Heiðrún Anna her dues! :teresa:

Do we know that for sure?? As far as I remember that was only a suggestion from sammy01 :arrr:

#40 Better Be Careful From album: A Girl Like Me Release year: 2001 Average votes: 6,61 pARrILoGcXU Just making the Top40, is another A Girl Like Me album track that threads the guitar-pop that Emma was going for with half of that album. It is seen as one of the better album tracks in general, but it often gets quite forgotten. The song was produced by Biff Stannard and Julian Gallagher, and co-written with Ash Howes, Martin Harrington and Emma. Some fans have said they could have seen it as a single back in 2001 instead of We're Not Gonna Sleep Tonight. What do you think, would it have maybe turned the albums' future for the better? #39 Midnights & Martinis From single: All I Need To Know Release year: 2007 Average votes: 6,65 UNvZIMhiJY0 With a breezy, sunny and cock-tails-by-the-beach type of production that reminds us of the heights of Free Me sound, Midnights & Martini's is one of the Bunton's favourite b-sides. It's an innofensive track, with muted production but it is nonetheless fun and sexy. It is not available to stream either, sadly... #38 Maybe (Latino Mix) From single: Crickets Sing for AnaMaria (CD1) Release year: 2004 Average votes: 6,69 s_7h6WasIHk When Bunton decided to release Crickets Sing for AnaMaria as a single, she went in on the bossa-nova/brazilian sounds vibe of the whole release. Not only where the b-sides to that single straight up covers of bossa nova classics, but Emma decided also to give her most recent hit, the iconic Maybe, a bossa-nova rework to fit the whole project. Remixed by its original producer, Yak Bondi, it exists alsmot in polar opposite of the brash and sleek original Maybe, almost like a whole new song, with more breathy-vocals from Emma and a summer-chill-trippy approach. Hence why it was included in the list of songs for this MegaRate as one of the few mixes to be included. It is also this rate's most accomplished remix :teresa: What do you think? Does Maybe (Latino Mix) deserve to be above some of the Bunton's singles and album tracks???

Having said that, I would like to hear it!!

Oh wow thank you for this. So we do have a confirmation of the existance of Angels and that they did indeed record it. But it is odd since it would be the first Spice Girls single that was not conceived by them originally... it obviously would have been very strange for that to be part of the album, since all other songs were Spice-originals... Also, f*** Simon. He was clearly 'shopping for songs' for them, which was a total change from their original approach to music making...

I can see it happening to be honest, and I would hope so too. Still wondering about that orchestra in Hungary she played with...

I am pretending I can't see it :teresa:

Yeah I really wish she had gone for A World Without You, maybe with single mix, for the Christmas season. It didn't need to be released during Christmas week, but beforehand so it captured the mood of the season... It was such a career-killer move, I am not sure why Emma or Virgin thought it was a good idea at all..

#43 Takin' It Easy From single: I'll Be There Release year: 2004 Average votes: 6,34 cx0O7vRSFKY Another b-side that is NOT ON STREAMING :cry: This breezy, pop-fun track is part of the second of I'll Be There two CD release. It is long overshaddowed by the other b-side in this release, So Long but it is nonetheless liked by a lot of people. Funnily, it got scores as high as 8 and as low as 3. It was produced by Tim Lever and Mike Percy, of Dead or Alive fame (wild that they went on to produce such pop-focused sound!) #42 Sunshine on a Rainy Day From album: A Girl Like Me Release year: 2001 Average votes: 6,50 zOZrS5tTq-I A Girl Like Me's second cover and second collaboration with Tin Tin Out leaves the competition. This one however had Tin Tin Out on solely producer role rather than as a feature. At one point, this was actually rumoured to be planned as a single, but gladly it wasn't as it is not the most inspired of versions either. Still, Bunton did perform it live a couple of times during the album's promotion as you can see below. 0tJcuV_Ruf0 #41 We're Not Gonna Sleep Tonight (Album version) From album: A Girl Like Me Release Year: 2001 Average votes: 6,60 It looks like the fans prefer the album version of WNGST :o Frankly this is a surprise for me, as I always thought the single version was prefered by the fandom. Yet here we are... Not only it is not a fan favourite as a whole, but it was drastically changed for the single release which went on to flop. The album version is a latin-flavoured track that sits really well within the album's guitar-pop soundscape. Produced by Rhett Lawrence, who was popular with the solo Spices in early 2000s, having worked with Mel C and Victoria as well on their Virgin solo areas. Should Emma have kept its original sound for its single release? Or should she had gone with another AGLM track? XAf-wqw0nXs Overall Rate Results so far: 41. We're Not Gonna Sleep Tonight (album version) 42. Sunshine on a Rainy Day 43. Takin' It Easy 44. A Girl Like Me 45. Por Favor 46. Perhaps Perhaps Perhaps 47. So Nice (Summer Samba) 48. We're Not Gonna Sleep Tonight (single mix) 48. Been There, Done That 50. Santa Baby 51. Emotion 52. Coming Home For Christmas 53. Come Away With Me (featuring Josh Kumra) 54. Spell it OUT 55. Free Up Your Mind 56. Don't Tell Me You Love Me Anymore 57. She Was a Friend of Mine 58. I Know Him So Well 59. Invincible 60. Close Encounter 61. I Don't Know (Emma features on Damage's single) 62. Let Your Baby Show You How to Move 63. Here Comes The Sun 64. Merry Go-Round 65. 2 Become 1 (featuring Robbie Williams) 66. Sometimes (Chicken Shed charity album, 2002) 67. Greatest Day (England's 2014 Official World Cup Song, also including Melanie C)

Christmas Wrapping is at #54 on the Christmas Pop Playlist on Spotify this year

Personally I never been a fan of it, specially as I always thought it was too 'on the nose' cringe. That sound effect when she is meant to sing 'can't f*** with a girl like me' is too distracting to be taken lightheartedly lol It was very clear to me that the straight up pop sound of the era didn't work and it was mostly discarded, thankfully! Outside of the Spice Girls, Emma always faired better whenever she did good, experimental pop music.

#44 A Girl Like Me From album: A Girl Like Me Release year: 2001 Average votes: 6,11 sFPE6opDaobmvAj2 So... we know that Buntons' fans are often critical and indifferent to her various covers. But there is another pattern here that is starting to emerge as we go more and more up the charts: the fans arent particularly fond of her bubble-gum pop songs either. Most of them are from the A Girl Like Me era and most of them are out already, with the album track A Girl Like Me perhaps being the most clear representation of this. Whilst it gives its parent album its title, and it sits at the very centre of the album, A Girl Like Me does indeed stand out as the most bubble gum main pop track of her career. In an album full of different genres, from pop to folk, to r'n'b, AGLM kind of sticks out as an out of place type of affair here. Together with the bsides of the era, it is noticeable that at least for a while they were trying to market her as a straight up pop girl but didn't quite get to that, as the album has more 'grown up' type of music than this. After AGLM, Emma kind of toned down the bubble gum pop, and instead set her sights into a more grown up, more polished and interesting kind of pop music. Probably because the bubble-gum pop didn't work at all (thank f***!). xwauumgdIiI

#47 So Nice (Summer Samba) From single: Crickets Sing for AnaMaria (CD2) Release year: 2004 Average votes: 5,84 TmFYS2csJp4 This nice chill-by-the-beach-cafe-drinking-cocktails-all-summer type of vibe b-side is a cover of Bebel Gilberto's original from 2000. A huge hit in Brazil and latin-majority countries, Emma does a nice if quite standard affair. It is the weakest of the Crickets Sing for AnaMaria releases, overshadowed by the explosive single and the other b-sides. I would say even the other mixes are more note-worthy than this. But it is not bad at all as a song, and Emma suits is vibe a lot. Funnily enough, it is one of her most listened to b-sides as it has been available for well over a decade on streaming/download sites: a sad illustration of just how bad Emma's presence on streaming has been over the years! Still, for well over a decade, no other Free Me bsides have been online. Heck, even What Took You So Long is not available as a single release to stream nor its bsides... #46 Perhaps Perhaps Perhaps From album: Life in Mono Release year: 2006 Average votes: 5,85 _IPJF190Yjg Life in Mono is a stunning album and has finally been made available recently on streaming after well over a decade of waiting. The album was praised for its first run of 10 tracks, which formed the 'standard' part of the album. Upon its release, the only available 'version' of the album was the 'delux' version which included 4 covers stuck at the end of it. The reason for this seemed to be to capitalise on goodwill Emma had from her stint on Strickly Come Dancing. The 'standard' version of the album has never been released to this day. The four covers have long been a sour point for Emma fans, as in general the understanding is that they completely run down the quality and interest in what is an otherwise pretty good, well crafted and quality album. Perhaps Perhaps Perhaps is, perhaps :P , the least memorable of them. She sounds fine, but it doesn't really do much and to be honest it is quite meh of an interpretation. Emma has done much better. It is one of the only album-tracks she has performed from the Life in Mono album, when she sang it live at G-A-Y for the album launch. "Quizás, quizás, quizás", sometimes known simply as "Quizás", is a popular song by Cuban songwriter Osvaldo Farrés. Farrés wrote the music and original Spanish lyrics for the song which became a hit for Bobby Capó in 1947. The English lyrics for "Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps" were translated by Joe Davis from the original Spanish version. The English version was first recorded by Desi Arnaz in 1948 and made popular by Doris Day in the 1970s. Geri Halliwell also has a cover of this, so it makes for the second Spice cover of the song. NChf1KogJc8 #45 Por Favor From album: Life in Mono Release year: 2006 Average votes: 5,85 tPxOFFEGmVE In the words of Mel C on live TV to Louis Walsh: 'Covers, covers, covers!! We were original!' :teresa: It is no surprising that most of the bottom-of-the-charts here are cover songs. Por Favor is the latest to get the boot here and it also is Emma's least streamed album track at only 15,781 streams so far... The song was written by Joe Sherman and Noel Sherman and was first released by Billy May and His Orchestra in 1955. It is a well known jazz-oriented track and Emma does a servisable job. I just wish she actually could pronounce Por Favor as at points her pronounciation sounds like any other Brit girl after a few shots in Magaluf :arrr:

#48 We're Not Gonna Sleep Tonight (single version) From album: A Girl Like Me Release year: 2001 Average votes: 5,57 CPq_8KM744s I was a bit shocked to see this so low to be honest :arrr: After the successes of What Took You So Long? and Take My Breath Away across UK and Europe, it was coming up to the end of the year and Emma needed a bit of a change of pace. Shockingly, instead of tackling the Christmas market with a Christmas-friendly song, self-proclaimed Christmas-Spice herself made the decision to release a more dancey remix of her latin-favoured song We're Not Gonna Sleep Tonight. Remixed by Andy Wright, it was released on a CD single which included the b-side Let Your Baby Show You How To Move and the 3AM remix of the single. A DVD was also released which included videos of Emma talking about the video making process. An omage to her girlfriends, the video includes a leather-clad Emma dancing and 'vibying' with a group of girls which resemble the Spice Girls themselves. It was a bit of a shock departure from her more guitar-led and softer image of her previous single and album launched, but sadly the public didn't particularly gel to it. At one point there were rumours that A World Without You was going to be the chosen Christmas-single and it made sense. However, Virgin and Emma announced they wanted 'something different for the Christmas holidays' and Emma turned up at the MTV EMAs that year with a brand new style (and haircut!). It flopped into oblivion. Did she not remember the flop that was Forever the year before with its new 'sleek and leather-clad' branding style?? Oh Emma, Emma, Emma.... It was the first Spice-release to not enter the Top15 in the UK (in fact it barely managed to get to #20!), and it failed to chart in any other countries other than Romania (#27). It is stange as she did promote it heavily at the time, including in Australia (where it didn't chart either). Its flop meant the end of promotion for the album as a whole too. Sadly, after this release, Emma and Virgin parted ways and Emma set her sights onto making the iconic Free Me. So maybe the disastrous release of this single paved the way for bigger and better things?? :teresa: A funny note: At the time, Mel C was miss-Anti Spice (in fact anti-anyone and anything that moved) and she critised this release, staying that after a couple of great singles, Emma has kind of let herself go :arrr: Not very girl power was it, specially after Emma was supportive of Mel C when she didnt get a Brit nomination in 2001 for Best Female act! N29z8Qo13Uk

I find the whole 'I'm Christmas Spice' shtick so lame though, it really put me off specially after a whole album of lame covers... The EP flopped, and then with the pandemic she took until 2022 to go on her Christmas tour without much promo, and it fell flat as well... Coming Home For Christmas feels unfinished to me. The way it goes from the verses to the chorus is too quick and jarring, and the chorus needed better production too to really hit. I get it that it wasnt her song originally but maybe instead of just releasing the song under her name, why not re-work it before releasing it?... Santa Baby should have just been the main release imo, but I get why she didnt (Kylie had just released that not long before!). Anyway, happy to not have any more Christmas-releases from La Bunton. The rumours of the Christmas album have never materialised and I for one I AM HAPPY ABOUT IT :angry:

#51 Emotion From album: My Happy Place Release year: 2019 Average votes: 5,50 LQjKV0-1EAg Yer another cover from Ms Bunton's My Happy Place bites the dust. Emotion is a cover from the Samantha Sang's 1977 original hit. Orginally written and produced by Barry and Robin from Bee Gees, the major group then covered their own version of it and made it even more successful. The song has been covered to death since then, most notably by girlband Destiny's Child who brought it to a more pop-r'n'b contemporary audience. Emma's version is the usual Bunton cover affair: it brings very little to the song, but she sure sounds lovely in it. #50 Santa Baby From EP: Coming Home for Christmas Release year: 2019 Average votes: 5,53 X46OfagoDZE Santa Baby was originally released by Eartha Kitt in 1953 and has become a christmas stapple, covered by thousands of artists over the years. When Emma decided to do the Christmas music shtick in 2019, it was plainly obvious that this was a song that our Baby Spice just had to cover. It was included in the Coming Home for Christmas EP and has been added to a few Christmas playlists, which is what sees it getting a few ok streams every Christmas. But in general, the song doesn't do much. I think the absolute abundance of covers for it, and the fact that Emma does very little in the way of making it interesting, kind of meant the song is dead in the water for her too. She has performed it on her Christmas tour, her Albert Hall show and also on a Disney theme park Christmas variety show since. It's sad that Emma's attempts to rebrand herself as a Christmas pop queen in the UK fell so flat over the years. Her EP and her tour both flopped hard, and it doesnt look like the UK public is here for that kind of branding from her. Judging from her two main attempts at doing Christmas songs, it looks like she should let go of that and focus on her own music again :teresa: UuOiBWy9A5k #49 Been There, Done That From album: A Girl Like Me Release year: 2001 Average votes: 5,54 lTcalyrTDt8 Very little voting points separate Been There, Done That from the previous entry, with only 0,01 difference between them :o Been There, Done That is a low key r'n'b number and the second of its kind from the A Girl Like Me album to leave this competition. It's never particularly been a fan favourite so it is not surprising that is just about makes the Top50 here...