Piers

I'll say this for Darkchild...I think his work for the girls was as solid as what he's done for anyone else. Mel B claimed at the time she felt he handed off the better material to Britney...but I don't agree with that at all. I think his Forever work towers over what he did for Brit. But Darkchild was never Timbaland/Teddy Riley/Jam n' Lewis in their prime. He was never really up to churning out an album's worth of solid material for anyone. He tended to be best used doing a song or two or three on an artists' album. So. To his credit with Forever...I think he gave the girls two obvious singles in Holler and Tell Me Why...and a third possible single with Weekend Love. Nobody asked me...but I never would've released Let Love Lead the Way as a single. I like the chorus...but find the verses meandering. It's still worthy of the album, though...just like everything else he gave them. I feel he was genuinely proud of that album too. He continued to talk it up and predict Grammy wins...even after the album had gone down in flames on the charts.

I actually really like the Open Your Eyes album with one exception...Let Your Head Go. I know. Unpopular opinion. It's kinda fun in a guilty pleasure sort of way...but I find the lyrics to be clunky and awkward. But. The rest of the album? I think she cracked the code on what a Victoria Beckham album should be. Her first album is okay...but I think it's a bit too obsessed with the "I'm just a normal girl...honest!...SEE!" stuff. The Open Your Eyes album fully embraces the Posh Spice ice queen image. Her team got it right. I'm a lot more conflicted about the Damon Dash album. I like This Groove...and even though it was intended to be dumped, I find myself humming So Cold a lot. I think a lot of the rest of the album is all wrong for her, though...and could've been really embarrassing had it been given an official release. That Dude and Take You There emphasize her voice at its least flattering. I'm glad to see some people like Dat Simple...because I think it's a total trainwreck. All that said...I'm not sure how many big hits she would've gotten out of either album. I think the likes of Should've Known Better and Generate the Flow could have been further top 5 or top 10 contenders...but to me, the only unreleased song of hers that could've landed a #1 was My Love is For Real.

Hoo boy. What's scary is Variety is a generally reliable source...and isn't likely to make up something out of thin air. So. That said...who on earth made that quote? Disney owns Marvel, Indiana Jones and Star Wars. Between all of that and the constant live action remakes of their past films, Disney is destined to rule the box office for the rest of eternity. They don't exactly "need" a group that's been defunct for 17 years. I'm guessing the strategy is to pull in new, young fans. The music and characters would hold up for them...and animation would hide that these are now women in their 40s. But. I can't see any major production taking the gamble. The girls had their chance to record a song for the Hercules soundtrack back in 1997. That Disney ship sailed long ago. Just another premature plan leaking out without a prayer of actually happening?