On July 08, 1996, Wannabe was released in the UK as the debut single by English girl group Spice Girls under Virgin Records. Produced by Matt Rowe and Richard Stannard and co-written by the two of them along with all the members of the group, the dance-pop track was also the lead single off their first studio album Spice, with Bumper to Bumper as its B-side.
The song became an anthem of female empowerment with lyrics that value the female friendship over a relationship with a man, setting the theme for all of the upcoming music from the group: Girl Power.
Wannabe topped the charts in 22 countries, including the Billboard Hot 100, and it is the best-selling single by a female group worldwide. Also, according to a study published in 2014 by the University of Amsterdam in association with Manchester’s Museum of Science & Industry, Wannabe is the most recognizable pop song of the last 60 years.
An iconic one-shot music video directed by Johan Camitz was filmed at the Midland Grand Hotel in London, and it was released in May of that year. It currently has over 500M views on their official YouTube account.