To commemorate three decades of “girl power,” the Spice Girls took fans back to where it all began.
“Today marks the 30th anniversary of the very first Spice Girls auditions!” read a post shared via the band’s official X account on Monday, March 4.
The group — Emma Bunton, Geri Halliwell, Melanie Brown, Melanie Chisolm and Victoria Beckham — began back in 1994 when Heart Management held auditions for a girl group to compete with the British boy bands of the mid-90s and went on to “spice up” the music world with the release of “Wannabe” in 1996.
To honor the milestone anniversary, the Spice Girls shared footage of their original auditions. The montage shows Bunton, 48, Halliwell, 51, Brown, 48, Chisholm, 50, and Beckham, 49, as wide-eyed dreamers in the early days before they adopted the monikers of Baby Spice, Ginger Spice, Scary Spice, Sporty Spice and Posh Spice.
The throwback video showed them learning choreography and practicing vocals before they became a worldwide phenomenon, resulting in a pop legacy and a legion of fans.
Today marks the 30th anniversary of the very first Spice Girls auditions! 🎉 What started back in 1994 has turned into an amazing journey, way beyond anything we could have ever imagined. Thank you to our fans for your support from day one 💖 #FriendshipNeverEnds pic.twitter.com/5evl3H2fvQ
— Spice Girls (@spicegirls) March 4, 2024
“What started back in 1994 has turned into an amazing journey, way beyond anything we could have ever imagined,” the band’s X account wrote. “Thank you to our fans for your support from day one.”
“Wannabe” topped the charts in both the U.S. and the Spice Girls’ native United Kingdom. The group didn’t reach No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 again, but they continued to be a pop juggernaut in the U.K. until going on hiatus in 2000. They reunited in 2007 for a global tour and again in 2018 without Beckham.
Beckham previously joined the other members for an epic reunion during the 2012 London Olympics’ closing ceremony, but that was the last time all five shared the stage.
In 2022, Chisholm told Extra that in her “heart of hearts, [she wants] to get back on stage.” At the time, she was promoting her new memoir, The Sporty One: My Life as a Spice Girl, and was working with Brown to reunite the Spice Girls — including Beckham.
“We’re always working on her,” she said. “It’s like, ‘No pressure. But the world wants it.’ We hope — I can’t give a time frame. It is something we want to do. We are trying to push through. At the moment, Victoria is in the wings. She is always involved creatively. We want her to be happy. It is our dream to get her back.”
