Spice Girls
The Spice Girls are an English girl group formed in 1994, consisting of Melanie Brown, also known as Mel B; Melanie Chisholm, or Melanie C; Emma Bunton; Geri Halliwell; and Victoria Beckham. With their "girl power" mantra, they redefined the girl-group concept by targeting a young female fanbase. They led the teen pop resurgence of the 1990s, were a major part of the Cool Britannia era, and became pop culture icons of the decade. The Spice Girls formed through auditions held with the intent to create a girl group to compete with the British boy bands popular at the time. They quickly left the managers and took creative control over their sound and image. The Spice Girls signed to Virgin Records and released their debut single "Wannabe" in 1996, which reached number one on the charts of 37 countries. Their debut album, Spice, sold more than 23 million copies worldwide, becoming the best-selling album by a female group in history.
