The Spice Girls are a British pop girl group formed in 1994. The group comprises Melanie Brown, also known as Mel B ("Scary Spice"), Melanie Chisholm, or Mel C ("Sporty Spice"), Emma Bunton ("Baby Spice"), Geri Halliwell ("Ginger Spice"), and Victoria Beckham ("Posh Spice"). In 1996, Top of the Pops magazine gave each member of the group aliases, which were adopted by the group and media. With their "girl power" mantra, the Spice Girls redefined the girl group concept by targeting a young female fanbase instead of a male audience. They led the teen pop resurgence of the 1990s and became pop culture icons of the decade. They are cited as part of the Second British Invasion of the United States and were "arguably the most recognizable face" of Cool Britannia, the mid-1990s celebration of youth culture in the United Kingdom.
The Spice Girls were signed to Virgin Records and released their debut single "Wannabe" in 1996; it hit number one in 37 countries and commenced their global success. Their debut album Spice (1996) sold more than 23 million copies worldwide, becoming the best-selling album by a female group in history. Their follow-up album, Spiceworld (1997), was also a commercial success, selling over 14 million copies worldwide. Both albums encapsulated the group's dance-pop style and consistent lyrical theme of female empowerment, with vocal and songwriting contributions shared equally by the five members. In May 1998, Halliwell left the Spice Girls and the group continued as a four-piece. Their only album without Halliwell, Forever, was released in November 2000 and achieved comparatively disappointing sales of four million copies. At the end of 2000, the Spice Girls began an indefinite hiatus to concentrate on their solo careers but insisted that they were not splitting. Since then, the group have reunited for two concert tours, the Return of the Spice Girls (2007–2008) and Spice World (2019), both of which won the Billboard Live Music Award for the highest-grossing engagements of their respective years.
Measures of the Spice Girls' success include international record sales, vast marketing enterprises, iconic symbolism such as Halliwell's Union Jack dress, a major motion picture, Spice World (1997), and the highest-grossing concert tours by an all-female group from 2000 to 2020. Under the guidance of their mentor and manager Simon Fuller, the group embraced endorsement deals and merchandising to become one of the most successful marketing engines ever, with their global gross income estimated at $500–800 million by May 1998. They were also a regular feature of the British and global press which, according to Music Week writer Paul Gorman, helped usher in an era of celebrity obsession in pop culture.
The Spice Girls have sold 90 million records worldwide, making them the best-selling girl group of all time, one of the best-selling artists, and the biggest British pop success since the Beatles. The group have received a number of awards, including five Brit Awards, three American Music Awards, four Billboard Music Awards, three MTV Europe Music Awards and one MTV Video Music Award. In 2000, they became the youngest recipients of the Brit Award for Outstanding Contribution to Music. According to Rolling Stone journalist and biographer David Sinclair, "Ginger, Posh, Baby, Sporty and Scary were the most widely recognised group of individuals since John, Paul, George and Ringo."
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