Spice Up Your Life

Spice Up Your Life is a song released by the Spice Girls. Like much of their second album, Spiceworld, it was premiered during the group's first-ever live concert in Istanbul, Turkey. After debuting on UK radio, the song received an overwhelmingly positive initial reaction and, just a week after its first spin, entered the singles chart at #19 on airplay alone.

The original release-date of "Spice Up Your Life" was delayed for seven days to allow Elton John's "Candle In The Wind" to reach the top of the charts. The tribute to Diana, Princess of Wales, who had died the month before, subsequently went on to become the world's biggest-selling single of all time. "'Life" hit the top-spot the following week, a feat echoed in the major music markets of Canada, Australia, and Spain, and became the Spice Girls' fifth consecutive UK #1.

The chart trajectory of "Spice Up Your Life" in the United States, however, was somewhat less successful. Due to the song's idiosyncratic sound – a hybrid of pop and samba – it was unable to fit into a particular musical mould. Hence, the song was seldom played on US radio, resulting in it stalling at a lowly #18 on the Billboard Hot 100. Some would argue that it would have been wise for Virgin to release the more U.S.-friendly tracks from Spiceworld to radio instead, namely "Saturday Night Divas" or "Denying". Despite its disappointing chart position in the U.S., the track added another U.S. Top 20 to the group's already impressive list. "Life" also helped the LP Spiceworld debut on the Billboard Album Charts at #8 (it would eventually climb to a peak of #3 after the release of the group's first film, Spiceworld: the Movie).

The video is considered by many to rank among the Spice Girls' best. With a multi-million dollar budget, the ironic promo sees the group in a futuristic setting, controlling every aspect of society. The group stated that the video was a reaction to the press who criticized the group for selling out to a number of worldwide brands in the summer of 1997, including Pepsi, Walkers, Cadbury's, ASDA, and Polaroid.