MTV News picks the pop ballads we most want to hear when the Spice Girls musical hits the stage. By Jocelyn Vena Spice Girls Photo: The Spice Girls — all five of them — appeared in London on Tuesday to announce “Viva Forever!,” a musical based on their career and music, named after their 1997 single. The girls gathered on the stairs of the St. Pancras Renaissance Hotel, 16 years after they shot their star-making “Wannabe” video there. With “Mamma Mia!” producer Judy Craymer and “Absolutely Fabulous” star Jennifer Saunders collaborating on the project, this jukebox musical, according to the ladies, will “embrace all generations.” This is hardly the first time that the ladies have used their rise to fame as the basis for a piece of semi-fiction. They spoofed their pop superstardom in the 1997 comedy “Spice World.” And, while it was a landmark event to see all five of the Spice Girls in one place on Tuesday, they also reunited for a massive world tour in 2007 . In an interview with the BBC at the event, the Spice Girls themselves seemed excited to have their music, which focused quite frequently on themes of female empowerment, hitting the stage for a new crop of young people to hear. Posh Spice herself, Victoria Beckham, added, “We’re going to be introducing a whole new generation to Girl Power.” So, when it comes to a musical based on the music of the peace sign-making, platform shoe-wearing, brassy fivesome, there’s an endless number of tracks that can be plucked from their catalog to include in the show. So, MTV News is pitching our five favorite (and in our opinion definitive) tracks that we hope make the final cut of the show. “Wannabe” This is the track that introduced the world to the Spice Girls. Off their 1996 debut, Spice, the cheeky song reminded any potential love interests that “If you wannabe my lover, you got to get with my friends.” Not only did it launch the ladies to pop fame, it also made the term “zigazig-ha” a perplexing, must sing-along-to lyric. “Say You’ll Be There” Also off Spice, this track, which spawned our favorite SG video of all time thanks to its overt references to “Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!,” picked up where “Wannabe” left off, reminding girls everywhere that just because a guy really likes you doesn’t mean you have to commit to him. Girl power, indeed. “Spice Up Your Life” One year after dropping their debut, the ladies were still riding high off instant mega-fame and released 1997’s Spice World. “Spice Up Your Life” was all about throwing caution to the wind no matter your race or gender, with the ladies proudly proclaiming, “Colors of the world/ Spice up your life/ Every boy and every girl/ Spice up your life.” With congos and Latin music influencing the sound of the track (and everything that year), “Spice” was an anthem that proved their music can just make you dance, or merengue. “Stop” “Stop right now/Thank you very much/I need somebody with a human touch.” While we’re still not exactly sure what that means — unless, of course the ladies had been romanced by robots 8212; we get where the girls are coming from on this 1998 single about guys who just can’t quit playing games with their hearts. “Too Much” The girl group slowed it down in ’98 for this awesome ballad where the five ladies have some choice words for any guy who thinks it’s going to be easy to woo the Spice Girls. Reminder, they want a man, not a boy who thinks he can. Um, tell us about it, girls. Which is your favorite Spice Girls song? Tell us in the comments below! Related Artists Spice Girls
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Spice Girls ‘Viva Forever!’ Musical: Five Must-Hear Tracks
