The Spice Girls' debut single, "Wannabe", was released by Virgin Records in the United Kingdom in July 1996.

[3] Since its release, Spice has sold 23 million copies worldwide[4][5] and was certified ten times platinum by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) in the UK.

[7] In May 1998, while promoting "Viva Forever", the album's fourth and final single, Geri Halliwell left the group, citing depression and personal differences with the band.

A sharp departure from their previous pop genre, it peaked at number two in the UK Albums Chart and was certified platinum by the BPI.

[6][7] Forever produced the Spice Girls' last UK number-one single, the double A-side "Holler"/"Let Love Lead the Way".

Following the relative commercial and critical downturn of Forever, in December 2000, the four remaining members announced an indefinite hiatus.

[11] The Spice Girls have sold 100 million records worldwide[12][13] To mark the 25th anniversary of "Wannabe", an EP of the group's debut single was released in July 2021 that included previously unreleased demos.