'Wannabe' a comeback group?

Hello everyone out there in Blogland. It’s been a while. While summer activities have stymied my ability/time to post on the greatest Pop Culture blog ever, I have the day off today and thought it was a good chance to finally post something. So, here goes…

As many people have probably heard, The Spice Girls have reunited and are preparing for a world tour. Woo…hoo.



Now, I know of at least one person who reads this blog who is (or was) a Spice Girls fan. While I must admit upfront that I did not care for them when they were popular, this announcement intrigues me. Why? I’ll tell you.

I am a nostalgia junkie. Now that the Spice Girls have been out of the spotlight for a while, I can appreciate their music for what it was—fun pop. (Sorry, I didn’t buy into the “Girl Power” message when they were all parading around in bra tops and hooker heels.) At the time they were popular, I think my biggest problem with them was one that continues to get worse with the music industry as time goes on: over-saturation. (William Hung, anyone?) It seemed that, for a long time, you couldn’t get away from them. Their music was constantly on the radio, they were always on TV, and they even went so far as to film a movie. That said, now that I have some distance from their overplayed personas, I can appreciate listening to “Say You’ll Be There” and “Spice Up Your Life” because they take me back to a simpler time in my life (when song repetition on the radio was my biggest problem).

I also wonder if this reunion tour is a good move. I think a fair comparison would be to equate this to the Backstreet Boys “comeback.” As you’ll recall, they were a HUGE boy band around the time The Spice Girls were *the* girl band to watch. BSB, as they were often called, took a much-needed break (for themselves and for the rest of the world) somewhere in the 2001-2002 time frame. For a long time it seemed that the group was gone forever. Then something odd happened…they released a new single in 2005. Even though it was requested often (at least that’s what Wikipedia says), it didn’t make a big impact on the music world. In fact, I think even two years later, a lot of people are still not aware that the group got back together and the Boys are currently working on another album. Was this a smart move? They bowed out at a high point in their fame, and now Backstreet’s back (alright) with, seemingly, not much to offer.



In contrast, I should also point to *N Sync. I was a fan of theirs when they were popular, and I’m not ashamed to admit it. I have never classified them as one of the greatest musical acts of all time, but dammit, were their songs catchy and could they put on a good show. They also stepped out of the spotlight at the height of fame in order to pursue solo projects and other interests. However, they have yet to make a comeback. (I assume it would be difficult now, given all the solo success that Justin Timberlake is having.) Does that affect the way you think about them and their legacy?

Now I ask you, who made the right choice? Was it better to attempt to reconcile the successful group long after the hype and excitement surrounding them fizzled or was it better to let the past be the past and leave it at that? Are The Spice Girls going to burn bright again or will they fade into the background? What do you think?

A final note: While I may occasionally follow what happens with the Spice Girls reunion, I’ll be holding my breath for Ace of Base to come back with a vengeance…