The Spice Girls – all five of them – debut at Number 1 with their newest single in aid of their upcoming reunion tour, landing the all-conquering girl group their twelfth Number 1-hit

The Spice Girls finally return, debuting at Number 1 with their newest song “Headlines (Friendship Never Ends)”. The single was released in aid of their upcoming reunion tour and is the girls’ first song to be released in over seven years. The Spice Girls have had incredible chart success on this list, scoring twelve Number 1-hits and holding the crown position for over sixty-three weeks. The Spice Girls are as the best-scoring of all time, backed up by chart-topping hit singles such as “Wannabe”, “Who Do You Think You Are” and “Viva Forever”.

The Spice Girls made their debut all the way back in August 1996 with “Wannabe”, which became a massive phenomenon. The hit single spent eleven non-consecutive weeks at Number 1 and launched the girls’ career. The song went on to become the highest-scoring single of 1996, before becoming the highest-scoring single of all time. To date, “Wannabe” has amassed over 190.000 points. The song is also the Number 1 with the most weeks above the list.

“Wannabe” was the first of twelve consecutive chart-toppers. “Say You’ll Be There” and “2 Become 1” both became massive successes for the girls and topped the charts back-to-back. “Who Do You Think You Are” – which was released alongside “Mama” – became the best-scoring single of 1997 and, later, also one of the best-scoring songs of all time. The five girls quickly became a global sensation. “Spice Up Your Life”, “Too Much” and “Stop” became huge hit singles during 1997 and 1998, while the Spice Domination expanded. The Spice Girls even released their own film “Spiceworld: The Movie”, which was critically panned but a strong commercial success.

In 1998, however, cracks were beginning to show. Geri Halliwell – dubbed Ginger Spice – left the group for unknown reasons to much shock all over the world. The four remaining members – Victoria Adams, Emma Bunton, Melanie Brown and Melanie Chisholm – continued as a group of four. “Goodbye” followed as the group’s first song without Geri and resulted in another multi-platinum Number 1-hit.

By 1999 and 2000, all the girls started solo careers. The four Spice Girls briefly came back together to release a third studio album, but not much came of it. Instead, the ex-Spice Girls all scored big hits as solo artists.

Melanie B – dubbed Scary Spice – was the first to start a solo career. “I Want You Back” was released in 1998 along with Missy Elliott, during which time Mel B was still a fulltime member of the girl group. She later properly started releasing solo material for her debut solo album “Hot”, which included the Top 10-hit “Feels So Good”. Sadly, Melanie B is so far the only one of the five girls who has failed to score a Number 1-hit on this list. She has had chart success in her native United Kingdom, where she topped the charts with “I Want You Back”.

Melanie C – dubbed Sporty Spice – was the second to kickstart her solo adventure. Mel C was always considered the most capable singer of the group, so expectations were high. Mel C debuted with “When You’re Gone” alongside Bryan Adams” which became a very successful Number 1-hit. Her debut solo studio album “Northern Star” followed in 2000, which spawned the Number 1-singles “Never Be The Same Again” and “I Turn To You”. A string of Top 40-songs followed of which none were able to match the success of the previous chart-toppers. Nonetheless, Melanie C has had an incredible run and proved that Sporty Spice is a chart-force to be reckoned with.

Geri Halliwell debuted as a solo artist in 1999, to much anticipation as she was the one to break up the group. “Look At Me” was her first solo single and the song became an immediate Number 1-hit. More chart-toppers followed with “Mi Chico Latino”, “Lift Me Up” and “Bag It Up”. Geri became a solo sensation, backed up by very controversial performances, such as her show at the 2000 Brit Awards. Ginger’s biggest hit became “It’s Raining Men”, a cover of the original by the Weather Girls. The song spent seven weeks at Number 1 and became the second-highest-scoring song of 2001. Sadly, “It’s Raining Men” was the last song of Geri to be a true success, as all the later releases flopped. Ginger has had an incredible run though, racking up five Number 1s and twelve Top 10s – an unmatched feat by any ex-Spice Girl.

Emma Bunton debuted with “What I Am” featuring Tin Tin Out, a British electro-pop duo. The single was a minor success and Baby Spice’s solo career only really took off with the release of “What Took You So Long?”, her first proper solo record. The single debuted at Number 1 and paved the way for future solo success. “Take My Breath Away” and “Free Me” both become strong sellers. Her highest-scoring release to date is “Maybe”, which peaked at Number 1 and scored over 70,000 points. Emma Bunton is still going strong as almost all her releases managed to nab a Top 10-position.

Victoria Adams – now Beckham – was always considered one of the lesser vocalists in the group, but Posh Spice proved herself a capable hit machine with the release of her debut solo single “Out of Your Mind” featuring True Steppers. The song became a phenomenal hit, debuting at Number 1 and holding the crown position for over six weeks. The debut record achieved a 3 x Platinum Status, having scored over 100,000 points. VB saw her success continue with the release of “Not Such an Innocent Girl” and “A Mind of Its Own”, which both topped the charts. On this list, Victoria Beckham was a force to be reckoned with, but sadly that success was not universal. Most of her songs were met with lackluster sales and Victoria’s solo career quickly stalled. She has now become a tv-personality with big success.

The Spice Girls’ legacy on this list is immense. The girls hold the record for the act with the most Number 1s, for the most successful Number 1 and the most weeks at Number 1. The group has managed to get all their singles to the Number 1-position and have scored over 1,000,000 million points. The Spice Girls continue to spread their message of girl power with their upcoming reunion tour with all five of them – Ginger, Posh, Baby, Scary and Sporty.