Forever (Spice Girls album)

During the Spiceworld Tour in early 1998, the group took on an initial project to write and record songs for a possible third album and a live album.[3] The original concept for this album was to showcase solo songs, duets, and cover songs featuring all five members, in order to promote the idea that the Spice Girls were all individuals, yet could come together as one. The girls went to Dublin's Windmill Lane Studios with longtime collaborators Richard Stannard and Matt Rowe to work on a new album and create master recordings for a live album. With the sudden departure of Geri Halliwell, the project took a major turn, with many of the already produced songs scrapped and the live album cancelled.

The Spice Girls recorded their Christmas single, "Goodbye", in July 1998, during the North American leg of their Spiceworld Tour. Once again, the girls teamed up with Stannard and Rowe. The following year, they recorded "My Strongest Suit" for the concept album for the musical Aida. In the two years between the release of "Goodbye" in December 1998 and the release of Forever in November 2000, the group, along with the pop-music landscape in general, changed dramatically. Hoping to cultivate a more mature image, the group teamed up with a team of American producers to give Forever a more R&B sound. However, initial recording sessions maintained the pop sound of their previous works.

Recording for the album initially began in mid-1999, and the first tracks recorded for the album were recorded at Abbey Road Studios with Stannard and Rowe. The group continued working on tracks through August and September, working on tracks with Eliot Kennedy at Steelworks Studios and tracks with Rodney Jerkins and Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis at Whitfield Street Studios respectively.[4] Following these sessions, work on the album was put on a pause. Melanie Chisholm began promoting her first solo album Northern Star, released in October, and the group began preparations for the Christmas in Spiceworld tour, in which they premiered the tracks "Right Back At Ya", "W.O.M.A.N." and "Holler". Following the tour, Chisholm continued to promote Northern Star, and the other members worked on preparing their own solo material. Recording for the album did not resume until April 2000, when further tracks were recorded with Jerkins, followed by the final recording session on 17 July 2000.[4]

Sessions with Stannard and Rowe were eventually scrapped from the album, and Kennedy's only surviving contribution to the album was "Right Back at Ya", included on the album in a re-recorded, remixed, R&B form that Kennedy described as a "plodding, boring, bottom drawer R&B song".[5] In an interview with biographer David Sinclair, Stannard relayed his disappointment in the omission of "W.O.M.A.N.": "I thought that song was really interesting lyrically, because it was making the progression from girls to women, which was something Matt and I thought it was time for them to do. They needed something to suggest that they were still the same group of friends, but they were gaining more maturity."[6] Bunton explained that the song was not included because "the sound [had] moved on" in the time since it was recorded.[7]

The Spice Girls as a four-piece performing "Holler" in Cologne, Germany

EMI Music Japan first released Forever in Japan on 1 November 2000, with a remix of "Holler" serving as a bonus track.[8] It was distributed five days later in the United Kingdom by Virgin Records and on 7 November in North America by EMI.[9][10][11] The album leaked on Napster a week prior to its release.[12] Its title was revealed through a poll on the group's official website, in which fans voted for what they thought the title would be.[13] The album's cover has the girls "clinging to each other as if they were holding on for dear life", according to PopMatters's Peter Piatkowski.[14]

To promote Forever, the Spice Girls performed "Holler" and "Let Love Lead the Way" on British televised shows such as The National Lottery Stars, SMTV Live, Top of the Pops and CD:UK.[15][16] The group also gave a performance "Holler" at the 2000 MTV Europe Music Awards on 16 November 2000 in Stockholm, Sweden; before the performance, Melanie C declared that it would be their last appearance together before going on a hiatus to focus on their solo careers.[17][18] During the performance, the group wore leather outfits, ending with them going through the floor with large orange pyrotechnic flames blazing up.[19] Additionally, the band's members hosted TFI Friday on 10 November, as part of the album's promotion.[20]

In October 2000, Melanie Brown mentioned that a tour to promote Forever would take place in late 2001 and that it would be global, including dates in America.[21] However, the tour never came to fruition due to their solo projects.[22]

The Spice Girls did not heavily promote Forever as much as their previous albums, and the promotional campaign was ceased in December 2000 as the group went on an indefinite hiatus.[23] The following month, Emma Bunton officially stated that "the record seems to have come to a natural end. I want to concentrate on solo projects and there is no time to release a single now. All our individual projects are scheduled and we wouldn't have time for any promotion."[24]

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	45/100[2]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[37]
The Baltimore Sun	[38]
Dotmusic	[39]
entertainment.ie	[40]
Entertainment Weekly	C[1]
The Guardian	[41]
Jam!	[42]
Los Angeles Times	[43]
Rolling Stone	[44]
The New Rolling Stone Album Guide	[45]

Forever received mixed reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 45, based on nine reviews.[2] In a mixed review, James Hunter of Rolling Stone expressed that "Forever will probably provoke a reaction somewhere in the middle—with one exception, it's just OK."[44] Music critics had ambivalent opinions on the record's change in sound compared to the group's previous releases. Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic wrote that on Forever, the Spice Girls "make all the right moves, hiring superstar producer Rodney Jerkins to helm most of the tracks and attempting to seem mature, but this all results in a record that is curiously self-conscious and flat".[37] Andrew Lynch from entertainment.ie opined, "The production is as slick as ever, but a huge part of that old Girl Power enthusiasm seems to have drained and fallen away—and with it most of the fun that used to redeem their fundamental tackiness."[40] David Browne of Entertainment Weekly commented, "Every genre cliché, from homogenized harmonies to delicately plucked stringed instruments to male rapper interjections, is securely in place. The music is so tasteful, restrained, and assembly line proficient that it makes early singles like 'Say You'll Be There' sound like the rawest punk rock."[1] Betty Clarke of The Guardian gave Forever a negative review, stating it "ultimately makes you yearn for those heady dans when the Spice Girls were pop and proud of it."[41]

Other reviews were more positive of the album's production. Michael Paoletta of Billboard gave the album a positive review, stating it "oozes with timely funk beats and the kind of well-crafted songs that No. 1 hits are made of."[46] In a positive review, Stephanie McGrath from Jam! wrote that the album was the group's attempt at "toning down their former flashiness and giving their catchy brand of pop music a sophisticated twist." She wrote that the group sounded "more comfortable" with the album's style and described it as being "full of good pop music."[42] Natalie Nichols from the Los Angeles Times described the vocals on the album as an improvement over those on its predecessor, writing that "the girls muster more vocal passion and authority" when compared to Spiceworld.[43] A review from The Sonic Net wrote that the album sounded "very professional" but also wrote that "only a hardcore fan can deny that the bloom is definitely off the rose."[2]

In the United Kingdom, Forever was released the same week as Westlife's Coast to Coast album. The chart battle was widely reported by the media, where Westlife won the battle in reaching number one on the UK Albums Chart. Meanwhile, Forever debuted number two, selling 71,000 copies in its first week.[47] Forever spent a total of 10 weeks on the chart.[48] It was certified Platinum by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) on 17 November 2000, denoting shipments in excess of 300,000 copies.[49] In the United States, the album achieved moderate success, peaking at number 39 on the Billboard 200. This was lower than their previous album Spiceworld (1997), which peaked at number three. The album only spent 7 weeks on the charts and by July 2006, it had sold 207,000 copies.[50][51] Forever has sold two million copies worldwide.[23]

In Australia it peaked at number nine,[52] and was certified Gold. The album reached number 10 in Austria,[52] and was also certified Gold. In Canada, it peaked at number six and was certified double Platinum, the highest certification achieved for Forever.[53] The album also peaked at number six in Germany,[52] and was certified Gold. In Ireland it peaked at number 15.[54] The album reached number 25 on the charts in New Zealand,[52] where it was certified Gold. In Switzerland it peaked at number 11[52] and was certified Platinum.

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Forever.[56]