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. 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==

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. 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 in Miami, followed by the final recording session on 17 July 2000. 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". 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." Bunton explained that the song was not included because "the sound [had] moved on" in the time since it was recorded. ==Release and promotion==

, Germany in 2007|alt=An image of four women on a stage – Melanie C, Victoria Beckham, Emma Bunton and Melanie B holding a microphone and a metal whip. The metal whips are connected to the men kneeling on the stage. In August 2000, the album's title was revealed through a poll on the group's official website, in which fans voted for what they thought the title would be. The album's cover has the girls "clinging to each other as if they were holding on for dear life", according to PopMatterss Peter Piatkowski. EMI Music Japan first released Forever in Japan on 1 November 2000, with a remix of "Holler" serving as a bonus track. 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. The group also gave a performance "Holler" at the 2000 MTV Europe Music Awards on 16 November 2000 in Stockholm, Sweden; before the performance, Chisholm declared that it would be their last appearance together before going on a hiatus to focus on their solo careers. During the performance, the group wore leather outfits, ending with them going through the floor with large orange pyrotechnic flames blazing up. Additionally, the band's members hosted TFI Friday on 10 November, as part of the album's promotion. 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. However, the tour never came to fruition due to their solo projects. 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. Singles "Holler" and "Let Love Lead the Way" were chosen to serve as the official lead single from Forever. Released as a double A-side single, it was released commercially in the United Kingdom on 23 October 2000 as a CD and cassette single. It debuted at number one on the UK Singles Chart and became the Spice Girls' ninth number-one single in the United Kingdom, tying with ABBA's nine singles that have reached the top of the charts, and behind only The Beatles, Elvis Presley, Cliff Richard and Madonna as the acts with the most UK number-one singles. It also peaked in the top 10 in several other countries in Europe, including Denmark, Ireland, Italy and Spain. In Canada, the songs were released separately; "Holler" reached number two, whereas "Let Love Lead the Way" peaked at number five on the chart compiled by Nielsen Soundscan. The music videos released for the tracks depicted the girls playing one of the four elements each. On 18 October 2000, Emma Bunton revealed that the group would not be releasing a Christmas single that year. The following January, she confirmed that no further singles would be released from the album. "Tell Me Why" had several commissioned remixes, only one of which was commercially released as a bonus track seven years later on the deluxe edition of Greatest Hits. The final promotional push for the Forever album was a promotional single featuring these remixes that was released in Australia in the summer of 2001 as a competition prize in a cross-promotion with TV Hits Magazine. ==Critical reception==

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. 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." 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." 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. 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." ==Commercial performance==

Forever debuted at number two on the UK Albums Chart with 71,000 copies sold in its first week, over 160,000 copies behind Westlife's Coast to Coast. The album spent a total of 10 weeks on the chart. It was certified Platinum by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) on 17 November 2000, denoting shipments in excess of 300,000 copies. It spent seven weeks on the chart. ==Track listing==

Notes • signifies a vocal producer • signifies an additional vocal producer • signifies a remixer ==Personnel==

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Forever. Musicians • Eliot Kennedy – backing vocals • Sue Drake – backing vocals • Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis – arrangement, all musical instruments • Wil Malone – strings arrangement • Paul Waller – drum programming Technical • Rodney Jerkins – production, mixing • LaShawn "The Big Shiz" Daniels – vocal production • Harvey Mason Jr. – Pro Tools ; production • Brad Gilderman – recording, mixing • Dave Russell – recording assistance • Ian Robertson – recording assistance • Paul Foley – recording • Ben Garrison – mixing ; recording • Fred Jerkins III – production (as Uncle Freddie) ; mixing • Eliot Kennedy – additional vocal production • Sue Drake – additional vocal production • Robert Smith – production • Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis – production • Steve Hodge – engineering, mixing • Brad Yost – engineering assistance, mixing assistance • Xavier Smith – engineering assistance, mixing assistance • Tony Salter – vocal engineering • Richard Stannard – production • Matt Rowe – production • Adrian Bushby – engineering • Jake Davies – engineering assistance • Mark "Spike" Stent – mixing • Paul Walton – mixing assistance • Jan Kybert – mixing assistance • Bernie Grundman – mastering at Bernie Grundman Mastering (Los Angeles) Artwork • Terry Richardson – photography • Vince Frost – design ==Charts==

Weekly charts Year-end charts ==Certifications and sales==