Backtracking is our recurring look back at the pop music that shaped our lives. Friends may come and go, but we’ll be spinning our favorite albums forever.

It’s hard to imagine now, but 15 years ago, there was no Britney Spears on the radio. Nor was there Christina Aguilera or Pink or Lady Gaga. Apart from the reigning divas at the time — that would be Madonna, Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey — the pop landscape was filled with post-grunge rock chicks like Alanis Morissette and Courtney Love, and fresh R&B female acts like TLC, Mary J. Blige and Aaliyah. That’s when American Idol creator Simon Fuller, then known best for managing Annie Lennox, took a gamble that our lives could all use a little spicing up.

Outside of Asia, where the K-Pop movement is a force to be reckoned with, no other corner of the planet cranks out girl groups quite like the United Kingdom (see: Girls Aloud, Sugababes, The Saturdays and recent X Factor winners Little Mix). And British quintet Spice Girls pretty much set the template for all these ladies of song with their debut LP Spice, a brash blend of sugar-coated pop, smooth R&B grooves and, of course, GIRL POWER!

Spicemania kicked off stateside at Christmastime in 1996, when Geri “Ginger Spice” Halliwell, Emma “Baby Spice” Bunton, Melanie “Sporty Spice” Chisolm, Melanie “Scary Spice” Brown and Victoria “Posh Spice” Beckham crashed into MTV’s daily video rotation with the loud, sing-along “Wannabe”, which had already been a massive hit across Europe earlier in the year.

Implicit in its “ladies first” mantra, “Wannabe” has the five taking a stand by telling the male object of their collective affection that he’s out the door if their friends don’t approve, and “if you really bug me then I’ll say goodbye.”

Of course, all this female empowerment came courtesy of a pack of carefully choreographed, cleavage- and midriff-baring girls in skintight outfits. (Welcome to the ’90s.)

Spice Girls — ”Wannabe”

America, which hadn’t seen a British girl group top the charts since Bananarama’s “Venus” was #1 in 1986, was clearly ready to experience the Spicequake. By late February of 1997, “Wannabe” had bumped Toni Braxton’s “Un-Break My Heart” off the top of the Billboard Hot 100, and it stayed perched there for four weeks.

Meanwhile the Girls’ debut LP Spice — an album we once declared was as “infectious as ebola” — arrived on February 4, and along with it came the group’s in-your-face one-liners: “God help the mister that comes between me and my sisters” via “Love Thing”; “I’m choosy, not a floozy” in “Last Time Lover”; “she knows exactly what to do with men like you” from “Naked”.

The album also contained a string of global chart-dominating singles, including the perplexing “Say You’ll Be There”. Here the spicy pop sensations are “giving you everything”, but chiding that they’re having “far too much emotions” thrown back in return. Look, they just want to be friends — but, still, promise you’ll always be there, ok?

Spice Girls — “Say You’ll Be There”

Merchanspice such as lunchboxes, dolls and sticker books rolled out in the wake of the phenomenon. If UK acts like Blur, Oasis and Pulp were enforcing the music laws of Britpop, Spice Girls were riding Cool Britannia all the way to the bank.

But let’s not kid ourselves. These queens of England were hardly the masterminds of their own success. The collective of Geri, Emma, the two Melanies and Victoria was as manufactured as a Toyota. The girls were put together by father-and-son managers Chris and Bob Herbert in 1994, who had been looking to capitalize on the success of Manchester boy band Take That by creating a female equivalent. The family team placed an ad in showbiz trade publication The Stage, but things eventually soured between the Spices and the Herberts, and the relationship ended.

Through producer Eliot Kennedy, who would later go on to write “Say You’ll Be There”, Spice Girls were brought to the attention of, and signed with, manager Simon Fuller in 1995. What happened after was a zig-a-zig-ah blur of success and mania; the group propelled all five Spice singles to the top of the chart in their home country, including the ballad “2 Become 1″.

Spice Girls — ”2 Become 1″

Here in the States, early ’90s alternative music dominance began to chip away after the erosion of grunge, and the lethal pop combo Spice Girls and Backstreet Boys (who themselves first gained success in Europe by breaking through in the German market) brought a new wave of bubblegum to the airwaves in 1997. After all, how could we resist Geri in her hip-hugging Union Jack mini-dress?

Spice Girls’ success in the American market paved the way for several other UK-based girlie pop groups, such as All Saints (their funky “Never Ever” cracked the Top 10 in 1998) and B*Witched (“C’est La Vie” was a Hot 100 hit in 1999, leading to the Irish group’s opening slot on NSYNC’s first US tour). And then along came a little act out of Houston, Texas, called Destiny’s Child.

When all was said and done, 7 million copies of Spice flew off the shelves in 1997, and it wound up being the bestselling album that year in the States. Naturally, there was also the inevitable behind-the-scenes drama: Just as second album Spice World and its tie-in movie were rushed out later that year, the Girls gave manager Simon Fuller the axe. The following year, Geri Halliwell quit the group on the eve of their first North American tour.

But at least for that moment in time, 15 years ago when pop wasn’t quite as prevalent as it is right now, the masses told newcomers Ginger, Baby, Sporty, Scary and Posh what they wanted, what they really, really wanted. And the Spices, in turn, obliged.

Can you believe this album is 15 years old? What’s your favorite Spice Girls memory? Let us know below, or by hitting us up on Facebook and Twitter!

Did You Hear?

:: Speaking about the incident for the first time (and as you would imagine), Kelly Clarkson says she felt robbed when an album’s worth of her songs leaked onto the Internet earlier in the summer. [EW Music Mix]

:: Arjan is giving away tickets to the Los Angeles LifeBeat VMA bash. Go on, you know you want to rub shoulders with Joe Jonas and Cobra Starship. [Arjan Writes]

:: Relax, fans of the dark bob — Jessie J has washed the purple out of her hair. [Twitter]

:: Speaking of British ladies of pop, Victoria “Posh Spice” Beckham surfaces in public for the first time since giving birth to daughter Harper Seven. [Pink Is The New Blog]

:: Beyonce will perform one of her favorite Jackson 5 songs via satellite during the upcoming Michael Jackson tribute concert in Cardiff, Wales. [Rap-Up.com]

After the jump, find out which music acts will be appearing on the tube today.

Music On TV:
:: Tonight Show With Jay Leno (NBC) — The Antlers (repeat)
:: Tavis Smiley (PBS) — Lenny Kravitz
:: Conan (TBS) — The 88 (repeat)
:: The Ellen DeGeneres Show — Pink, Rascal Flatts (repeat)

Did You Hear?

:: After having three boys, the Beckham clan finally welcomes a baby girl into their family. Victoria “Posh Spice” Beckham gave birth to her first daughter over the weekend. The baby’s name has yet to be revealed, and since Baby Spice is already taken, we’ll just call this child Very, Very Lucky Spice. [PopEater]

:: David Guetta debuted a new track from his upcoming Nothing But The Beat LP in Ibiza this week. Usher was on hand to lip-sync through the performance. Why even bother holding the microphone? [Music & Lyrics]

:: Sleazy celeb journalist makes a bunch of claims about Lady Gaga’s mental and physical health. Read with a grain of salt, folks. [Radar Online]

:: Gucci Mane is now a free man after serving two and a half months behind bars for a probation violation. [PopCrush]

:: Alicia Keys wants you to remix some of the songs on her debut album Songs In A Minor. R. Kelly, here’s your time to shine. [SoulBounce]

After the jump, find out which music acts will be appearing on the tube today.

Music On TV:
:: Jimmy Kimmel Live (ABC) — Jill Scott
:: Late Show with David Letterman (CBS) — Incubus
:: Tonight Show with Jay Leno (NBC) — Joss Stone
:: Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson (CBS) —
:: Last Call with Carson Daly (NBC) — Diplo, Alberta Cross (repeat)
:: Late Night with Jimmy Fallon (NBC) — Panda Bear
:: Ellen DeGeneres (ABC) —Sara Bareilles (repeat)
:: Gayle King (OWN) — Lady Gaga (repeat)
:: Lopez Tonight (TBS) — Barry Manilow (repeat)
:: Conan (TBS) — Jessie and the Toy Boys (repeat)

Sir Elton John and Victoria Beckham added a little pop to the royal wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton today. The rocket man (whose hit “Your Song” will be performed by Ellie Goulding at the newlywed’s reception) along and his partner David Furnish had front row seats to the event of the year (or possibly the decade). Meanwhile, a very pregnant Posh and hubby David sat several rows back, though it’s hard to miss the former Spice Girl with that ridiculous contraption she’s got on her forehead — is she hiding a massive zit under there? Check out all the pomp and circumstance straight from Westminster Abbey.

Pop stars watch the Academy Awards just like the rest of us. Only when they do it, they’re not gathered around a friend’s living room eating Oscar movie-themed dishes like “Inglorious Bratwurst”. Instead, they head to the Elton John AIDS Foundation’s Oscar Viewing Party held this year at Los Angeles’ Pacific Design Center. Flip through to see all your favorite stars dolled up for Hollywood’s biggest night: from the Jonas Brothers, to Jennifer Hudson, to Glee‘s Lea Michele and Cory Monteith, and American Idol‘s Simon and Kara. And see which artist dared to wear “Hammer Pants” to Elton John’s affair.

Victoria Beckham returned to American Idol last night, and as with her stint at the Boston auditions, she mistook the nation’s favorite singing competition for Project Runway. The fashion-fixated Posh Spice had not one constructive thing to say about any of the contestants’ auditions throughout the entire episode other than comment on their “look” — which, let’s be honest, is still more than what Randy Jackson offers at this point.

Speaking of Randy, he must be right on the money about a girl winning Idol — the show highlighted hardly any of Denver’s men. Among the 26 contestants sent on to Hollywood, only seven had their own “feature” segments, and only two were male. (And both of those could have veered easily into “it’s a no, dawg” territory based onthe way they were presented on the show). Let’s take a closer look at those lucky enough to score a golden ticket:  

Mark Labriolla says his doppelganger is Jack Black (though as he explains this, he’s wearing a giant pair of goggle-like glasses covering half his face, so we’re not entirely convinced). He’s okay being compared to “the ugliest guy in Hollywood, because he’s… funny? And gets girls?” For your information, Mark, Mr. Black is happily married, he’s adorable and he’s not funny. You were wrong on all three counts.

Mark tells a crazy story about how he was kidnapped by his mom at an early age before his father tracked him down in Maui and then took him back to live in Colorado (Hawaii to Denver? Too bad, kid.) This rapidly devolves into the strangest, most confusing conversation ever, with Simon getting all the various locations and time periods mixed up. Eventually, the endless, bewildering backstory is over and Mark  sings “Tempted” by Squeeze. Surprise! The Jack Black wannabe has a soulful voice and is completely on pitch the whole time. The judges dole out another back-handed compliment (which seems to be their signature this season) by telling Mark how shocked they are that he has any talent. But he’s off to Hollywood. Can’t wait to see what happens if and when he runs into Mr. Black.

Kimberly Kerbow, a pretty, perky 24-year old mom, sings ”I Am” by Ingrid Michaelson. When she gets to the bizarre lyric “I’ll buy you Rogaine,” she shoots a look over at Simon, who immediately overreacts. “So, you’re a single mom. Wonder why.” Simon (who clearly has hair issues) tries to sweeten up, declaring, “You’re very lippy, but you’re very funny.” She gets through, and Simon gets one more dig in after she leaves: he suggests that Kimberley might be wearing a wig. By George, we thought that haircut was too good to be true!

Wig? Good hair genes? You decide.

Danelle Hayes hosts karaoke nights, sings at corporate events and performs in a cover band (but she never said which!) to make a living for her and her three-year old daughter. The moment she gets in the room, she starts crying. “It’s been quite a ride,” she tells the judges, and shares knowledge that we bet 95% of the contestants don’t have—that making it in the music biz is really, really tough, and despite constant rejection, she keeps working away at her craft. We can’t imagine anyone ever saying “no” to this woman after her brilliant turn on Melissa Etheridge’s “I’m The Only One”, delivered with soulful rasp and power. The judges love her and her passion, and she sails to Hollywood. We’re calling it now: Danelle is a Top 10 contender, for sure.

Casey James is the hunky piece of beefsteak who got in a motorcycle accident and blah blah blah did you see this man’s shirtless bod? I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter people—here’s your Fabio for the 21st Century.

(Casey comes in at :56, and he goes shirtless around 2:22 if you want to go straight to the good stuff.)

Yes, he goes to Hollywood due to Kara and Victoria’s horny pleadings. It’s a funny segment, but had a female been asked to take off their shirt, Simon and/or Randy would be sued for sexual harrassment.

Tori Kelly is 16 years old and looks like she’s 28. (In a hot, legal way.) A preteen member of Tori’s fan club named Hope Starr (man, how hippy-dippy are this child’s parents?) brought drawings of the judges. Adorable. Simon is a cup full of sugar with the little girl — have you noticed he’s only nice to little kids on this show? Tori adequately sings “Gravity” by John Mayer in a slightly nasal voice. “I thought your voice was almost annoying,” says Simon.  (Apparently 16 is the legal age to get insulted on national television.) “You’re like a human orange!” Jeez, Simon, way to be harsh. She’s tan, but she’s not Snooki, for crying out loud. Does Victoria have anything helpful to add? “I love that dress!” Thanks, Victoria, we can always count on you for absolutely nothing. Tori gets through to Hollywood, even without a vote from Simon.

Nicci Nix, a Natalie Portman look-a-like with the voice of an Italian Minnie Mouse, flew fourteen hours from Florence to get to her audition and they must have been serving helium on the plane. She nails a spot-on take of “Something Kind of Ooh” by Girls Aloud, and her high-pitched voice somehow deepens when she sings. The judges pick up on Nicci’s made-for-TV personality (or is it in act?) and send her through. Call us nationalists, but we’re not sure we want our American Idol to be a non-U.S. citizen. We don’t mean they should be country-singin’, Church-goin’ cutie-pie’s. But a girl who lives in Florence, Italy proooobably shouldn’t be crowned an American Idol. That’s like Kelly Clarkson going ’round the world, winning every nation’s Idol willy nilly without actually living in that country. (Not like we actually expect Nicci Nix to win. Just sayin’.)

(Nicci comes in at 1:58)

At 1:42, the best line of the night: “I’m the next American Idol!” –Random dude in a crowd. “No he ain’t.” –Sly guy behind him.

Haeley Vaughn claims she is a “miracle child” because she survived her two-months-premature birth. (She also suffered the loss of her father). So she’s got a fairly classic Idol sob story. But she hardly needs it to win anyone over — she’s already extremely memorable because of her career ambition. She wants to succeed as a black pop-country artist. You know what? Off the top of our heads, we can’t think of any others. (By all means, tell us which notable black pop-country crossover artists we’re missing in the comments.) She sings “Last Name” by Carrie Underwood, and although we’d never advise singing a former Idol winner’s song (it invites unfavorable comparisons, fairly or not) she nails it. She’s off to Hollywood!

Best Guy of the Night: Mark “Jack Black” Labriolla, because he was the only man we saw tonight that got through to Hollywood that kept his shirt on.
Best Girl of the Night: Danelle “Crying Corporate Singer” Hayes, followed closely by Haeley “Pop Country Crossover” Vaughn.
Best Quote of the Night: Besides the one we quoted above? Simon was on his A-game of mean-spirited insults. A sampling:

“Uh, huh, huh.” —Making fun of contestant Mario Galvan’s nervous laugh.

“Go torture your ex.” —To single mom Kimberley.

“Kenny, you’re not, and you never will be.” —To Kenny Everett who foolishly believed he’s the “male Mary J. Blige.”

“Yeah, for a holiday.” —In response to Victoria, when she suggests Vegas for a contestant (horribly) attempting an Elvis song.

“I think we’ve got Paula back on the show.” —To a horrible, scatting singer during a bad-people montage. Ouch. That’s no way to woo your former co-judge onto X Factor, Simon.

It’s no secret that the audition episodes of the American Idol season are all about the misfits, oddballs, freaks and geeks we suffer through/gawk at while the judges pan for Idol gold. While these episodes lack the drama of the real competition, they often represent the best chance for us to catch one of those precious “spit takes” from the judges. We snagged our favorite moments from Boston’s auditions, as seen in last night’s kickoff of American Idol Season 9, proudly presented below. Just think, you’re seeing this from the contestants’ perspectives. In other words, these are the images that will play over and over in their memories for all of eternity — which is why they’re GIFs!

Kara can’t help but get her groove on when the night’s first singer, Janet McNamara, handed in a dismal version of “Pocket Full of Sunshine.” This, of course, is before Janet calls Kara “Paula.”

Derrick, the blonde hippie, stops to smell the flowers before his audition. This is Kara getting her first whiff of his singing ability.

Waitress Lisa Olivero might not have had a great singing voice, but that doesn’t mean the judges didn’t notice her other “talents”.

Even though Joshua Blaylock’s rendition of “God Bless The Broken Road” made Randy check his watch, the 28-year-old singer still managed to nab a golden ticket to Hollywood.

And then there was the cowboy who “sang” Johnny Cash’s “Ring of Fire”.

Kara and Victoria likey hunk Luke Shaffer. They’re just about ready to jump over the judges’ table to tackle him.

That’s all from the season premiere. We’ll be back tomorrow with more “Idol On Infinte Loop”: the way we’ve always wanted to watch it.

Paula’s gone. Ellen has not yet arrived. And so we begin American Idol‘s crucial Season 9 feeling a little aimless — heck, make that flat-out bewildered, now that we also have to contend with Simon’s impending exit. But if this show’s about to undergo a revolution, then we might as well start in Boston, right? Season 9 kicked off with two days in Beantown, where the judges (and guest Victoria “Posh Spice” Beckham) began the search for fresh meat our nation’s next superstar. And just maybe, sneak in time for constant, endless soundbytes that will haunt us all season.

The guest
In a lovely moment with Victoria Beckham, Kara DioGuardi said, “I like you. You’ve got a nice energy.” And by that she must’ve meant low energy, because we kept forgetting Posh was even there. She managed to chime in every third contestant or so — not to talk about their audition performance, mind you, but he had plenty to say about their “look.”

The first godawful audition of the season
Janet McNamara suggested that she would be more than qualified to make it through to Hollywood because she’s been practicing by playing the American Idol karaoke video game. Sadly, her painful rendition of Natasha Bedingfield’s “Pocketful Of Sunshine” failed to bring the girl power. Simon offered his first zinger of the year — he looked over his shoulder and quipped, “Does this window open?” How are we supposed to carry on without him, exactly?

The first decent audition of the season
Hello, Maddy Curtis. We learned that this 16-year-old is one of 12 siblings, and a few of her brothers have Down Syndrome. Incidentally, Maddy crooned Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” and received a golden ticket—but not before Simon snickered, “Amazingly, for 16 you’re not annoying.” Perhaps this is already obvious: Simon will not be mellowing in his final season.

The tearjerkers
First up is Katie Stevens, also 16, from Middlebury, Connecticut. Katie relayed that she wants her grandmother—who’s suffering from Alzheimer’s disease—to hear her sing (on TV, we guess?) while she still remembers who Katie is. But grab another Kleenex, because next we’re introduced to Justin Williams, 27, who found out seven years ago that he had cancer. (He’s now cancer-free.) Unmentioned was the fact that Williams made it to Hollywood last year—maybe this will be his year. Both singers made it through, and you can bet this won’t be the last time we hear about each of their personal plights.

The trainwrecks
What is the Idol audition process without a spate of OTT freakshows? Derek Hilton is a hippie dippy guy who cites Chris Brown and the Eagles (?!?) as his inspiration. His strangely nasal, all-over-the-place performance of Elton John’s “Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word” was met with four resounding no’s. Equally dire: seventeen-year-old Pat Ford, who gyrated through Britney’s “Womanizer”; Norberto Guerrero, who Simon said looked like “a three-year-old girl dressed like La Toya Jackson”; and anime nut Mary Doyle, who screamed through Janis Joplin’s “Piece Of My Heart” and said she wants to be big in Japan. Hey, Naomi Campbell had a hit album in Japan, so dare to dream, Mary!

Kara bonded with…
Amadeo DeRocco, who DioGuardi referred to as “my fellow pisan.” There was indeed a soul man inside the barrel-chested 28-year-old, who belted out an impressive take on Muddy Waters’ “(I’m Your) Hoochie Coochie Man.”

Kara sparred with…
The Clark-Kent-meets-Ashton-Kutcher-looking Andrew Fenlon, whose constant complaints that he, personally, was kept waiting all day made us want to reach through the screen and jam his glasses down his throat (even before he got in to audition for the judges). That all changed, however, when he started pissing Kara off—because then we were kind of rooting for him. “I just don’t like waiting around,” dour Andrew snapped at the four judges. “I am angry at you now, who I don’t like at all,” DioGuardi told him. Needless to say, he didn’t make it through. Kara added, “You need a spanking!” Suddenly it’s the first time we see Andrew smile.

The words that stuck in our heads
The sight of dejected contestants talking back to the judges has long since lost any real shock value. But when one walked off the set saying “see you next year,” Simon responded with “Well, that’s something to look forward to.” Except… we don’t.

The rest of the best in Boston
All in all, 50 aspiring Idols made it through to Hollywood during the two-day Boston auditions, including guitar strummers Benjamin Bright and Luke Shaffer, the “sultry” (by Kara’s reckoning) Ashley Rodriguez, drummer/singer Tyler Grady and nice guy Joshua Blaylock, who Randy said he can see “in a new group that sings Spandau Ballet-type music.”

Well, we know this much is true—Idol is back tonight with the Atlanta auditions. Check back Thursday morning for our recap!

Here they are: thousands upon thousands of American Idol hopefuls who’ve braved the elements, the long lines, the exhaustion, and the boredom for their chance to live out their fantasy: to be named the next American Idol. Or, at the very least, to be martyred as one of the season’s zaniest auditioners and dismissed with a Cowell eye roll.

Of course, we concede we’re watching this all from the comfort of our sofa, and we haven’t braved an element since we briefly removed our Snuggie to go into the kitchen for more ice cream. But we’ll be sitting in judgment of these people just like you. So take a peek at who’s been dreaming of becoming the next Kelly, Kris, Carrie, or Ruben. Though it’s worth noting that, to our recollection, no eventual Idol winner or runner up ever had to hold up a wacky poster, wear a kooky “look at me” shirt, or try any other gimmick to draw our attention.

After flying Victoria Beckham to Boston so she could once again fill American Idol‘s fourth judge’s chair for the second round of auditions there, the show’s producers have decided to switch things up for Round Two in Atlanta: Frequent Idol cover-ee Mary J. Blige will join Simon Cowell, Randy Jackson, and Kara DioGuardi and take over Paula Abdul’s spot. (And lest you think that reports of Beckham being “icy and wooden” during judging led to her getting the heave-ho, a mole inside the show has said that Posh was actually “warm with the contestants.” Good old People, always allowing the celebrity-industrial complex to stay on-message!) [People]

Victoria “Posh Spice” Beckham sat in the American Idol judges’ chair formerly occupied by the departed Paula Abdul during last week’s second round of auditions in Denver, and anonymous meanies had their knives out: “It didn’t go too well,” a tipster told Radar. “She tried to hard to be ‘nice,’ but came off as icy and wooden.” And this is different from her Posh Spice persona how? I mean, come on. It’s not like we’re talking about one of the outgoing Spice Girls here! Tell me that Geri Haliwell was “icy” and I’d be surprised.


Apparently the three remaining judges—Simon Cowell, Randy Jackson, and Kara DioGuardi—will be judging hopefuls in Boston this week. No word on which female pop star will help them out with judging yet, but we can all hope that someone decided to give Melanie C a call.


EXCLUSIVE: Posh Spice Judged Harshly In American Idol Debut [Radar]