2 Become 1
Encyclopedia : 2 : 2B : 2BE : 2 Become 1
| "2 Become 1" | ||
|---|---|---|
| ||
| Single by the Spice Girls | ||
| From the album Spice | ||
| Single Released | 1996/1997 | |
| Single Format | CD Single | |
| Genre | Pop | |
| Song Length | 4:00 | |
| Record Label | Virgin Records | |
| Writers | Richard Stannard Matt Rowe Spice Girls | |
| Producers | Richard Stannard Matt Rowe | |
| Video Director | Big TV! | |
| Certification | Platinum | |
| Chart Positions | #1 (UK) #1 (CAN) #4 (USA) #2 (AUS) | |
| Spice Girls single chronology | ||
| "Say You'll Be There" 1996 | "2 Become 1" 1996 | "Who Do You Think You Are"/"Mama" 1997 |
"2 Become 1" is a pop song performed by the Spice Girls. It was the third single released from their debut album Spice (1996/1997).
Song information
"2 Become 1" was co-written by the Spice Girls along with partners Richard Stannard and Matt Rowe. Stannard and Rowe co-produced the track. The slow ballad focuses upon how the bonding of two lovers can become so strong that they practically become one entity, through the act of sex. It was their first ballad release as a single and was very different from their previous material, which was more up-tempo and dance-based. The song is also partly intended as a promotion of safe sex.There are two different versions of "2 Become 1": the album version, on which Geri Halliwell sings the second line of the second verse, and the single version, on which Victoria Adams sings the same line in the second verse. The lyrics are also different in both versions. The lyrics were changed, because the girls were receiving a large gay fan base and didn't want to alienate them by the original lyrics ('boys and girls go good together'). It was changed to 'love will bring us back together'. Victoria sings on the second version, because Geri had trouble hitting the notes on the original anyway. On stage they performed the 'Posh Version', both before and after Ginger left the band. There are live cover versions by Emma Bunton in her solo career as well.
The group also recorded a Spanish version of the song. The title was simply, "2 Become 1 – Spanish Version", although the title is loosely translated in one line of the song: "Seremos uno los dos". The song was released in a special re-edition of Spice in Spain and was popular with the Spice Girls' Spanish-speaking fans. Even in the Spanish version, the line "Wanna make love to ya baby", remained in English. The girls sing with an accent from Spain, using the traditional lisp on the letters C and Z. This is the only song the Spice Girls recorded in Spanish, aside from Halliwell's Spanish verse in the song, "If U Can't Dance".
Chart performance
Unsurprisingly, the single became their third chart-topper in Britain, debuting at the top and gave the girls their first Christmas number one single there. It went on to sell 1.07 million copies in Britain, giving the Spice Girls their second and final million-selling U.K. single.In Canada, the single went to the top of the charts for three weeks: the same run as they achieved in Britain. It failed to top the charts in Australia, however, where it peaked at number two, but was still extremely popular.
In America, the song was incredibly popular, topping both the Hot 100 Airplay and Hot 100 Singles Sales, but failing to top the Billboard Hot 100, stalling at number four (one place lower than "Say You'll Be There"). Nevertheless, it became the second-highest debut on the Hot 100 by an international act, entering the charts at number six. The record is held by the "Say You'll Be There", which debuted at number five. Due to its long lasting popularity, the release of "Who Do You Think You Are" was cancelled for North America.
Music video
The video features the five girls in Times Square in New York City with fast moving cars appearing around multi-coloured lights, appearing in various places around the city, either alone, with one other member, or as a quintet. It is pretty low-key, compared to their previous other two videos, with the girls softly singing and no dancing or other eye-catching actions. The video is intercut with scenes of lovers experiencing moments of togetherness and closes with a deer wandering the streets, such a scene, according to Geri Halliwell's 1999 autobiography gave them a running gag all throughout the shoot- "Whenever anyone made a mistake it was, 'Oh deer'". However, sometimes the closing scene would not be shown on television, this being due to the song fading out to an instrumental which lasts for forty seconds.
Music charts
| Chart | Position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 4 |
| Canadian Singles Chart | 1 |
| Autralian Singles Chart | 2 |
| U.K. Singles Chart | 1 (3 Weeks) |
| Irish Singles Chart | 1 |
| French Singles Chart | 4 |
| German Singles Chart | 13 |
| Australian Singles Chart | 2 |
| Swiss Singles Chart | 10 |
| Swedish Singles Chart | 7 |
| Norwegian Singles Chart | 12 |
| Finnish Singles Chart | 9 |
UK Top 200 Chart Run:
1-1-1-6-11-18-18-17-19-24-27-30-33-44-31-27-34-48-61-76-54-56-63-75-86-104-102-126-190-182-OUT-197
US Top 50 Chart Run:
6-5-5-4-5-7-8-8-10-11-13-15-23-26-28-30-33-39-45-45-46-46-44-49
| Spice Girls |
|---|
| Members |
| Victoria Beckham | Melanie Brown | Emma Bunton | Melanie Chisholm | Geri Halliwell |
| Management |
| Simon Fuller (1995-1997) | 19 Entertainment (1995-1997) |
| Studio albums |
| Spice (1996) | Spiceworld (1997) | Forever (2000) |
| Singles |
| "Wannabe" | "Say You'll Be There" | "2 Become 1" | "Who Do You Think You Are" / "Mama" | "Spice Up Your Life" | "Too Much"| "Stop" | "Viva Forever" | "Goodbye" | "Holler" / "Let Love Lead The Way" |
| Related articles |
| Discography | Awards | Library | Merchandise Spiceworld The Movie | Spiceworld Tour | Girl Power! Live In Istanbul | Girl Power | Virgin Records |
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