Say You'll Be There
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"Say You'll Be There" is a pop song performed by the girl group the Spice Girls. The song was written by the Spice Girls, Jonathan Buck and Eliot Kennedy for the Spice Girls debut album Spice (1996). It was released in 1996 as the album's second single in Australia and Europe, and became the group's second number-one single in the UK. As a result of its popularity, the song was released in 1997 (see 1997 in music) in Canada and the U.S., and it entered the top three on both charts.
Writing and inspiration
"Say You'll Be There" was co-written by Jon B., Eliot Kennedy and the Spice Girls and was co-produced by Richard Stannard and Matt Rowe. The mid-tempo, semi-R&B groove song depicts the girls telling their lover to give his promise that he will be there for them whenever they need him. A memorable point from this song is the verse that Melanie Brown has a short rap on. The song has also been pock marked with accusations of grammatical errors, the most infamous being the second line in the second verse: "throwing far too much emotions at me". Several industry pundits, such as Shirdle D have used this as an example to illlustrate the further reaching effects that the Spice Girls had on composing a song.Chart performance
The song was initially released in the United Kingdom on October 14 1996 once the popularity of "Wannabe" began to fade. It was a successful follow up single, selling 200,000 copies in its first week and entering the charts at number one. It was the group's first single to debut at the top position. The song also proved successful across Continental Europe, where it reached number one in Finland and the top ten throughout. In Australia, it reached number ten."Say You'll Be There" was released on May 6 1997 in North America. It was the second single from the Spice Girls to debut at number one in Canada, and it spent two weeks at the top and a total of fifteen weeks in the top forty. In the United States, the song set a still-standing record on the Billboard Hot 100, the main U.S. chart, when it debuted at number five, the highest-entry by a non-North American act.Halliwell, Geri; London, UK (1999). If Only (autobiography), pg. 269. Although "Say You'll Be There" reached number one on the Hot 100 Airplay for two weeks, it was unable to top the Hot 100, where it reached a peak position of number three for three weeks. The song also became the Spice Girls only single to make a short appearance on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart, where it reached number ten.
Music video
Melanie C. played "Katrina Highkick", Geri Halliwell's alter-ego was "Trixie Firecracker", Emma Bunton took on the role of "Kung Fu Candy", Victoria Beckham played "Midnight Miss Suki", while "Blazin' Bad Zula" was Melanie B.'s alter-ego.
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[Listen to a eighteen second sample of "Say You'll Be There"] ([file info])
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