"Say You'll Be There" | ||||
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Single by Spice Girls | ||||
from the album Spice | ||||
B-side | "Take Me Home" | |||
Released | 26 September 1996 | |||
Studio | Olympic (London) | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 3:56 | |||
Label | Virgin | |||
Songwriter(s) |
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Producer(s) | Absolute | |||
Spice Girls singles chronology | ||||
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Music video | ||||
"Say You'll Be There" on YouTube |
"Say You'll Be There" is a song recorded by the English girl group Spice Girls for their debut studio album Spice (1996). The Spice Girls co-wrote the song with Eliot Kennedy after the group left Heart Management in 1995. Later, Jonathan Buck also received a songwriting credit. Produced by production duo Absolute, the song incorporates a mix of dance-pop and R&B influences. It also includes a harmonica solo played by Judd Lander. Once considered by the group's record label Virgin Records to be the group's debut single, it was released as the second single from Spice on 26 September 1996.
The lyrics provide a female-first perspective on relationships. The song received mixed reviews from music critics, many of whom praised it for its catchiness, while others were critical of its production. It was a commercial success worldwide, reaching the top ten in most of the charts that it entered. The song became the Spice Girls' second number-one in the United Kingdom. In the United States, it debuted at number five on the Billboard Hot 100, setting, at the time, a record for the highest entry by a British act on the chart; it later peaked at number three. It was certified double platinum by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) in the United Kingdom, platinum in New Zealand, and was further certified gold in five other countries.
The music video was inspired by the films Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! (1965) and Pulp Fiction (1994), and features the group as a band of female techno-warriors who use martial arts and high-tech ninja-influenced weapons to capture a hapless male. It includes symbols of male disempowerment, and serves as an example of solidarity and the group's bonding. It received positive reactions and was nominated for numerous awards including the 1996 Smash Hits Poll Winners Party, the 1997 MTV Video Music Awards, and the 1997 Brit Awards.