Headlines (Friendship Never Ends)

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For other songs, see Headlines (disambiguation).

"Headlines (Friendship Never Ends)"
Single by Spice Girls
from the album Greatest Hits
Released5 November 2007 (2007-11-05)
RecordedJuly 2007
GenrePop
Length3:31
LabelVirgin
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
  • Matt Rowe
  • Richard Stannard
Spice Girls singles chronology
"Holler"/"Let Love Lead the Way"
(2000) 		"Headlines (Friendship Never Ends)"
(2007)
Children in Need singles chronology
"Downtown"
(2006) 		"Headlines (Friendship Never Ends)"
(2007) 		"Do Ya/Stay with Me"
(2008)
Music video
"Headlines" on
YouTube

"Headlines (Friendship Never Ends)" is a song by English girl group the Spice Girls for their greatest hits album Greatest Hits (2007). It was written by the Spice Girls, Richard Stannard and Matt Rowe, whilst produced by the latter two. It was released as the only single from the album on 5 November 2007 by Virgin Records. The song was the first commercial single release to feature the group's original lineup since Geri Halliwell left in 1998. It was also the official Children in Need single of 2007. It is their last studio single to date.

"Headlines (Friendship Never Ends)" is a

UK Singles Chart
, becoming the group's first single not to peak inside the top ten. Nevertheless, the single managed to reach number three on the UK Physical Singles Chart. It reached the top five in Italy, Spain and Sweden.

An accompanying music video for "Headlines (Friendship Never Ends)" was directed by Anthony Mandler at Pinewood Studios and premiered in early November 2007. The video depicts the girls in a stately room, with plum-coloured walls and antique furniture, wearing gowns designed by Roberto Cavalli. "Headlines (Friendship Never Ends)" was performed by the group at the 2007 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show and Children in Need 2007, as well as on their reunion tour, The Return of the Spice Girls Tour (2007–2008).

Background

"It feels like taking a little bit of the past. You feel that flavor but then it's moving on. The other girls chipped in later, adding lyrics. It's magical. Before we'd even got the final yes from everyone, we kind of started putting words down".

—Geri Halliwell talking about the song's development.[1]

The plan of a Spice Girls' reunion was first confirmed by

worldwide concert tour, starting in Vancouver on 2 December 2007.[5] "I want to be a Spice Girl again. We are like sisters and we have our arguments, but by the end of the day we get back together", said Emma Bunton, while Melanie Chisholm commented that the tour "will be a proper good farewell to our fans".[6]

Initially, singer George Michael agreed to write a comeback song for them, but took longer than expected, prompting Halliwell and Bunton to write another one instead.[7] The group's comeback single, "Headlines (Friendship Never Ends)", was announced as the official Children in Need charity single for 2007,[8] and released on radio on 23 October,[9] whilst released digitally on 5 November and commercially on 19 November 2007.[10][11] Geri Halliwell described the single as a "big love song" and "a Spice Girl classic".[11] Chisholm, in her 2008 appearance on Never Mind the Buzzcocks, commented that she thought the song was not good at all, and that at least she was against the release of any new material when the record company was trying to market the Greatest Hits release.[12] She would later say, "'Headlines' grew on me, it really came in to its own when we toured it, and it really felt lovely on stage".[13]

Composition

"Headlines (Friendship Never Ends)"
A sample of the song's chourus, with the group singing it together.
Problems playing this file? See media help.

"Headlines (Friendship Never Ends)" was written by the Spice Girls, along with

beats per minute.[14][15] Lyrically, it talks about the group reuniting, mainly discussing their friendship throughout two decades together.[16] They sing: "Let's make the headlines/loud and true/I wanna tell the world I'm giving it all to you/Let's make the headlines/loud and clear/the best things only happen when you are near".[9] The song is built around an acoustic guitar, syncopated rhythms, and lilting croon-styled vocals.[17] The subtitle references a line from their breakthrough hit, "Wannabe
".

According to Spence D. from

middle 8".[18]

Reception

Critical response

the Return of the Spice Girls
tour

"Headlines (Friendship Never Ends)" has received generally mixed reviews from

The Daily Collegian, "for the naysayers, who say the Spice Girls time has passed, two new tunes, "Headlines (Friendship Never Ends)" and "Voodoo" may grab your attention".[20] Nick Levine from Digital Spy commented in his positive review, "'Headlines' won't be the first tune you skip to on the Spice Girls' Greatest Hits album – or, in all honesty, the tenth – but, as its pretty, gently melodic chorus surges gracefully, the feeling that comes over you is unmistakable. Nostalgia's a funny old thing, isn't it?"[18]

NME gave it a mixed review, and said "new ballad "Headlines" is functional but lacks a certain, ahem, zig-a-zig aaaaaaargh."[21] Stephen Thomas Erlewine from AllMusic gave it a mixed review, commenting that, along with "Voodoo", it was "forgettable" and a "sleepy" song. The reviewer also said that the song "isn't as self-referential or clever as its title suggests".[16] However, Rosie Swash from The Guardian provided a negative review, stating, "the Spice Girls have never been the most sincere bunch of women and between an entirely forgettable melody and lyrics that go round in circles of crap about reaching into your soul and the time being now or never", completing that the biggest sound the song made was "the echo of total hollowness".[22]

Commercial performance

"Headlines (Friendship Never Ends)" was first released in the United Kingdom. The song debuted at number 20 on 17 November 2007 on the

UK Singles Chart, based on digital downloads.[23] Two weeks later, the song climbed to its peak position of number 11, becoming the group's first single to miss the top two.[24][25] Nevertheless, the single managed to reach number three on the UK Physical Singles Chart.[26] The song debuted and peaked at number 90 on the US Billboard Hot 100, staying on the charts only for the week of 24 November 2007.[27] "Headlines (Friendship Never Ends)" debuted at number 42 on the Canadian Hot 100, spending one week on the chart.[28]

The song debuted at number 67 on the

Swedish Singles Chart, the Spice Girls' highest-charting single since 1998's "Goodbye". The song stayed on the charts for five weeks.[31] The song was also successful in Italy and Spain, peaking at number two in both countries.[32][33]

Music video

On 15 October 2007 episode of

Iver Heath, England, on 19 October 2007, and was directed by Anthony Mandler. Mel B commented, "We had such a laugh. It was great to be together again",[34] and Victoria Beckham noted, "What's really wonderful is just being able to hang out with the girls again like this".[35] A world exclusive screening of the video, which launched the run-up to the Children in Need night, aired on BBC One on 2 November 2007.[36]

The video opens on a stately room, with plum-coloured walls and antique furniture. Bunton opens a large, black door and is followed by Halliwell, Beckham, Mel B and Chisholm. The girls are dressed in beautiful gowns throughout the video, presumably designed by Roberto Cavalli, who designed the costumes for their then-upcoming tour. Vignettes of the girls singing together and separately are sewn together to create a collage. Fading in and out, the music video ends with the girls combined although they are at different places.

Live performances

The Spice Girls performing "Headlines (Friendship Never Ends)" during The Return of the Spice Girls Tour

In November 2007, the group performed together for the first time in nearly a decade at the 2007

lyp-synching the song aired on 17 November 2007 for the Children in Need 2007 marathon.[36] For this performance the singers sang the song wearing 1930s long gowns, with Halliwell in a fuchsia satin number and Chisholm dressed in black.[38]

"Headlines (Friendship Never Ends)" was also performed on their reunion tour, titled The Return of the Spice Girls Tour (2007–2008). Kitty Empire from The Observer reviewed the performance negatively, saying the song was "so unworthy of headlines that not even their fans have bought it".[39] David Sinclair, whilst writing for The Sunday Times, also commented that "the pace flagged briefly with Headlines (Friendship Never Ends), the rather drab new song, which was accompanied by excerpts from its ill-judged promotional video".[40] In 2019, Bunton confirmed to The Guardian that they would not perform the song on the Spice World – 2019 Tour.[41]

Track listings

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Greatest Hits.[42]

Management

  • Published by
    Sony/ATV Music Publishing
    /Copyright Control/Peer Music (UK) Ltd.

Personnel

Charts

Chart performance for "Headlines (Friendship Never Ends)"
Chart (2007–2008) Peak
position
Argentina (
CAPIF)[43]
 16
Australia (ARIA)[44] 74
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[29] 67
Belgium (Ultratip Bubbling Under Flanders)[45] 11
Belgium (Ultratip Bubbling Under Wallonia)[46] 19
Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[28] 42
Czech Republic (Rádio – Top 100)[47] 7
Germany (Official German Charts)[48] 46
Ireland (IRMA)[49] 29
Italy (FIMI)[32] 2
Netherlands (
Tipparade)[50]
 8
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[30] 52
Romania (
Romanian Top 100)[51]
 64
Scotland (OCC)[52]
 7
Slovakia (Rádio Top 100)[53] 56
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[33] 2
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[31] 3
UK Singles (OCC)[25]
 11
US Billboard Hot 100[54] 90

Release history

Release dates and formats for "Headlines (Friendship Never Ends)"
Region Date Format Label Ref.
United States 5 November 2007 Digital download Virgin [55]
Germany 9 November 2007 CD single EMI [56]
United Kingdom 19 November 2007 Virgin [57]

References

  1. ^ Akers, Shelley (6 October 2007). "Spice Girls Ready to Make 'Headlines' With New Single". People.
  2. ^ a b "Spice Girls Plan Greatest Hits". Contactmusic.com. 5 June 2005. Archived from the original on 21 April 2015. Retrieved 21 April 2015.
  3. ^ Finn, Natalie (8 June 2007). "A Well Seasoned Rumour". E! News. Archived from the original on 12 June 2008.
  4. London Evening Standard
    . 28 June 2007.
  5. ^ "Spice Girls". TheSpiceGirls.com. Archived from the original on 28 June 2007. Retrieved 28 June 2007.
  6. ^ Norman, Pete (28 June 2007). "The Spice Girls Reunite for World Tour". People.
  7. ^ "Tabloid Hell: Spice Girls vs George Michael". NME. 14 November 2007.
  8. ^ "Girls' new single adds Spice to Children in Need" (Press release). BBC. 8 October 2007.
  9. ^ a b Nudd, Tim (23 October 2007). "Spice Girls' New Single Debuts on U.K. Radio". People.
  10. ^ "Headlines (Friendship Never Ends) – Spice Girls". iTunes Store (UK). 5 November 2007. Retrieved 24 April 2015.
  11. ^ a b "Spice Girls to release new single". BBC. 5 October 2007.
  12. ^ Levine, Nick (16 November 2008). "Mel C: Spicecomeback single was poor". Digital Spy.
  13. ^ "Melanie C diz que não gostou do single Voodoo das Spice Girls". Brasil Diário (in Portuguese). 21 June 2014. Archived from the original on 14 August 2017.
  14. ^ "Headlines (Friendship Never Ends)". Sheet Music Plus. Retrieved 24 April 2015.
  15. ISSN 0006-2510
    .
  16. ^ a b Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Greatest Hits – Spice Girls". AllMusic. Retrieved 7 April 2013.
  17. ^ a b D., Spence (15 November 2007). "Spice Girls – Greatest Hits Review". IGN.
  18. ^ a b Nevine, Nick (13 November 2007). "Spice Girls: 'Headlines (Friendship Never Ends)'". Digital Spy.
  19. ^ Kraines, Talia (12 November 2007). "Review of Spice Girls – Greatest Hits". BBC Music.
  20. The Daily Collegian
    . 7 December 2007.
  21. ^ "NME Album Reviews – Spice Girls". NME. 9 November 2007.
  22. ^ Swash, Rosie (24 October 2007). "Spice Girls' new single Headlines is yesterday's news". The Guardian.
  23. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. 11 November 2007.
  24. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. 25 November 2007.
  25. ^ a b "Spice Girls: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 29 July 2019.
  26. ^ "Official Physical Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. 25 November 2007.
  27. ^ Lipshutz, Jason (6 March 2015). "Spice Girls' Top 8 Biggest Billboard Hits". Billboard.
  28. ^ a b "Spice Girls Chart History (Canadian Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 6 November 2018.
  29. ^ a b "Spice Girls – Headlines (Friendship Never Ends)" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 29 July 2019.
  30. ^ a b "Spice Girls – Headlines (Friendship Never Ends)" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 29 July 2019.
  31. ^ a b "Spice Girls – Headlines (Friendship Never Ends)". Singles Top 100. Retrieved 29 July 2019.
  32. ^ a b "Spice Girls – Headlines (Friendship Never Ends)". Top Digital Download. Retrieved 29 July 2019.
  33. ^
    Canciones Top 50
    . Retrieved 29 July 2019.
  34. ^ Brown, Melanie (24 October 2007). "Mel B talks about the new video". Archived from the original on 21 September 2016.
  35. ^ "Headlines Video Shoot a Great Success". TheSpiceGirls.com. 22 October 2007. Archived from the original on 5 February 2016.
  36. ^ a b "Spice Girls support Pudsey with new single". BBC. Archived from the original on 11 October 2007. Retrieved 9 October 2007.
  37. ^ Elsworth, Catherine (17 November 2007). "Spice Girls in Hollywood gig sneak preview". The Daily Telegraph.
  38. ^ Elsworth, Catherine (17 November 2007). "Spice Girls wow Victoria's Secret show". The Daily Telegraph.
  39. ^ Empire, Kitty (23 December 2007). "Spice Girls". The Observer.
  40. ^ Sinclair, David (4 December 2007). "Spice Girls review: 'they remain consummate entertainers'". The Sunday Times. Archived from the original on 30 May 2010.
  41. ^ Gregg, Michael (23 March 2019). "Emma Bunton: 'We made Victoria clean the bathroom!'". The Guardian.
  42. ^ Greatest Hits (liner notes). Spice Girls. Virgin Records. 2007. 50999 508382-2-6.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  43. ^ "Argentina Top 20". Retrieved 1 November 2020.
  44. Pandora Archive
    .
  45. Ultratip
    . Retrieved 29 July 2019.
  46. Ultratip
    . Retrieved 29 July 2019.
  47. ^ "ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Change the chart to CZ – RADIO – TOP 100 and insert 200747 into search. Retrieved 29 July 2019.
  48. ^ "Spice Girls – Headlines (Friendship Never Ends)" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 29 July 2019.
  49. ^ "Irish-charts.com – Discography Spice Girls". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 29 July 2019.
  50. ^ "Spice Girls – Headlines (Friendship Never Ends)" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 29 July 2019.
  51. Romanian Top 100. Archived from the original
    on 21 December 2007. Retrieved 29 July 2019.
  52. ^ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 24 April 2015.
  53. ^ "ČNS IFPI" (in Slovak). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiálna. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: insert 200801 into search. Retrieved 29 July 2019.
  54. ^ "Spice Girls Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 29 July 2019.
  55. ^ "Headlines". Amazon.
  56. ^ "Headlines". Amazon Germany.
  57. ^ "Headlines". Amazon UK.

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