They released their debut single, " Wannabe", in 1996, which reached number one on the charts of 37 countries. After leaving Heart, the Spice Girls hired Simon Fuller as their manager and signed with Virgin Records. The Spice Girls were formed by Heart Management, who held auditions to create a girl group to compete with the British boy bands popular at the time. They led the teen pop resurgence of the 1990s, were a major part of the Cool Britannia era, and became pop culture icons of the decade. With their " girl power" mantra, they redefined the girl-group concept by targeting a young female fanbase.
The Spice Girls are an English girl group formed in 1994, consisting of Melanie Brown ("Scary Spice") Melanie Chisholm ("Sporty Spice") Emma Bunton ("Baby Spice") Geri Halliwell ("Ginger Spice") and Victoria Beckham ("Posh Spice").