"Step to Me" is a song by the British pop group the

Spice Girls The Spice Girls are a British girl group formed in 1994, consisting of Melanie Brown, also known as Mel B ("Scary Spice"); Melanie Chisholm, or Melanie C ("Sporty Spice"); Emma Bunton ("Baby Spice"); Geri Halliwell ("Ginger Spice"); and Vict ...

. It was written by the group members with Eliot Kennedy and produced by

Absolute Absolute may refer to: Companies * Absolute Entertainment, a video game publisher * Absolute Radio, (formerly Virgin Radio), independent national radio station in the UK * Absolute Software Corporation, specializes in security and data risk manage ...

. This song was included on the Japanese edition of the Spice Girls' second album, '' Spiceworld''.

Background

The song was originally written for the group's debut album ''

Spice A spice is a seed, fruit, root, bark, or other plant substance primarily used for flavoring or coloring food. Spices are distinguished from herbs, which are the leaves, flowers, or stems of plants used for flavoring or as a garnish. Spices a ...

'' but did not make the final cut. In 1997,

Pepsi Pepsi is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by PepsiCo. Originally created and developed in 1893 by Caleb Bradham and introduced as Brad's Drink, it was renamed as Pepsi-Cola in 1898, and then shortened to Pepsi in 1961. History Pepsi was ...

launched a £1 million 'generation next' TV campaign in the United Kingdom—running alongside sales promotion activities, notably one where by consumers collected twenty pink ring pull tabs from promotional Pepsi cans, sent them off and received the free Spice Girls CD single "Step to Me"—which was not available in

High Street High Street is a common street name for the primary business street of a city, town, or village, especially in the United Kingdom and Commonwealth. It implies that it is the focal point for business, especially shopping. It is also a metonym fo ...

retailers. Collectors were also entered into a free prize draw to see the Spice Girls play their first live concert in Turkey who Pepsi were sponsoring. The advertising and the promotion were integral to Pepsi's marketing strategy, television and press ads and the ''

Pepsi Chart Show The Pepsi Chart (previously known as "The Pepsi Network Chart Show") was a networked Sunday afternoon Top 40 countdown on UK radio that started life on 1 August 1993 with Neil 'Doctor' Fox hosting the show live from the Capital Radio studios ...

'' (screened on Channel 5) all spelt out that the only way to listen to the single was to buy Pepsi. Producing 92 million promotional packs of the cola, 600,000 CDs were redeemed with the promotion."DIRECT: MARKETING CHALLENGE - How the band led the brand to expand Pepsi's market share"
Campaign. 7 November 1997. Retrieved on 10 February 2017.Morgan, Nigel; Pritchard, Annette (2000). Advertising in Tourism and Leisure.

Butterworth-Heinemann Butterworth–Heinemann is a British publishing company specialised in professional information and learning materials for higher education and professional training, in printed and electronic forms. It was formed in 1990 by the merger of Hein ...

. p. 207. With a redemption rate of nearly 10 percent, Pepsi recorded its biggest-ever take up on the promotion and saw its market share rise from 15.1% on 12 July to 19.6% on 9 August, its highest for several years.Sinclair, David (2004). Wannabe: How the Spice Girls Reinvented Pop Fame.

Omnibus Press Omnibus Press is a publisher of music-related books. It publishes around 30 new titles a year to add to a backlist of over 250 titles currently in print. History Omnibus Press was launched in 1972 as a general non-fiction publisher to complem ...

. p. 75. The version on the Japanese edition of '' Spiceworld'' includes a slightly different version than the 7" Mix;

Mel B Melanie Janine Brown (born 29 May 1975), commonly known as Melanie B or Mel B, is an English singer, songwriter, and television personality. She rose to fame in the 1990s as a member of the girl group Spice Girls, in which she was nicknamed Sc ...

's rap uses an alternative take and more bass is added.

''Spiceworld25'' release

On 27 September 2022, it was announced that '' Spiceworld'' would be reissued as an expanded ''Spiceworld25'', in celebration of the album's twenty-fifth anniversary. On the same day as the announcement, "Step to Me" was released on all digital platforms for the first time. The track is featured on the tracklist to the ''Spiceworld25'' album release, due for 4 November 2022.

Format and track listing

* CD Single #"Step to Me" – 4:05 #"Step to Me" – 7:22 #"Step to Me" – 6:33 #"Step to Me" – 5:41

Live performances

The group performed the song as part of the Girl Power! Live in Istanbul Setlist, as well as during the American leg of the

Spiceworld Tour The Spiceworld Tour (also known as Spice Girls in Concert and the Girl Power Tour '98) was the debut concert tour by British girl group the Spice Girls. It was launched in support of their second studio album '' Spiceworld'' (1997). The sell-out ...

, and the

Christmas in Spiceworld Christmas in Spiceworld Tour was the second concert tour by British girl group the Spice Girls. The eight-show tour was launched following "solo projects, marriages, motherhood and another round of slagging in the press", as a reunion for the gi ...

Tour. After

Geri Halliwell Geraldine Estelle Horner (née Halliwell; born 6 August 1972) is an English singer, songwriter, author, and actress. She rose to prominence in the 1990s as Ginger Spice, a member of the girl group the Spice Girls. With over 100 million records ...

left the group, her solo part was taken over by Mel B for the latter tours. The most notable live performance of the song was on the television programme ''

TFI Friday ''TFI Friday'' is an entertainment show that was broadcast on Channel 4 television in the United Kingdom. It was produced by Ginger Productions, written by Danny Baker, and hosted by Chris Evans, for the first five series. The sixth series ...

'' on 1 May 1998, just three weeks before Halliwell's departure from the group.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Step To Me 1996 songs Songs written by Eliot Kennedy Songs written by Emma Bunton Songs written by Geri Halliwell Songs written by Mel B Songs written by Melanie C Songs written by Victoria Beckham Song recordings produced by Absolute (production team) Spice Girls songs PepsiCo advertising campaigns

Background

''Spiceworld25'' release

Format and track listing

Live performances

See also

References