"Goodbye" was written by the Spice Girls, Richard Stannard and Matt Rowe, while it was produced by the latter two. The song became the group's first song without the vocals of Geri Halliwell. It was released by Virgin Records on 11 December 1998 as a Christmas single, along with the B-side, "Christmas Wrapping". The song was composed by Richard Stannard and Matt Rowe along with the remaining Spice Girls.
"Goodbye" was a commercial success, peaking at number one on the UK Singles Chart, and making the Spice Girls the first act to have three consecutive Christmas number-one singles since The Beatles.
"Goodbye" was originally written by Emma Bunton, Geri Halliwell, Matt Rowe and Richard Stannard intending it to be on Spiceworld. However, due to time constraints it was not recorded by the Spice Girls at the time. During the American leg of the Spiceworld Tour in July 1998, after the departure of Halliwell, Stannard and Rowe flew to Nashville, Tennessee to meet the group and rewrite the song. The group put input on the song and recorded it. In the Spice Girls' third autobiography, "Forever Spice", Melanie C said "Goodbye" was originally about a relationship ending, but now it's about Geri and it's really sad.
"Goodbye" was released in a two-CD format (a standard single and a maxi single). The typical track listing internationally followed the UK track listing. In the U.S., the single was released as an EP and contained only the B-side, "Christmas Wrapping" (which only featured vocals from Melanie C and Emma Bunton due to the pregnancies of Mel B and Victoria), and live versions of "Sisters Are Doin' It for Themselves" and "We Are Family", which were recorded at their Wembley Stadium concert on 20 September 1998. The U.S. single also included a set of four stickers of the girls, portraying them as fairies, similar to their appearance in the music video of "Viva Forever". In November 2000, it was included on the group's third studio album, Forever.
In the United Kingdom, the single became the group's eighth number-one single, topping the charts for one week, selling 380,000 in the first week. "Goodbye" got them into the records as the first act to have three consecutive Christmas number-one singles since the Beatles. As of December 2013, the song has sold 884,000 copies in the UK alone, becoming their fourth best-selling single. In New Zealand, it debuted and peaked at number one for two weeks, their second consecutive number one after "Viva Forever", which also debuted and peaked at number one for two weeks. "Goodbye" was their third and final number one hit in New Zealand, with "Wannabe" in 1996 being the first. It was also their ninth consecutive top ten hit for the girls in that country. "Holler" would be their tenth.
The song debuted and peaked at number eleven on the Billboard Hot 100, with sales of 74,000 copies at number four on the Hot 100 Singles Sales, and certified Gold for shipments of 600,000 copies
In Canada it peaked at number one on the Canadian Singles Chart making it their first and only number one in Canada"Goodbye" was written by the Spice Girls, Richard Stannard and Matt Rowe, while it was produced by the latter two. The song became the group's first song without the vocals of Geri Halliwell. It was released by Virgin Records on 11 December 1998 as a Christmas single, along with the B-side, "Christmas Wrapping". The song was composed by Richard Stannard and Matt Rowe along with the remaining Spice Girls.
"Goodbye" was a commercial success, peaking at number one on the UK Singles Chart, and making the Spice Girls the first act to have three consecutive Christmas number-one singles since The Beatles.
"Goodbye" was originally written by Emma Bunton, Geri Halliwell, Matt Rowe and Richard Stannard intending it to be on Spiceworld. However, due to time constraints it was not recorded by the Spice Girls at the time. During the American leg of the Spiceworld Tour in July 1998, after the departure of Halliwell, Stannard and Rowe flew to Nashville, Tennessee to meet the group and rewrite the song. The group put input on the song and recorded it. In the Spice Girls' third autobiography, "Forever Spice", Melanie C said "Goodbye" was originally about a relationship ending, but now it's about Geri and it's really sad.
"Goodbye" was released in a two-CD format (a standard single and a maxi single). The typical track listing internationally followed the UK track listing. In the U.S., the single was released as an EP and contained only the B-side, "Christmas Wrapping" (which only featured vocals from Melanie C and Emma Bunton due to the pregnancies of Mel B and Victoria), and live versions of "Sisters Are Doin' It for Themselves" and "We Are Family", which were recorded at their Wembley Stadium concert on 20 September 1998. The U.S. single also included a set of four stickers of the girls, portraying them as fairies, similar to their appearance in the music video of "Viva Forever". In November 2000, it was included on the group's third studio album, Forever.
In the United Kingdom, the single became the group's eighth number-one single, topping the charts for one week, selling 380,000 in the first week. "Goodbye" got them into the records as the first act to have three consecutive Christmas number-one singles since the Beatles. As of December 2013, the song has sold 884,000 copies in the UK alone, becoming their fourth best-selling single. In New Zealand, it debuted and peaked at number one for two weeks, their second consecutive number one after "Viva Forever", which also debuted and peaked at number one for two weeks. "Goodbye" was their third and final number one hit in New Zealand, with "Wannabe" in 1996 being the first. It was also their ninth consecutive top ten hit for the girls in that country. "Holler" would be their tenth.
The song debuted and peaked at number eleven on the Billboard Hot 100, with sales of 74,000 copies at number four on the Hot 100 Singles Sales, and certified Gold for shipments of 600,000 copies
In Canada it peaked at number one on the Canadian Singles Chart making it their first and only number one in Canadafalse2025-10-06 14:52:58Goodbye19981998-01-011998-01-019BalladPop11132022704202fffce2d-d22a-4c10-bdbb-e8f3e566c233bf0caafc-2b20-4e07-ab85-87e14ff430ce8c66ffff-4f95-3d9b-9286-574123e6063d/media/data/media4/Music/Spice Girls/Goodbye (1998)/folder.jpgSpice GirlsSpice GirlsThe Spice Girls were an English girl group formed in 1994, consisting of Mel B ("Scary Spice"); Melanie C ("Sporty Spice"); Emma Bunton ("Baby Spice"); Geri Halliwell ("Ginger Spice"); and Victoria Beckham ("Posh Spice"). They have sold over 100 million records worldwide, making them the best-selling girl group of all time. With their "girl power" mantra, the Spice Girls redefined the girl-group concept by targeting a young female fanbase. They led the teen pop resurgence of the 1990s, were a major part of the Cool Britannia era, and became popular culture icons of the decade.
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. After leaving Heart, the Spice Girls hired Simon Fuller as their manager and signed with Virgin Records. They released their debut single, "Wannabe", in 1996, which reached number one on the charts of 37 countries. Their debut album, Spice (1996), sold more than 23 million copies worldwide, becoming the best-selling album by a female group in history. It also produced three more number-one singles: "Say You'll Be There", "2 Become 1" and "Who Do You Think You Are"/"Mama". Their second album, Spiceworld (1997), sold more than 14 million copies worldwide. The Spice Girls achieved three number-one singles from the album with "Spice Up Your Life", "Too Much" and "Viva Forever". Both albums encapsulated the group's dance-pop style and message of female empowerment, with vocal and songwriting contributions shared equally by the members.
In 1997, the Spice Girls made their live concert debut and released a feature film, Spice World, both to commercial success. In 1998, the group embarked on the Spiceworld Tour, which was attended by an estimated 2.1 million people worldwide, becoming the highest-grossing concert tour by a female group. Halliwell left the Spice Girls mid-tour in May 1998. Following a number-one single with "Goodbye" (1998) and a successful 1999 concert tour, the Spice Girls released their R&B-influenced third album, Forever, in 2000. It featured their ninth number one single with "Holler"/"Let Love Lead the Way", setting a record for most UK number ones by a girl group of all time. By the end of 2000, the Spice Girls entered a hiatus to concentrate on their solo careers. Since then, they have reunited for a performance at the 2012 Summer Olympics closing ceremony and for two concert tours: the Return of the Spice Girls from 2007 to 2008 as a five-piece and the Spice World — 2019 UK Tour, without Beckham. Both tours won the Billboard Live Music Award for highest-grossing engagements, making the Spice Girls the top touring all-female group from 1998 to 2020.
The Spice Girls have won five Brit Awards, three American Music Awards, four Billboard Music Awards, three MTV Europe Music Awards and one MTV Video Music Award. In 2000, they became the youngest recipients of the Brit Award for Outstanding Contribution to Music. Notable elements of the Spice Girls' symbolism include Halliwell's Union Jack dress and the nicknames that were given to each member of the group by the British press. Numerous endorsement deals and merchandise brought the group additional success, with a global gross income estimated at $500–800 million by May 1998. According to the Music Week writer Paul Gorman, their media exposure helped usher in an era of celebrity obsession in pop culture.