Goodbye (Spice Girls song)

"Goodbye"
Single by the Spice Girls
From the album Forever
Released	December 1998
Format	CD single
Genre	Pop
Length	4:44
Label	Virgin Records
Writers	Matthew Rowbottom Richard Stannard Spice Girls
Producers	Matthew Rowbottom Richard Stannard
Director	Howard Greenhalgh
Certification	Gold
Chart Positions	1 (UK) 11 (US)
Spice Girls singles chronology
"Viva Forever" 1998	"Goodbye" 1998	"Holler"/"Let Love Lead the Way" 2000

"Goodbye" was the Spice Girls' ninth single release in the United Kingdom (seventh in the United States) and the first release from their third album, Forever. It was also the group's first single as a foursome.

Song information

The song was written by Matt Rowe, Richard Spannard and The Spice Girls members. The lyrics (although written before her departure) seem to pay tribute to Geri, who had at the time recently left the group to pursue a solo career.

The single CD contains different tracks depending on location. The U.S. version includes "Christmas Wrapping", "Sisters Are Doin' It For Themselves" and "We Are Family". The two latter songs are live performances from the end of their Spiceworld Tour in September of 1998. The 2 part UK single release included the same songs that the U.S. received plus an orchestral version of "Goodbye".

The song did once again appear on the girls' third and final album, Forever.

Geri Halliwell is rumored to be covering this song for her greatest hits album along with Viva Forever. This is unconfirmed, but likely since she took part in writing both songs.

Music video

The video was shot at a castle. Victoria and Mel B were also visibly pregnant.

Chart performance

"Goodbye" would be their last official release in the United States, peaking at #11 on the Billboard Hot 100. In the United Kingdom, the track became the Spice Girls' eighth #1 single, topping the charts for only one week. The length of its hail could have been prolonged, but it quickly fell to two, sitting there for an additional two weeks.

The song ranks as the third biggest-selling Canadian single of the 1990s, the highest selling single of 1999. It spent 16 weeks at number one on the Canadian singles chart. This came as a surprise to some as critics predicted the Spice Girls would fade away immediately after Halliwell's departure. Although this was not the case, their time as a group was most certainly coming to an end.

Music charts

Chart	Position
UK Singles Chart	1 (1 week)
Canadian Singles Chart	1 (16 weeks)
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	11
Irish Singles Chart	1 (9 weeks)
French Singles Chart	21
German Singles Chart	17
Austrian Singles Chart	13
Swiss Singles Chart	8
Swedish Singles Chart	2
Norwegian Singles Chart	6
Finnish Singles Chart	2
Australian Singles Chart	3
New Zealand Singles Chart	1