Live Performances
The Spice Girls were in Japan when "Wannabe" went to number one in the UK. The group made their first appearance on Top of the Pops by satellite link from Tokyo, where they used a local temple as a backdrop for their mimed performance. They have performed the song several more times on the show, including the programme's 1996 Christmas special. It was performed many times on television, in both Europe and the US, including An Audience with..., the Bravo Supershow, Sorpresa ¡Sorpresa!, Live with Regis and Kathie Lee, The Oprah Winfrey Show, and Saturday Night Live. The performance at Saturday Night Live on 12 April 1997 was the first time the group performed "Wannabe" with a live band—their previous performances have all been either lip-synched or sung to a recorded backing track.
The group performed it at awards ceremonies such as the 1996 Smash Hits! Awards, the 1996 Irish Music Awards, the 1997 BRIT Awards, and the 1997 Channel V Music Awards held in New Delhi, where they wore Indian costumes and entered the stage in auto rickshaws. In October 1997 the group performed "Wannabe" as the last song of their first live concert at the Abdi İpekçi Arena in Istanbul, Turkey. The performance was broadcast on Showtime in a pay-per-view event titled Spice Girls In Concert Wild!, and was later included in the VHS and DVD release Girl Power! Live in Istanbul.
The Spice Girls have performed the song on their three tours, the Spiceworld Tour, the Christmas In Spiceworld Tour, and the Return of the Spice Girls. After Halliwell left the band at the end of the European leg of the Spiceworld Tour, her parts were replaced by Chisholm (refrain), Beckham (verses), and Bunton (bridge). The performance at the tour's final concert can be found on the video Spice Girls Live at Wembley Stadium, filmed in London, on 20 September 1998. The group performed the song on 12 August 2012 at the 2012 Summer Olympics closing ceremony in London as part of a medley with the song "Spice Up Your Life".
Read more about this topic: Wannabe (song)
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