Spice Girls Emma Bunton releases first new music in 12 years
Emma Bunton has released her first solo album since December 2006. (Jeff Spicer/Getty)
Emma Bunton from the Spice Girls has released her first new music in 12 years.
Bunton premiered the music video for “Baby Please Don’t Stop,” on Wednesday (February 27). It marks Bunton’s first single from her new album—also her first in 12 years.
The album My Happy Place is her fourth record as a solo singer, following Life in Mono, which was released in December 2006. It will be released on April 12.
“Baby Please Don’t Stop” is a celebration of love and is one of two original songs co-written by Bunton for the album.
“My family, my friends, are such a big part of me and the love for them… I don’t want that to stop, it’s magical” Bunton told BBC Radio 2 on Wednesday, describing her inspiration for “Baby Please Don’t Stop.”
The “Baby Please Don’t Stop” video features Bunton’s fiancé, singer-turned-chef Jade Jones, who also duets with Bunton on the album on the song “You’re All I Need To Get By.”
The couple, who first started dating in 1998 and got engaged in 2011, have two sons.
“The reason I called the album My Happy Place is because my happy place is with my family, with my friends, listening to music and being in the studio.”
— Emma Bunton
My Happy Place features 10 songs Bunton has recorded over the last two years and is produced by pop maestros Metrophonic.
A second track co-written by Bunton, titled “Too Many Teardrops,” is being billed as a “slice of sensual sixties pop.”
On My Happy Place, Bunton also duets with Robbie Williams on a brand new version of the Spice Girls smash “2 Become 1,” with Will Young on “I Only Want To Be With You,” and with Josh Kumra on “Come Away With Me.”
Emma Bunton (R) and her fiancé Jade Jones sing together in one of the songs of the new album. (Jeff Spicer/Getty)
Bunton said in a statement: “The reason I called the album My Happy Place is because my happy place is with my family, with my friends, listening to music and being in the studio.
“All those things came together on this album. While recording it my kids came to the studio, my friends came down, my mum listened to every song over and over again. Being in the studio I just feel so happy.
“As you get older you feel more confident because actually your priorities change, and my family have become my focus, but this album is like the icing on the cake. Being able to write, record and perform is definitely that extra sprinkle of magic.”
Emma Bunton says there’s a chance for Spice Girls to release new music
Bunton also revealed that new Spice Girls music “could happen” as the band returns to the stage this spring, with a 2019 reunion tour due to start in May.
However, she specified it is unlikely new music would come out ahead of the tour.
“We definitely haven’t started writing, or anything like that, and it would have to be very organic. So, we’ll have to see,” she told the Daily Mail on Wednesday.
She continued: “After the tour maybe, or during the tour, I think, especially with us girls. We are so fly by the seat, which we love, and gives us that adrenaline.
“We’re always like: ‘What’s next?’ So, that [a new Spice Girls album] could happen. Who knows?”
