text: 2 become 1 " 2 become 1 " is a song by the english girl group the spice girls . written by the group members , matt rowe and richard stannard during the group 's first professional songwriting session , it was produced by rowe and stannard for the group 's debut album spice ( 1996 ) . it was inspired by the special relationship that was developing between geri halliwell and rowe during the writing session . " 2 become 1 " is a pop , pop rock , soft rock , easy listening , and romance ( music ) song that features instrumentation from a guitar , an electronic keyboard , and string instruments . the lyrics focus on the bonding of two lovers , and also address the importance of contraception . its big tv ! -directed music video , which features the group performing against time - lapse footage of times square in new york city , was completely shot against a green screen at a studio in london . the backdrop was later superimposed . released as the group 's third single on 16 december 1996 , it was generally well received by music critics and was a commercial success . it topped the uk singles chart for three weeks , becoming the group 's third consecutive chart - topper , their second million - selling single , and their first christmas number - one single in the united kingdom . in july 1997 , the song was released in the united states , peaking at no. 4 on the billboard hot 100 , and receiving a gold certification by the recording industry association of america ( riaa ) . it performed similarly internationally , peaking inside the top ten on the majority of the charts that it entered . background in december 1994 , the spice girls persuaded their former managers — father - and - son team bob and chris herbert — to set up a showcase in front of industry writers , producers and a & r men at the nomis studios in shepherd 's bush , london . producer richard stannard was originally at the studio to meet pop star jason donovan , but he ended up in the showcase after hearing melanie brown , as she went charging across the corridor . stannard recalls : more than anything , they just made me laugh . i couldn 't believe i 'd walked into this situation . you didn 't care if they were in time with the dance steps or whether one was overweight or one wasn 't as good as the others . it was something more . it just made you feel happy . like great pop records . stannard stayed after everyone had left the showcase to talk to the group , he then reported back to his songwriter partner matt rowe , that he had found the pop group of their dreams . in january 1995 , chris herbert booked the group 's first professional songwriting session with the producers at the strongroom in curtain road , east london . rowe remember feeling similarly to stannard when he first met the group , " i love them . immediately . [ ... ] they were like no one i 'd met before , really . " the session was productive as the duo seemed to get along with the group , together they discussed about the songwriting process and what they wanted to do with the record . in her autobiography , brown recalled that the duo instinctively understood their point of view and knew how to incorporate " the spirit of five loud girls into great pop music " . writing and inspiration " 2 become 1 " was co - written by the spice girls along with partners richard stannard and matthew rowe . stannard and rowe also co - produced the track . after writing more uptempo dance - based songs , such as " wannabe " , the group and the two producers decided to write a slow ballad . but as the group were writing the song , they realised that it was a bit too slushy , so it was decided to address the importance of contraception with the lyrics : " be a little bit wiser baby . put it on , put it on " . the song was inspired by the special relationship that was developing between geri halliwell and rowe . brown hinted at this development in her autobiography commenting : " when he [ rowe ] and geri started making eyes at each other i knew what was going on , even though they denied it . i knew them both too well for it to be a secret for me . " stannard commented about the fondness between halliwell and rowe : " i don 't want to get into the side of things . they were very close . they clicked . and i think the lyrics in " 2 become 1 " came from that , especially the first verse , which they wrote together . " spanish version the group recorded a spanish version of the song , written by them , rowe , stannard , and n. . the title was " 2 become 1 " ( spanish version ) , although the title is loosely translated in one line of the song , " uno los dos " . it was released as the eleventh track of their debut album spice , in latin america , south africa , in a special re - edition of the album in spain , and as one of the tracks of the " 2 become 1 " maxi - single in the us . a spanglish edit that traded verses between the english and spanish versions was created by dj mike rizzo and production director bill schultz for new york - based radio wktu . composition " 2 become 1 " is a pop ballad , written in the key of f ♯ major ; it is set in the time signature of common time and moves at a slow tempo of 72 beats per minute . the song is constructed in a verse - chorus form , and its instrumentation comes from a guitar , an electronic keyboard , and string instruments . the song opens with an instrumental introduction , with a chord progression of e ♭ m add9 – d ♭ / f – g ♭ – a ♭ m7 sus4 , that is also used during the first part of the verses . the last two lines of each verse changes the progression to c ♭ – b ♭ m7 – a ♭ m7 – d ♭ 11 , and changes again during each chorus to g ♭ – d ♭ – c ♭ – d ♭ . it closes with a string outro that uses the chord progression f ♭ – g ♭ – b ♭ ♭ – c ♭ , which is arranged by scottish composer craig armstrong . in 1995 the spice girls recorded the demo version of 2 become 1 . the first three verses sang by chisholm , beckham and bunton respectively . the second three verses were sung by chisholm , halliwell and bunton respectively . the final verse sang by bunton and the bridges sang by brown . in the final versions of the song brown sang the second verse instead of beckham for unknown reasons . the first and third lines of the chorus are sung by bunton and halliwell together and the second and fourth lines are sung by chisholm and beckham . after halliwell 's departure in 1998 , beckham replaced halliwell singing the first and third lines of the chorus along with bunton , while brown replaced beckham singing the second and fourth lines of the chorus along with chisholm . the lyrics focus on how the bonding of two lovers can become so strong that they practically become one entity , through the act of sexual intercourse . apart from the sexual connotations , there is an aspirational undercurrent to the lyrics , and like many of their subsequent songs , desire is explicitly linked to ambition – " free your mind of doubt and danger / be for real don 't be a stranger / we can achieve it / we can achieve it " . two different versions of the song , each with different lyrics , were recorded : in the album version , the second line of the second verse , " any deal that we endeavor / boys and girls go good together " , was changed in the single version to : " once again if we endeavour / love will bring us back together " . victoria beckham sings on the single version , while halliwell sings on the album version , after halliwell confessed that she had a hard time singing on that particular key . the single version appears in the music video , and on stage the girls always performed the single version before and after halliwell 's departure . release " 2 become 1 " was released in the united kingdom on 16 december 1996 , in three single versions . the first one , a maxi single that included the single version of the track , an orchestral take , the junior vasquez remix of " wannabe " , and " one of these girls " , a song written by the group with paul wilson and andy watkins — the songwriters and production duo known as absolute . the second version was the special christmas pack , a standard cd single in a cardboard case that included a signed postcard with a christmas message from the group . this version contained the single version , the dave way remix , and their own version of leroy anderson 's " sleigh ride " . the third version was a two - track cassette single , featuring the single version and the orchestral take of the song . the same track listing was also used for the release of the european cd single . reception critical response the song was generally well received by music critics . in a review of the group 's debut album spice , dev sherlock of yahoo ! music radio called it a " glossy ballad that would do mariah carey proud " . whitney pastorek of entertainment weekly said that the song is " too slow , and the lyrics appear to have been written by a safe - sex - loving unicorn " , adding that " it 's almost impossible to identify the individual spice girls by their voices here , so airbrushed are the proceedings " . larry flick of billboard magazine said that " they are surprisingly adept at weaving warm and romantic imagery over a sweet melody " adding that " [ everyone ] will delight in the track 's arrangement of soft harmonies and delicate acoustic guitar riffs " . time magazine 's christopher john farley called it a " ballad [ ... ] [ that ] seem [ s ] designed to amuse , titillate , ingratiate " . stephen thomas erlewine of allmusic called the song a " perfect adult contemporary confection " . greg kot of the chicago tribune said that their first album " is a compendium of slick secondhand urban pop encompassing [ ... ] g - funk synths on ' say you 'll be there ' [ ... ] and babyface 's guitar and strings balladry on ' 2 become 1 ' " . in a review of the group 's 2007 compilation album greatest hits , talia kraines of bbc music called it " shimmering " adding that " only a cold heart could fail to love their first festive # 1 " . digital spy 's nick levine said that the group 's slower songs were " probably their strongest suit " , and thought that " ' 2 become 1 ' manages to combine every element of the perfect christmas ballad – a touch of elegance , a hint of romance , a of sexiness and a generous sprinkling of sparkle – and still finds time for a coy safe sex message " . chart performance " 2 become 1 " was originally going to be released in the uk on 9 december 1996 , but the release date was delayed to let dunblane 's " knockin ' on heaven 's door " — a tribute to the children killed at the dunblane primary school in scotland — to stay at the top of the uk singles chart . the single was released the next week , debuting at the top , becoming the group 's third chart - topper and their first christmas number - one single in the uk . it sold 209 , 000 copies in the first three days of release and 430 , 000 in the first week , becoming the tenth best - selling single of the year . " 2 become 1 " sold 1 . 12 million copies in total , giving the spice girls their second and final million - selling single in the uk . in ireland , " 2 become 1 " was the group 's second number - one single , and their first to debut at the top of the irish singles chart . it stayed at the top position for six weeks , and became their first christmas number - one single in the country . " 2 become 1 " peaked at no. 3 on the eurochart hot 100 , and performed similarly across the rest of europe , topping the singles chart in spain , peaking inside the top ten in austria , denmark , finland , france , italy , the netherlands , norway , sweden and switzerland , and inside the top fifteen in belgium and germany . it was also commercially successful in australia and new zealand , peaking inside the top three on both countries . in july 1997 , " 2 become 1 " debuted on the canadian rpm singles chart at no. 87 , peaked at no. 3 on its fifth week , and ended at no. 25 on the year - end chart . on the adult contemporary chart it peaked at no. 4 , and ended at no. 27 on the year - end chart . in the united states , the song debuted on 16 august 1997 at no. 6 , reaching a peak of no. 4 in its fourth week , becoming the group 's third consecutive top five in the country . the song peaked at no. 6 on the hot 100 airplay chart and at no. 8 on the hot 100 singles sales chart , selling 700 , 000 copies as of december 1997 . it peaked at four on the mainstream top 40 , and had crossover success , peaking at four on the rhythmic top 40 and at eight on the adult contemporary chart . music video the music video for " 2 become 1 " was directed on 22 november 1996 by big tv ! , in a two - day shoot located at a studio in old compton street , london . cinematographer stephen keith - roach — who worked in other music videos such as jamiroquai 's " virtual insanity " and u2 's " discotheque " — was in charge of the photography . the shoot involved the group dressed in winter coats , wandering around the studio against a green screen , interspersed with close - up camera angles , so that the backdrop could be superimposed later . to achieve the effect of the wind blowing slowly through their hairs , the group was required to lip - synch the song in double time while wind machines were on them . the music video features the group in times square in new york city with fast moving cars appearing around multi - coloured lights , appearing in various places around the city , either alone , with one other member , or as a quintet . the video is intercut with scenes of lovers experiencing moments of togetherness and closes with a deer wandering the streets . such a scene , according to the group 's first official book girl power ! , gave them a running gag all throughout the shoot — " whenever anyone made a mistake it was , ' oh , deer ' . " sometimes , the closing scene would not be shown on television , due to the song fading out to an instrumental , which lasts for 40 seconds . in the same book , victoria beckham wrote about the shoot : " i think ' 2 become 1 ' is my favorite video . [ ... ] it was really different to the other videos – shot entirely in the studio , with high technology and loads of effects . it was really weird having to sing passionately into the camera , i was feeling a right mug in front of all those people singing ' wanna make love to ya baby ' . " live performances the song was performed many times on television , including the bravo supershow , gmtv , live & kicking , noel 's house party , and top of the pops . in october 1997 , the group performed " 2 become 1 " as the eighth 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 . in december 2007 , the group performed the song on the finale of the fifth season of the british television show strictly come dancing . they wore floor - length gowns and used microphones covered in glitter , while professional dancers did a choreography in front of them . 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 . the performance at the spiceworld tour 's final concert can be found on the video : spice girls live at wembley stadium , filmed in london , on 20 september 1998 . for the return of the spice girls tour , the group performed it during the second segment of the show . after the " too much " performance , each of the girls emerged from a cocoon of oversized swan wings and danced around a set of barber ’ s poles while singing the song . cover versions " 2 become 1 " has been covered both in albums and live performances . in 1998 , the countdown singers recorded a sound - alike version of the song for their album today 's love songs . lester bowie 's brass fantasy did an instrumental jazz cover for the 1999 album the odyssey of funk & popular music . american guitarist paul gilbert covered the song for his fourth album alligator farm . wildside recorded a dance remake for the 1997 album mega hits dance party , vol . 1 , and was later included on the 2005 album let 's hear it for the 90 's , vol . 1 . filipino bossa nova singer , sitti navarro , recorded a cover of the song for her second album my bossa nova . during her solo career , emma bunton has performed live covers of the song on television programmes such as cd : uk and , and it was also included as part of her setlist for the pepsi silver clef concert . she performed the song as a duet twice with her former band mate melanie c on november 9 , 2013 as part of the oxford street lights switch on and on january 11 , 2014 for sporty 's forty at 02 shepherd 's bush empire . formats and track listings these are the formats and track listings of major single releases of " 2 become 1 " : credits and personnel published by windswept pacific music ltd . / polygram music publishing ltd . charts and certifications