2 Become 1

Did You Know?

• The song was inspired by the developing relationship between Geri Halliwell and co-writer Matt Rowe.
• The group decided to address contraception in the lyrics after finding the original version too slushy.
• Producer Richard Stannard discovered the Spice Girls at a showcase at Nomis Studios in Shepherd's Bush, London, after originally going to meet Jason Donovan.

Composition

"2 Become 1" is a pop ballad with R&B influences, written in the key of F major and set in common time at a slow tempo of 72 beats per minute. The song follows a verse–chorus form, with instrumentation from a guitar, an electronic keyboard, and string instruments. It opens with an instrumental introduction using a chord progression of Em add9–D/F–G–Am7 sus4, which also appears during the first part of the verses. The last two lines of each verse shift to C–Bm7–Am7–D11, and the chorus uses G–D–C–D. The song closes with a string outro arranged by Scottish composer Craig Armstrong, employing the progression F–G–B–C. The lyrics focus on the bonding of two lovers becoming one entity through sexual intercourse, with an aspirational undercurrent linking desire to ambition. Two versions with different lyrics were recorded: the album version features verses sung by Melanie C, Melanie Brown, and Geri Halliwell, with Emma Bunton on pre-choruses and various combinations on the chorus; the single version changed the line "Any deal that we endeavour/Boys and girls feel good together" to "Once again if we endeavour/Love will bring us back together," with Victoria Beckham singing Halliwell's part after Halliwell struggled with the key. Bunton stated the lyric change was made after the group realized they had become LGBT icons. The single version appears on the 25th anniversary reissue of Spice, replacing the album version.

Reception

Critics largely praised the track. Brian Grosz of Albumism called it a smooth R&B jam, while Stephen Thomas Erlewine from AllMusic labeled it a perfect adult contemporary confection. Talia Kraines of BBC Music described it as shimmering and said only a cold heart could fail to love the group's first festive number one. Billboard's Larry Flick noted the group's surprising skill at weaving warm, romantic imagery over a sweet melody, highlighting the soft harmonies and delicate acoustic guitar riffs. Greg Kot of the Chicago Tribune observed that the debut album featured Babyface-style guitar and strings balladry on this song. Digital Spy's Nick Levine felt the song combined every element of the perfect Christmas ballad—elegance, romance, a hint of sexiness, and sparkle—while including a coy safe sex message. Whitney Pastorek of Entertainment Weekly found it too slow, joking that the lyrics seemed written by a safe-sex-loving unicorn and that the individual Spice Girls were nearly impossible to identify due to the airbrushed production. Music Week gave the song a perfect five-out-of-five rating, calling it a seasonally lush ballad and a strong bet for the Christmas number one. Time magazine's Christopher John Farley described it as a slumberous ballad. Dev Sherlock of Yahoo! Music Radio called it a glossy ballad that would make Mariah Carey proud.

Live performances

The song was performed on television programs including the Bravo Supershow, GMTV, Live & Kicking, Noel's House Party, and Top of the Pops. In October 1997, the group performed it as the eighth song of their first live concert at the Abdi İpekçi Arena in Istanbul, Turkey; the performance was broadcast on Showtime as Spice Girls in Concert Wild! and later released on VHS and DVD as Girl Power! Live in Istanbul. The group was scheduled to perform the song on the semi-final of the fifth season of Strictly Come Dancing on 16 December, but it was postponed to the finale on 22 December after Emma Bunton sprained her ankle. The Spice Girls performed the song on all four of their tours: the Spiceworld Tour, the Christmas in Spiceworld Tour, the Return of the Spice Girls Tour, and the Spice World - 2019 Tour. After Geri Halliwell's departure in 1998, Bunton sang the first and third lines of the chorus alone during the Spiceworld Tour; on the Christmas in Spiceworld Tour, Victoria Beckham replaced Halliwell on those lines alongside Bunton, while Melanie Brown replaced Beckham on the second and fourth lines with Melanie C. The Spiceworld Tour's final concert performance appears 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 the song during the second segment, emerging from cocoons of oversized swan wings and dancing around barber's poles. On the Spice World - 2019 Tour without Beckham, Halliwell sang a mixture of her and Beckham's original lines.

Cover versions

The song "2 Become 1" has seen many different interpretations across albums and live shows. In 1998, The Countdown Singers put out a sound-alike version on their album Today's Love Songs. A year later, Lester Bowie's Brass Fantasy offered an instrumental jazz take for The Odyssey of Funk & Popular Music. American guitarist Paul Gilbert included his own cover on his fourth record, Alligator Farm. Wildside created a dance remake for the 1997 compilation Mega Hits Dance Party, Vol. 1, which later appeared on the 2005 collection Let's Hear It for the 90's, Vol. 1. Filipino bossa nova artist Sitti Navarro recorded a cover for her second album, My Bossa Nova.

Emma Bunton has performed the song live on TV shows like CD:UK and Popworld, and it was part of her set at the Pepsi Silver Clef Concert. She sang it as a duet with fellow Spice Girl Melanie C on two occasions: 9 November 2013 for the Oxford Street Lights Switch On, and 11 January 2014 at Sporty's Forty in the 02 Shepherd's Bush Empire. Olly Alexander from Years & Years joined Melanie C for a performance at a charity event held at London's Union Chapel. In December 2016, Melanie C sang the song with Victoria Beckham at Beckham's New Year's Eve party concert. She also performed it alone during a live BBC Radio 2 session in January 2017. For her 50th birthday concert at Koko in London in January 2024, Melanie C performed with Bunton and both Nicole and Natalie Appleton from All Saints.

In 2019, Bunton released a duet version with Robbie Williams on her fourth solo album, My Happy Place. Chris Martin of Coldplay sang the song as a duet with Melanie C at the Hollywood Bowl in October 2021 during the Audacy 8th Annual "We Can Survive" concert. On 20 December 2024, Bunton put out a solo orchestral version of the track, created with the Budapest Scoring Orchestra. She performed this version on the Christmas special of BBC's Strictly Come Dancing, which aired on 25 December 2024.