"Holler" is a song by British girl group Spice Girls, from their third studio album, Forever (2000). It was written by the group, with additional writing by Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins, LaShawn Daniels and Fred Jerkins III, with Darkchild also serving as the producer. The track was released on 23 October 2000 in the United Kingdom by Virgin Records as the lead single from Forever, as a double A-side single with "Let Love Lead the Way"; the group had previously premiered the song on their official website on 11 September. "Holler" is an R&B and dance song, depicting a departure from the group's past bubblegum pop works. Lyrically, it consists of the members singing "come-ons" to a male.
"Holler" received mixed reviews from music critics; while some complimented the song's production and the Spice Girls' vocals, others found it too similar to works by Destiny's Child, Sister Sledge and TLC and thought it was too different from the group's previous sounds. The song was a commercial success, topping the UK Singles Chart and becoming the band's ninth number-one single in the region. This gave the Spice Girls the record for being the girl group with the most number-one singles. Internationally, it was also commercially successful, peaking inside the top ten in countries such as Canada, Denmark, Finland, Ireland, and Spain. In the United States, it did not reach the Billboard Hot 100, but managed to reach number 12 on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart.
The music video for "Holler" was directed by Jake Nava, and filmed around the same time as the video for "Let Love Lead the Way". It depicted the girls playing one of the four elements each, with them also appearing together inside a glass pyramid. The song was promoted by the Spice Girls with performances on British televised shows such as SMTV Live, CD:UK, and Top of the Pops, as well as on the 2000 MTV Europe Music Awards in Stockholm, Sweden. "Holler" was performed on three of their concert tours, Christmas in Spiceworld Tour (1999), The Return of the Spice Girls Tour (2007–08) and the Spice World - 2019 Tour (2019).
Background and release
After finishing the Spiceworld Tour in September 1998 and releasing their single "Goodbye" in December, the Spice Girls went into a hiatus period, during which the members of the group focused on their personal lives. The group resumed work on their third studio album, Forever, in August 1999. They recruited American recording producers such as Rodney Jerkins and Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis to work on the album; the former was signed up to give the project a "tougher" sound. He stated that he hoped to bring an "urban, danceable" feel to the project, with "a little harder" beats, while still maintaining a pop appeal. Darkchild traveled to London to work with the group, and together they wrote three songs in five days; the producer also revealed that although he knew he had scheduled recording sessions with them 10 months beforehand, he did not write anything before meeting the girls in London. He also revealed that "everybody I've been playing them for can't believe it's the Spice Girls".
The girls embarked on the brief Christmas in Spiceworld Tour in December 1999, where they debuted three new tracks recorded for Forever, "Right Back at Ya", "W.O.M.A.N." and "Holler", known at the time as "Holler Holler". however, months later, a representative for the group stated that the first single had not been chosen yet. Finally, in late July, Chisholm confirmed to BBC Radio 1 that the lead single would be a double A-side of "Let Love Lead the Way" and "Holler", with the latter being available for streaming through the band's official website on 11 September. The girls wrote on their official website that the decision was made because they "love[d] both just as much as each other and couldn't decide which to release [first]". The single was released in the United Kingdom on 23 October 2000 as a CD and cassette single. "Holler" was later sent to US contemporary hit radio on 24 October 2000.