Inspiration can come in the unlikeliest of places, and that’s certainly true of everyone’s favorite Spice Girls classic, which was partially written in the bathroom. Mel B, a.k.a. Scary Spice, visited The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon in May 2025 and revealed some little-known facts about the girl group’s debut single that took the world by storm in the latter half of the ‘90s.
The discovery really puts the ahhh in zig-a-zig-ahhh, ya know?
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Part Of This Spice Girls Classic Was Written In The Toilet
Of all the songs to define late 1990s bubblegum pop music, “Wannabe” by the Spice Girls is up there with the best of them. From its iconic laugh intro to the call and response refrain, the 1996 track was the debut single of the girl-power-preaching five-piece. And what a strong debut it was: the track earned a quadruple platinum certification in the U.K. and topped charts in a staggering 22 countries around the world. “Wannabe” also earned the British Single of the Year Award at the 1997 Brit Awards and the Ivor Novello Award for Best Selling British-Written Single.
Given all its stunning accolades, one might think that the Spice Girls and their co-writers, Matt Rowe and Richard “Biff” Stannard, toiled over the track until it was just right. But as Mel B revealed during a May 2025 appearance on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, the song’s creation was, at least partially, a spontaneous effort. “You know,” Mel B told Jimmy Fallon, “I wrote the rap of that in the toilet, on the loo.”
“‘Cause I’m like, ‘Girls, just give me, like, a second to go and write a rap,’” she continued. “I thought I was a rapper back then. Clearly not. I was in my own world and, you know, I own it, yeah. It’s my version. It’s a Leeds rap.”
From A Debut Single To An International Pop Anthem
Mel B, the “Scary Spice” of the five Spice Girls, might be quick to downplay her rap section of “Wannabe,” but one could argue it’s one of the most essential parts of the whole song. Anyone who has sung along to the pop classic (and haven’t we all?) knows which part of the song she’s talking about: Soooo, here’s the story from A to Z, you wanna get with me? You gotta listen carefully. It was a fun, infectious section that simultaneously switched up the groove, keeping the song fresh, and introduced each of the Spice Girls individually (except for Sporty Spice, but we’ll give Mel B a pass since she only had so many measures).
While Scary Spice was willing to divulge the backdrop of her iconic “Wannabe” rap, she wasn’t ready to give up all the girls’ secrets. In an earlier appearance on Today with Hoda & Jenna, Mel B staunchly refused to reveal what the true meaning of zig-a-zig-ahh was, saying, “It’s a group secret. I can’t tell you. If I do, I will have to kill you,” per People.
She is Scary Spice, after all.
Photo by Christoph Ruckstuhl/EPA/Shutterstock