Emma Bunton Biography
Birth name Emma Lee Bunton
Born 21 January 1976 (age 35)
Finchley, London, England
Origin London, England
Genres Pop, adult contemporary
Occupations Singer-songwriter, actress
Years active 1992–present
Labels Virgin, Polydor, 19
Associated acts Spice Girls
Website emmabuntonofficial.co.uk
Emma Lee Bunton (born 21 January 1976) is an English pop singer/songwriter and TV presenter. She was a member of the 1990s girl group, the Spice Girls, in which she was known as Baby Spice as she was the youngest member. In 2010, she joined the judging panel on ITV's Dancing on Ice. She is also the host of Heart FM Saturday afternoon drive-time slot.
Her debut solo album A Girl Like Me, released in the United Kingdom on 16 April 2001 by Virgin Records. The album debuted and peaked at number four on the UK Albums Chart. Although initial success was promising, A Girl Like Me fell down the chart quickly. However, singles "What Took You So Long?", "Take My Breath Away", and "We're Not Gonna Sleep Tonight" helped the album stay on the UK Albums Chart for several weeks. On 7 September 2001, A Girl Like Me was certified gold by the British Phonographic Industry for sales in excess of 100,000 copies, ultimately becoming the 147th best-selling album in the UK for 2001. Lacklustre sales may be partially explained by the fact that the album was not released in Latin America (except in Brazil, Argentina, and Chile) and North America. The album brought the UK number-one "What Took You So Long?" as well as top five hits "What I Am" (a cover of a 1988 song by Edie Brickell & New Bohemians) and "Take My Breath Away" and the top 20 hit "We're Not Gonna Sleep Tonight". The album sold 125,000 copies in the UK. Disappointing sales led to Bunton's leaving Virgin in 2002.
Bunton's second album, Free Me, was released in 2003 through 19 Entertainment/Universal Records. Four singles were taken from it: "Free Me", "Maybe", "I'll Be There" and "Crickets Sing For Anamaria". After success in the American dance charts the album was sold in North America. The American edition included remixes and a different cover. The album was the second to follow her 2001 release, A Girl Like Me, and spent over twelve weeks inside the UK Albums Chart, peaking at number seven and selling over 141,712 copies, earning gold award status.
She joined the Spice Girls (then called Touch) in 1993 after Michelle Stephenson left. Bunton was called Baby Spice because she was the youngest, had long blonde pigtails, wore babydoll dresses and had a girly girl personality.
The debut single Wannabe was the first of nine number ones in the United Kingdom for the Spice Girls, and reached the top in 37 countries. As a songwriter, Bunton set the shortest time to achieve six #1 UK singles, one year and five months from Wannabe to Too Much. In 1999, she presented Emma on VH1. She recorded "(Hey You) Free Up Your Mind" for the film Pokémon: The First Movie.
