Emma Bunton Announces First Solo Album In 13 Years

Emma Bunton, also known as Baby Spice, has a lot to look forward to this year. Late last year, not only did the Spice Girls announce a reunion tour, but Bunton also revealed she would be releasing another solo album.

This morning, Emma revealed the album title, artwork, and the release date for her first studio album in 13 years via her social media pages. The “What Took You So Long?” hitmaker has named her record My Happy Place, and it features 10 tracks. Collaborations include a song with her long-term partner Jade Jones and team-ups with Will Young, Josh Kumra, and Robbie Williams. The Williams collab is a duet of her smash hit with the Spice Girls, “2 Become 1.”

This will be Emma’s fourth studio album release. Her last solo album, titled Life In Mono, was released in December 2006. In total, she has released 10 singles in the U.K., with seven of them going top 10. The lead single off the upcoming album is titled “Baby Please Don’t Stop,” which will be released this Wednesday, February 27. The album will come shortly after, on April 12.

“The reason I called the album My Happy Place is because my happy place is with my family, with my friends, listening to music, and being in the studio,” Bunton told The Official Charts.

“As you get older you feel more confident because actually your priorities change, and my family have become my focus, but this album is like the icing on the cake. Being able to write, record and perform is definitely that extra sprinkle of magic.”

This summer, Emma and her three other bandmates, Mel B, Mel C, and Geri Halliwell, will return to the stage as the Spice Girls. The tour titled “Spice World” will go across the U.K. and Ireland starting in May in Dublin. The show will visit London’s iconic Wembley Stadium, where they are scheduled to play to three massive crowds in a row.

Originally a five-piece, the Spice Girls will be performing without Victoria Beckham (aka Posh Spice), who will not be taking part in this reunion. Despite this, the ticket sales for the tour still went through the roof and has proven to be a success without her. According to The Standard, fans struggled to get through Ticketmaster as over 700,000 people were trying to secure themselves tickets all at once. The Spice Girls back catalog boasts numerous No. 1 singles around the world, including “Wannabe,” “Say You’ll Be There,” “Who Do You Think You Are,” and “Spice Up Your Life,” to name a few.