Victoria Beckham's 2001 Single Tops UK Sales Charts Amid Family Feud
In a surprising twist of pop culture fate, Victoria Beckham has secured the UK's highest-selling single of the week with her 2001 track Not Such an Innocent Girl. This unexpected resurgence comes amid intense public scrutiny over the ongoing feud within the Beckham family, particularly following revelations from her eldest son Brooklyn.
Chart Success Driven by Fan Support
Fans rallying behind Victoria and David Beckham in the wake of Brooklyn's bombshell allegations have propelled the song to No 1 on both the Official Singles Sales chart and the Official Download chart. The track, originally released over two decades ago, has seen a staggering 19,615% increase in sales and streams compared to the previous week, according to the Official Charts Company.
However, it's important to note that this success is confined to fringe charts. Not Such an Innocent Girl has not managed to crack the primary UK Top 100, which combines streaming data with sales figures to determine overall chart positions. For context, the current No 100 spot is held by Myles Smith's Stargazing with 5,258 combined units.
A Look Back at Beckham's Solo Career
This achievement marks Victoria Beckham's first No 1 chart placement since the Spice Girls' 2000 double A-side Holler/Let Love Lead the Way. While the iconic girl group racked up nine UK No 1 singles during their heyday, Beckham's solo efforts have historically struggled to reach the summit.
Her debut solo single, 2000's Out of Your Mind (a collaboration with Dane Bowers), was famously kept from the top spot by Spiller and Sophie Ellis-Bextor's Groovejet (If This Ain't Love). Not Such an Innocent Girl itself was positioned as part of a chart battle with Kylie Minogue's Can't Get You Out of My Head, but ultimately limped to No 6 with approximately 35,000 first-week sales, a fraction of Minogue's generation-defining 306,000.
The Song's Complicated Legacy
Victoria Beckham has largely distanced herself from her music career since the commercial disappointment of her self-titled debut album, which spent just four weeks on the charts. She remains the only Spice Girl to have released just one solo album, having pivoted successfully to the fashion industry.
Two rumoured follow-up albums never officially saw release. A 2002 recording, known among fans as Open Your Eyes, leaked in 2006. A 2003 hip-hop collaboration with producer Damon Dash, titled Come Together and featuring Ol' Dirty Bastard, was scrapped and later leaked in 2016 after a demo CD was sold on eBay.
The lyrics of Not Such an Innocent Girl now carry an ironic weight: "First impressions can be wrong / So let me clear what's going on." To date, neither Victoria nor David Beckham has publicly addressed the specific allegations made by their son, which include claims about Victoria's behaviour at Brooklyn's 2022 wedding to Nicola Peltz.
While this chart resurgence provides a silver lining during what has been described as a "hebdomadis horribilis" for the family, it remains to be seen whether the renewed attention is welcome for the former pop star turned fashion icon.
