Life is sweet for Spice Girls

HOLLYWOOD –Inside the cozy Eastman Room bar off the Kodak Theatre lobby, four of the five Spice Girls have taken their seats for a group interview.

They are in high spirits after nailing their first reunion performance –two songs to be featured on tonight’s broadcast of the “Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show” (10 p.m., CBS).

It airs just two days after the Spice Girls kicked off their reunion tour in Vancouver, B.C., on Sunday, which will take them around the globe through March.

The glamour pusses lip-synced their Victoria’s Secret numbers (“Headlines” and “Stop”) “due to time constraints for their first TV appearance,” explains their publicist, Roger Widynowski – who is quick to clarify that “everything from here on out for the tour is all live.”

The fortunate few ticket holders inside the Kodak (including actresses Eva Longoria and Hayden Panettiere) didn’t seem to care – as evidenced by their enthusiastic response.

“When that roar came, it was hard to hold yourself together,” says Melanie “Sporty Spice” Chisholm, 33.

“I was actually thinking, ‘Thank God. They’re happy to see us all.’ They loved it,” adds Melanie “Scary Spice” Brown, 32, who is accustomed to receiving such praise after finishing as runner-up on “Dancing With the Stars.”

Emma “Baby Spice” Bunton, 31, describes the debut as “a bit emotional.”

“Quite overwhelming,” echoes Victoria “Posh Spice” Beckham, 33. “We’re getting a second chance to really appreciate everything we probably took for granted.”

The group, which also includes Geri “Ginger Spice” Halliwell, 35, sold more than 55 million records worldwide during its initial run from 1994 through 2000.Their new CD, “Spice Girls: Greatest Hits,” is for sale at Victoria’s Secret stores through Jan. 15, when it goes nationwide. In addition to two new songs (“Headlines” and “Voodoo”), it features such past hits as “Stop,” “Spice Up Your Life,” “2 Become 1” and “Wannabe.”

Geoff Mayfield, Billboard magazine’s director of charts, gives the group credit for “galvanizing the teen-pop market that would later bear fruit for Backstreet Boys, ‘N Sync and Britney Spears.”

It’s too soon to determine how well the new CD is performing; Victoria’s Secret is not reporting sales.

Still, many tour dates for the reunion’s American leg are either sold out or are well on their way.

“People always maintain an affection for the music they grew up with,” says Sean Ross, vice president of music and programming for Edison Media, a market research firm. “To some people, this is a very big deal.”

It’s an even bigger deal back in the group’s native Britain, where Halliwell scored four No. 1 hits and helped pave the way for No. 1 records by Chisholm, Bunton and Brown. Seventeen reunion shows in December and January at London’s O2 arena are sold out.

“We have remained obsessed with them as individuals,” says Billboard global editor Mark Sutherland, who is based in London. “Posh Spice is probably the most famous woman in Britain.”

Duplicating her fame in America has proved difficult. Beckham’s July reality special, NBC’s “Victoria Beckham: Coming to America,” attracted only 5 million viewers.

Meanwhile, injuries have prevented her soccer star husband, David Beckham, from blossoming into the sports sensation the L.A. Galaxy had hoped for when they signed him to a reported $250 million multiyear contract.

Victoria Beckham doesn’t seem deflated in the least, however, as the women talk about going back out on the road. Perhaps the biggest change since the performers went their separate ways in 2001: the size of the entourage.

They now have six children among them, and joining the tour along the way also will be Brown’s new husband, Stephen Belafonte; Bunton’s boyfriend, Jade Jones (formerly of the boy band Damage); and David Beckham, who, his wife says, soon has a break from soccer.

With all the significant others and kids in tow, never more than now has the lyric from their 1996 debut single, “Wannabe,” held true: “If you wanna be my lover, you gotta get with my friends.”

“You have to share (your man) with all of us,” Bunton jokes, inspiring a slew of partner-swapping lines.

By far the most serious of the team, Beckham tries to get everyone back on track by explaining the song’s true roots.

“Basically, when we were younger, we were all about girl power,” she says. “We were all really there for each other.”

“We tested each other’s boyfriends!” Brown bursts in, resuming the laughter.

“No, no,” Beckham continues. “If a guy was going to come in and infiltrate the group, then we had to think he was OK.”

Did that mean vetoing unacceptable men?

“Yeah,” Beckham says.

“They still do it now, actually, when a new man’s involved,” says Brown, who was famously dumped by Eddie Murphy last year.

The last time the group toured the USA, Halliwell had left to pursue a solo career, and her absence cost them ticket sales.

“I’m sorry,” she humbly tells the others, to a chorus of “boos” and hisses.

The faux anger quickly turns into giggles. Then Brown gets serious.

“It was horrid. Horrid,” she says.

“When Geri left, it was really difficult for all of us,” adds Beckham. “But we had the American leg of the tour to fulfill, and nothing was going to stop us from doing that. But we were devastated.”

“I’m making amends this time,” Halliwell says. “I made sure we got America in (the tour schedule).”

“The Spice Girls is about five girls,” Beckham says.

Taking her hand, Halliwell smiles and stresses: “All five.”