Spice Check

Suddenly, they’re everywhere. Forgive us for sounding surprised, but we figured the Spice Girls’ 15 minutes would have been over hours ago. Instead, the Spice wagon rolls on. How long can these star tartlets (startlets?) continue storming the pop-cultural radar screen? To keep tabs, we’ve decided to chart their relative spiciness — we define it as exposure times attitude. The past few weeks have been a royal time for the Spicy Ones: First, the single from the group’s sophomore album, Spice Up Your Life, debuted in the U.K. at No. 1, booting Elton John‘s tribute to Princess Diana out of the top spot. Then the Girls journeyed down to South Africa for a benefit concert. Who benefited? Well, judging from the starstruck smile on his face, it was concert attendee Prince Harry, who went backstage to sidle up to Baby Spice and hold hands with Posh Spice. Then again, it could have been South African president Nelson Mandela, who reportedly said of meeting the group: ”This is one of the greatest moments of my life.” Everyone take a deep breath …