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allegedly chose not to release it after being disappointed with the results.[34][35] Instead of pop, Beckham wanted a more urban sound, working with urban producer Damon Dash for a more RnB and hip hop influence.[27][28] When he was first asked why he was working with Beckham he stated "Because I see how much she gets photographed over here."[2] A Dash-produced track "It's That Simple" featuring M.O.P. premiered on radio stations in July 2003,[28] generating mixed reviews.[28]

Beckham's first single with Telstar, "Let Your Head Go / This Groove",[28] was released in the UK on 29 December 2003, following heavy promotion and many TV appearances across the Christmas period with the video being directed by Andy Hylton. The single charted at Number 3 in the UK.[28] This double A-side lifted "Let Your Head Go" from Beckham's earlier pop-inspired work with "This Groove" one of her Hip-Hop/R'n'B songs and remains Beckham's last single release to date. She is currently the only Spice Girl never to have had a UK solo number one, though she is also the only Spice Girl to have all her single/album releases go Top 10.[citation needed] Outside of the UK, Damon Dash had plans for Beckham in the US, including a potential release of "Let Your Head Go / This Groove" under the name of "Posh Spice Victoria Beckham". The release was proposed for sometime between March to May 2004, but never eventuated.[36]

With the UK media describing her solo music career a failure, combined with a rumoured fall-out between Dash and Fuller, her hip hop album, Come Together, was not released.[1][37] Amidst the collapse of Telstar, remaining plans for Beckham's music career were cancelled.[38][39]

Beckham is the only Spice Girl to have all of her singles and albums chart in the Top 10 of the UK charts, but she also has released fewer albums (1) and singles (4).[citation needed]

[edit] Books
Beckham's autobiography, entitled Learning to Fly, was released on 13 September 2001.[40] The title was taken from a line in a song from the musical Fame, which Beckham had enjoyed as a child. The verse that inspired the title is: "I'm gonna live forever, I'm gonna learn how to fly".[41] The book documents her childhood, time during the Spice Girls, her marriage and family life, as well as her career at the time.[42] Learning to Fly became the third best-selling non-fiction title of 2001 and the total UK sales stand at more than 500,000 copies.[43] When the book was first released, it went to Number 1 in the book charts after four weeks of release, relegating Robbie Williams' book to second place.[25] A high-profile guest appearance on Parkinson, watched by nine million people, helped to promote the book.[25] Before the publishing of the book, Hello!, The Daily Mail and The Mail on Sunday joined to buy the rights to preview and serialise the book before its release. The figure paid was thought to be near £1 million.[10]

Beckham was quoted by a Spanish journalist in 2005 as saying "I've never read a book in my life".[44] She later claimed this was a mistranslation from the original Spanish in which the interview was printed, saying she actually stated that she never had time to finish reading a book because she was always too busy looking after her children.[45]

Beckham's second book, a fashion advice guide, entitled That Extra Half an Inch: Hair, Heels and Everything In Between, was published on 27 October 2006.[46] That Extra Half an Inch: Hair, Heels and Everything In Between includes tips from Beckham on fashion, style and beauty,[46] and also contains photography by Mario Testino, Annie Leibovitz and Steven Meisel. The book became another bestseller,[47] and has sold 400,000 copies in Britain alone since it was published in hardcover.[48] The rights have since been sold to the United States, the Netherlands, Japan, Portugal, Lithuania, Russia, and most recently China.[48]

[edit] Television
Beckham has shot five official documentaries. The first, dated 11 January 2000, was called Victoria's Secrets, a programme only shown in the UK on Channel 4. It involved Beckham being followed by cameras while also discussing and interviewing other British celebrities, such as Elton John.[49] The second, Being Victoria Beckham, was broadcast in March 2002 and saw Beckham discussing her career as a solo artist with the release of her first album, and also showed her at various photo shoots and recording sessions. The documentary attracted a strong audience of 8.83 million,[50] coming top in its timeslot.[51] One critic described her as "so clearly level-headed, happy with her not inconsiderable lot and seemingly unfazed by the madly intrusive nature of her monumentally ridiculous fame".[52] The third, The Real Beckhams, aired on 24 December 2003 on ITV1 and focused on the Beckhams' move to Madrid from London after David Beckham was signed to Real Madrid. It also featured Victoria Beckham re-launching her solo career and showed her mocking the tabloid stories she reads in the paper every day. The special received an audience of 6.10 million viewers[53] and was later released on DVD on 2 February 2004.[54]

The fourth was entitled Full Length & Fabulous: The Beckhams' 2006 World Cup Party, and followed Victoria and David Beckham organising and making preparations to host a 2006 World Cup Party at a marquee in the grounds of their mansion in Hertfordshire, which aimed to raise money for their charity.[55] Two tickets to attend the ball were auctioned on-line for charity, and sold for £103,000.[56] The documentary aired on 28 May 2006 and showed the event itself, where the menu was designed especially by friend and chef Gordon Ramsay and the charity auction was hosted by Graham Norton.[57] Ramsay catered for 600 guests, with the aid of 40 chefs and 100 waiting staff.[57] The ITV documentary attracted an average of 7.56 million viewers.[58]

To document Victoria Beckham's preparations for her family's move to the US, she signed a deal with NBC for six episodes of a half-hour unscripted reality TV series. Despite original plans for six episodes, the show was cut to a one hour special only as there "just wasn't enough (material) for a series."[59] The show, called Victoria Beckham: Coming to America, aired on 16 July 2007 in the US and Canada. It was heavily scrutinised by the American media and critics, with The New York Post describing it as "an orgy of self-indulgence" and also describing Beckham as "vapid and condescending".[59] The programme was the third-most-watched programme in its time-slot and received viewing figures of 4.9 million in the US, beaten by a repeat of Wife Swap and two sitcoms.[60] The programme aired in Britain on 17 July 2007 on ITV with 3.84 million viewers tuning in.[61] The programme was produced by Simon Fuller who managed her and the Spice Girls on their come-back tour.[62]

In July 2007, it was announced that Beckham would shortly begin filming a cameo appearance as herself in an episode of the second season of ABC's TV series Ugly Betty.[63] The episode, "A Nice Day for a Posh Wedding", aired on 9 November 2007 in the United States and on 23 November in the United Kingdom.[64] Beckham's first line was "This is major", said when bursting through a curtain at a dress fitting for a wedding, in which she was the bridesmaid.[64] Beckham has said she only agreed to the part because of her interest in fashion, and not for the acting opportunity.[64] Despite her forays into television, Beckham has denied plans to embark upon a Hollywood movie career.[65]

In February 2008, it was revealed that Beckham would be the guest judge for the finale of fourth season of Project Runway, which aired on 5 March 2008 in the US.[66]

[edit] Fashion
Beckham has become better recognised as an international style icon, rather than a music artist.[11][67] Beckham made a guest appearance on the catwalk for Maria Grachvogel in 2000, marking her debut as a model at London Fashion Week.[68] Beckham also acted as a British ambassador for Dolce and Gabbana[69] and was briefly the face of Rocawear in 2003.[70]

Beckham designed a limited-edition fashion line for Rock & Republic called VB Rocks in 2004, consisting mainly of jeans for the high end of the market, retailing at approximately $300 in the US.[71] She had previously "hit it off instantly" with Rock & Republic designer, Michael Ball, in Los Angeles. He commented "She not only understands fashion and trends but has been a trend-setter and fashion icon for years."[72]

On 16 January 2006, Beckham walked the runway for Roberto Cavalli at Milan Fashion Week, and was for a period exclusively dressed by him for red-carpet and social events.[73] For the March 2006 issue of Harper's Bazaar, Beckham acted as fashion editor when she styled her close friend, Katie Holmes, for a fashion shoot.[74] In July 2006, Beckham released a line of sunglasses, called dvb Eyewear.[75][76] She has admitted to a personal love of sunglasses, saying "I'm quite obsessed with sunglasses. I collect vintage Guccis and Carreras — they can make virtually any outfit look cool."[9] After Beckham's departure from Rock & Republic, in September 2006, she furthered her fashion ventures by launching her own denim label, of which she acts as creative director. The new line of Beckham's jeans collection is called dvb Style.[48][71] In the same month, Intimately Beckham, a his-and-her fragrance line, was launched at a lavish press conference in Venice.[75][76] Beckham then launched her new official website, dvbstyle.com, which promotes her fashion work.[77][78] She also produced a range of handbags and jewellery in association with the Japanese store, Samantha Thavasa.[75][76]