In August 2000, Victoria released her first solo single: Out Of Your Mind, a collaboration with the Garage act the Truesteppers and Dane Bowers. The week of release coincided with the release of Groovejet (If This Ain't Love) by Spiller ft. Sophie Ellis-Bextor, resulting in a chart battle dubbed 'Posh vs. Posher' by the tabloids. Following a huge publicity campaign, Out Of Your Mind was outsold by 20,000 copies and debuted at number two with first week sales of 180,584 copies.

Victoria signed a recording contract by her group label Virgin Records. Her true debut single as a solo artist, Not Such An Innocent Girl, was released in September 2001. Again, she faced competition in another hugely hyped chart battle, this time with Kylie Minogue's single Can't Get You Out Of My Head. Victoria was unlikely to beat Kylie, but she gave the project huge promotion, and the record had an expensive and futuristic video. In the week of release, the tabloid newspaper The Sun ran a daily progress chart covering the chart battle, but they gave up half way through the week when it was clear the battle was a one horse race. A potential factor attributable to Victoria's weaker sales could be the due to the media furore she created after wearing a fake lip ring during a live performance in Birmingham, an event that also saw her getting booed and pelted with fruit by a hostile public. She was widely criticised by many groups, including the British Dental Association, for setting a bad example that her younger fans may wish to emulate. It has since been argued that this "stunt" and the ensuing media backlash was the beginning of the end of Victoria's music career.[citation needed]

Victoria's eponymously titled debut album reached number 10 in the UK album chart. The album featured the much talked about Every Part Of Me, a song co-written by Victoria and dedicated to her son, Brooklyn, who features at the start, Brooklyn's 'part' allegedly being an off-chance recording which took place during a recording session break.

The second and final single to be released from the album was A Mind Of Its Own The single reached number 6 in the UK and sold 56,500 copies. Some speculate that due to its not hitting the Top 3, rumours started spreading that Beckham was soon to be dropped by her label. These were refuted at the time.

A third single, I Wish, was promoted but never materialised. The single version was a remix featuring Robbie Craig, and was performed on TV on Friday Night's All Wright. Many hoped this single would revitalise the album's fortunes, but following the announcement of Victoria's second pregnancy it was shelved, and Victoria parted ways with Virgin Records.

 

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