Viva Forever the tour, the girls sang the radio edit of the song instead of the album version. Melanie Chisholm also sang "Spice Girls forever" rather than the original lyrics "viva forever" near the end of the song. "Viva Forever" was the group's last performance on television as a quintet, on "Top of the Pops", which was recorded on 21 May 1998, and broadcast on 5 June 1998. The show's producer, Chris Cowey, said that they originally intended to broadcast the performance in July but they pushed it given Halliwell's departure from the group. It was also the first song they performed
2 Become 1 the song a "perfect adult contemporary confection". Greg Kot of the "Chicago Tribune" said that their first album "is a compendium of slick secondhand urban pop encompassing [...] G-funk synths on 'Say You'll Be There' [...] and Babyface's guitar and strings balladry on '2 Become 1'". In a review of the group's 2007 compilation album "Greatest Hits", Talia Kraines of BBC Music called it "shimmering" adding that "only a cold heart could fail to love their first festive #1". Digital Spy's Nick Levine said that the group's slower songs were "probably their strongest suit", and thought that "'2 Become 1'