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.

Victoria (Posh Spice) Beckham hurries over to the circle teetering in high heels and tries to squeeze onto a loveseat. But even superslim Posh can't fit. Her spot has been taken by 8-year-old Brooklyn Beckham, her son with soccer-star husband David Beckham. He's snuggled up alongside Geri (Ginger Spice) Halliwell.

Wrapping an arm around Brooklyn, who stays silent upon his mother's request, Halliwell explains, "Once we're mothers, we're mothers to each of them."

Brooklyn and brothers Romeo, 5, and Cruz, almost 3, were recently treated to a screening of the girl group's 1997 feature film, "Spice World." Beckham recalls, "I came in, and my middle child said, "Mummy, have you been working with the Spice Girls again and driving that bus?' "

"Aw, so cute," coos Emma (Baby Spice) Bunton, as the others chirp in with "awws" and giggles.

That tour bus has now been retired. "We've moved up in the world," says Melanie (Sporty Spice) Chisholm. "We don't do buses."

Indeed. Their arrival at the Kodak in a Rolls-Royce Phantom indicated that the girl group, which has sold 55 million records, now has unanimous posh status.

They are in high spirits after nailing their first reunion performance — two songs to be featured on the "Victoria's Secret Fashion Show" tonight. The Spice Girls kicked off a reunion tour in Vancouver, British Columbia, on Sunday.

The glamourpusses lip-synched 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 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 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."

Bunton, 31, describes the debut as "a bit emotional."

"Quite overwhelming," echoes Beckham, 33. "We're getting a second chance to really appreciate everything we probably took for granted."

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" — songs that made them a pop sensation back in the 1990s.

TEEN-POP TRAILBLAZERS

Geoff Mayfield, Billboard'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, too."

Though total U.S. album sales topped out at about 12 million, with the group at one point having two albums in the top 10, current hype "doesn't always translate into a record, as Britney Spears showed," points out Sean Ross, vice president of music and programming for Edison Media, a market research firm.

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

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

Ross offers an explanation: "People always maintain an affection for the music they grew up with. 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.