Wannabe is a dance-pop song, written in the key of B major, it is set in the time signature of common time and moves at a moderate tempo of 116 beats per minute. It uses the sequence B–D–E–A–A♯ as its chord progression during the refrain, the chrous and the bridge, and F♯–G♯m–E–B for the verses. The song is constructed in a verse-pre-chorus-chorus form, with a rapped bridge before the third and final chorus. Musically, it is "energised" by a highly syncopated synthesised riff, and by the way the repetitive lyrics and rhythm are highlighted during the bridge. Rowe set up a drum loop on his MPC 3000 drum machine, which was quite fast but also had a strutting quality about it. Wannabe presents a different version of the traditional pop love song performed by females, mainly because of the ene