Mel B
Melanie Janine Brown McPhee, MBE, commonly known as Mel B or Melanie B, is a British singer, songwriter, dancer, television personality, and actress. She rose to prominence in the mid-1990s as a member of the pop group the Spice Girls, where she was nicknamed Scary Spice. With over 100 million records sold worldwide, the Spice Girls are the best-selling female group of all time. The group went on an indefinite hiatus in 2000, before reuniting for a greatest hits album in 2007 and two concert tours: the Return of the Spice Girls and Spice World.
Mel B debuted as a solo artist in 1998 with the release of "I Want You Back" which peaked atop the UK Singles Chart. Her debut solo studio album, Hot, produced the successful singles "Tell Me" and "Feels So Good". Her second studio album, L.A. State of Mind, spawned the single "Today". Mel B released "For Once in My Life" in 2013, her first single in eight years; it peaked at number 2 on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Songs chart.
Since 2007, Mel B has established herself as a television personality and talent show judge. She participated on the fifth season of the American dance competition series Dancing with the Stars, finishing in second place with her professional partner, Maksim Chmerkovskiy. Between 2011 and 2016, Mel B served as a guest and main judge on the Australian and British shows of The X Factor. In 2012, she co-presented the Australian version of Dancing with the Stars for one season. Mel B has also judged on America's Got Talent, The Voice Kids Australia, The Masked Singer Australia, Queen of the Universe, and America's Got Talent: Fantasy League. From 2016 to 2018, she co-presented Lip Sync Battle UK alongside rapper Professor Green.
Mel B was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire in the 2022 New Year Honours for services to charitable causes.
Early life
Melanie Janine Brown was born in Harehills, Leeds, and grew up in the Burley area of the city, the daughter of Martin Brown and wife Andrea Dixon, daughter of Stanley Dixon and wife Eileen Mary English. Her father was from Saint Kitts and Nevis and her mother is English. Through her mother, Mel B is a first cousin of actor and director Christian Cooke; Cooke's mother Di and Mel B's mother Andrea are sisters. On her paternal side, Carlisle Powell, a former Nevisian government minister, is one of her cousins; his son is cricketer Kieran Powell.During her youth in Leeds, Mel B reportedly babysat Micah Richards, who later became a professional footballer and England international. Richards recalled the experience during an episode of the football podcast 'The Rest Is Football', which he co-hosts alongside Alan Shearer and Gary Lineker.
Mel B attended Kirkstall Road Primary School in Kirkstall, Leeds, and she studied performing arts at Intake High School in Rodley, Leeds before entering the entertainment industry.
For a time, she worked as a dancer in Blackpool, Lancashire.
Career
1994–2000: Spice Girls
In 1994, Mel B, along with Melanie C, Geri Halliwell and Victoria Adams responded to an advertisement in The Stage magazine. Around 400 women who answered the advertisement attended auditions at Danceworks Studios in Mayfair, London. Halliwell, Melanie C, Beckham, Mel B, and Michelle Stephenson were originally chosen as the members of the group which was known as Touch. Stephenson later left and was replaced by Emma Bunton.The group were unsatisfied with their original management, Heart Management, and broke with them. In 1995, they toured record labels in London and Los Angeles. After teaming up with music manager Simon Fuller, they signed a deal with Virgin Records and the group name was changed to Spice Girls. Their debut album, Spice, was a worldwide commercial success. The album peaked at number one in more than 17 countries and was certified multi-platinum in 27 countries. The group's massive and sudden popularity was compared to Beatlemania. In total the album sold 30 million copies worldwide and became the biggest-selling album in music history by a girl group and one of the most successful albums of all time. The album's first single, "Wannabe", reached number one in 37 countries and all of the subsequent singles from the album – "Say You'll Be There", "2 Become 1", "Who Do You Think You Are" and "Mama" – also peaked at number one in United Kingdom.
In 1997, they released their second album, Spiceworld. The album's first two singles "Spice Up Your Life" and "Too Much" reached number one in the UK, marking seven consecutive number one singles, an all-time record for a musical group. The album was a global best seller, selling 20 million copies worldwide. The group also starred in their own film, Spiceworld: The Movie, which grossed $100 million worldwide. The third single from Spiceworld, "Stop", peaked at two, breaking the group's sequence of number ones. "Viva Forever" was released as the album's final single in July 1998. The single was another number one and was the group's first single released following Halliwell's departure from the group in May 1998.
Mel B debuted as a solo artist in September 1998 with the release of "I Want You Back". The single charted at number 1 on the UK Singles Chart and also had success around the globe. The song was recorded for the soundtrack of the film Why Do Fools Fall in Love. The single sold 218,000 copies and became the 82nd Bestselling British Single of the year. In late 1998, the Spice Girls released "Goodbye" as a four-piece. It topped the UK Singles Chart and became their third consecutive Christmas number-one – equaling the record previously set by The Beatles.
1999–2004: ''Hot'' and acting
In 1999, Mel B began recording her debut album, working with producers Sisqó, Teddy Riley, and Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, the latter of whom she was also working with on the Spice Girls' third album, Forever. At the suggestion of her then-husband Jimmy Gulzar, Mel B covered Cameo's 1986 hit "Word Up" as her next solo release. The track was included on the soundtrack to Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me. The song charted poorly, peaking at fourteen on the UK Singles Chart, making it the lowest-charting Spice Girls-related single of the '90s. Turning to television work, she hosted Pure Naughty, a weekly BBC2 magazine show focusing on black music. She hosted the MOBO Awards on two occasions, in 1998 with Bill Bellamy and in 1999 with Wyclef Jean, and took part in the BBC-funded short film Fish. She hosted a number of TV shows such as This Is My Moment for ITV1 and shot a documentary called Voodoo Princess for Channel 4. She took part in smaller projects as a presenter such as Top of the Pops, Party in the Park for The Prince's Trust and The All Star Animal Awards. She appeared as herself in an advert for the Yorkshire tourist board in a series which included contributions from other Yorkshire-born celebrities, and in the film Happy Birthday Oscar Wilde.Mel B's debut album Hot was released in October 2000, a month before the final Spice Girls album Forever was released. Following the release of Forever, which was far less successful than their previous two albums, the Spice Girls stopped recording and the members began investing more time into their solo careers. Hot was not a success and garnered mediocre reviews, selling a disappointing 7,419 copies in its first week and charting at No.28. Hot was preceded by the lead single "Tell Me" in September 2000. "Tell Me" debuted at No. 4 in the UK charts with about 40,000 copies sold in its first week of release. It sold approximately 100,000 copies, making it the 158th "best seller" of 2000. In February 2001, "Feels So Good" was released as the second single from the album and peaked at No.5. It followed by "Lullaby" in June, a pop number dedicated to her daughter. It was accompanied by a video shot in Morocco and featured Mel B with Phoenix Chi. The media criticised Mel B for using her child in the music video and single artwork, labeling her "Desperate Spice" and insinuating that she was exploiting her child as a marketing tool. The single entered and peaked at No. 13. Mel B left Virgin records in July 2001.
In 2002, Mel B released her autobiography, Catch a Fire, which reached No.7 in the official books chart, and saw her touring the UK to promote it with a run of book signings. In 2003 Mel B's first movie role came in the form of a British drama, Burn It. She acted in a long run of shows as part of the cast for The Vagina Monologues. She was in the movie The Seat Filler, co-produced by Will Smith and starring Destiny's Child star Kelly Rowland. In April 2004, Mel B took part in the musical Rent as Mimi Marquez in Netherlands.
2005–2008: ''L.A. State of Mind'' and Spice Girls reunion
After Rent, Mel B began recording new songs and decided to release them through an independent label, Amber Café. Mel B said that she was working on acoustic music in contrast with her previous releases. The resulting album, L.A. State of Mind, was released on 27 June 2005. It was released with a bonus DVD featuring an in-depth documentary filmed and directed by Mark McConnell. In a scathing review, AllMusic stated that this album was one of the worst pop albums of the decade. The only single from the album, "Today", saw a UK release in June 2005. "Today" entered the singles chart at No. 41, selling around 1,000 copies in its first week. The same year, Mel B appeared in the films Telling Lies and LD 50 Lethal Dose. In 2006, Mel B appeared in the short film Love Thy Neighbor.In September 2007, Mel B joined the fifth season of the US television dance competition, Dancing with the Stars with her partner Maksim Chmerkovskiy. On 27 November 2007, they took second place in the show, losing to Hélio Castroneves and his partner, Julianne Hough. That year, the Spice Girls re-grouped and announced plans for a reunion tour, from which they were said to have earned £10 million each. The group released Greatest Hits in early November 2007 and the tour began on 2 December 2007. The Spice Girls appeared in Tesco advertisements, for which they were paid £1 million each.