In music, there are acts that transcend things like race, sexual preference, or age. And they stick around for years. To me, the act that sticks out in my mind as the most influential of the 90s is by far the girls from across the pond that took the US by storm, the Spice Girls! Comprised of five friends (who are still friends to this day), the Spice Girls released hit after hit and helped shape a generation. Geri Halliwell (a.k.a. Ginger Spice), Emma Bunton (a.k.a. Baby Spice), Victoria Beckham (a.k.a. Posh Spice), Melanie C (a.k.a. Sporty Spice) and Melanie B (a.k.a. Scary Spice) were the girls that I looked up to for inspiration and confidence as a young gay.
The Spice Girls decided to take a hiatus in the early 2000s to pursue individual careers, and they’ve all had massive success in different respects. My favorite Spice Girl is, and will always be, Scary Spice. She was the craziest, most rock-n-roll girl in the group.
We connected on the phone, while she was across the country in LA. After the unavoidable “Oh my God, it’s Scary Spice!” fan girl moment, we got to chatting about her crazy life, her new music and what exactly happened to the Spice Girls.
Hi Mel! How are you?
I’m good! Very good, thank you!
First off, lemme just say that it is an absolute dream to talk to you, as I grew up listening to the Spice Girls when I was a young gay! So, this is a dream come true!
(Laughs) Well, I’m glad that we can talk!
Okay, so my first question is always the same. For those of us who don’t know who Mel B is – and I don’t think anyone DOESN’T know you by now – would you please introduce yourself?
I’m Mel B, I’m a Spice Girl, and I’ve got my new single “For Once In My Life” out now! You know, it’s a feel good song. It’s just about where I’m at right now. Life can be really humdrum and boring and we all have excess baggage and the song is just about letting it all go and doing it for you!
It’s been eight years since you’ve released your last song, so let me ask you: why now? Why wait until now to release new music?
I’ve been in and out of the studio for the last eight years, and I’ve been recording, but I just haven’t found the song that represents me yet. And I think, having been doing America’s Got Talent, after watching people perform week after week and perfect their craft with vocal training, performance critiques, it’s really invigorated me to want to be up on stage myself.
And that’s just how it went! We taped live on a Tuesday and a Wednesday, so we finished recording around 11, and then we got into the studio with my producer and a few of my co-writers and we just wrote the song! A few days later, we did the video, and then boom!
And I was like “Okay, I’m not backed by a major record company, I’m doing this all myself. I have a single and I have a video. So, I just pressed send and put it all out there!”
It’s everywhere! It’s all over Facebook, Twitter, all kinds of social media! Everyone I’ve spoken to has loved it!
You know, usually you have to do six or seven weeks of a radio tour, or a TV tour, promotion saying “Okay, my song’s gonna be out in three weeks, my song’s gonna be out in two weeks,” and I didn’t wanna have to do that! And cause I’m doing it all myself, I just thought I’m gonna do it; I’m just gonna put it out there, and a good song is a good song. Luckily, I got a good reaction!
Can we expect a new album from you?
Well, I’ve been in and out of the studio, like I said, but now I have a fire in my tummy; I just wanna perform! I wanna do more and more music and hopefully that’s not going to stop. I’ve never been invigorated like that before!
That’s a good feeling to have! Now, I know you mentioned mentoring on America’s Got Talent, so how is it dealing with Howard Stern, Howie Mandel and Heidi Klum? I feel like you probably have one of the most fun jobs out there right now!
Well, I’ve known Heidi Klum for quite some time now; I’ve done her shows over in Europe. Howard Stern interviewed me, oh my God, 18 years ago! And this is the first time I’ve actually met Howie Mandel. We’re 4 completely different people and it just works. We all get on, we all like each other, and we all hang out after the show. We went over to Howard’s place for dinner the other day, went over to Heidi’s house for a nice private dinner, I mean, we actually just genuinely like each other!
Well, that’s a good perk to have! Now, since it was a big part of my childhood, I would like to talk about the Spice Girls, if that’s okay with you.
Oh yeah! Of course! I love the Spice Girls! Us girls have been friends for over 20 years. I was partying with Mel C a couple of weeks ago, I had dinner with Geri Halliwell three weeks ago. We’re really tight, us girls!
How does it feel to be part of a girl group that helped define a generation? I’m a performer myself, and I still look to the Spice Girls for inspiration, to this day!
Aw, well that’s so nice! You know what, you’ve got five strong women who are completely independent, we all get on and we all like each other. We all want to achieve the same thing, which is spreading the word of feeling confident about yourself as a woman and just enjoying yourself! Life’s too short!
Everybody in the Spice Girls had their own individual character, Sporty, Posh, Baby, etc. Why did you choose the name “Scary Spice”?
You know what? None of us actually chose our names! It was this little teeny bopper magazine, I think it was called Top of the Pops, and it listed all of our names and it just stuck; we liked it! We didn’t wanna change it, we were like “I don’t mind that name. Do you mind that name?” and we just decided to roll with it.
Well, that answers a question that has riddled me for years! I’ve always wondered that! Now, you said you still keep in touch with the girls, and I know you guys did a reunion tour which sold out everywhere, a couple of years ago, as well as the Olympics. Are you guys ever gonna get back together?
Well, I’m actually the worst person to ask this because I’m always championing a Spice Girls reunion. I will be the first one to say “Okay, let’s get back together next month,” “let’s get back together next year,” “let’s get together in 2 years.” I’m the worst one you could ever ask that question to! (Laughs)
(Laughs) Well, you keep on pushing for it! And I’ll be front row! Okay, now for the big question. What actually brought on the breakup of the Spice Girls?
There was never a breakup! We got back together last year, so if you think about it, we haven’t really ever broken up in 20 years.
Okay, so you would say that you guys are still together?
Yeah! I mean, we’re friends! We enjoy each other’s company, we hang out together, and there was never a breakup!
Well, fingers crossed for another reunion tour! Moving on, you are 38 years old and smoking hot for your age, even after having three biological children and one stepdaughter. What’s your secret?
You’ve just got to work out and eat healthy! That’s not a secret, everybody knows that. It’s a commitment! (Laughs) I work out 45 minutes at least 2-3 times a week and I try to eat healthy Monday through Friday and then on the weekend, I BINGE! I eat whatever I’m craving!
So, you have your new song, your new video and (hopefully) a new album coming soon! Do you have any dreams of doing a solo tour?
You know what, I’m booking that right now! I’m going to Australia in the next week, then I go back to the States, then I go to the UK!
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So, there you have it, folks! Keep an eye out for Mel B, cause she is on the move! And keep your fingers crossed for a potential Spice Girls reunion. To learn more about Mel B, follow her on social media at @OfficalMelB and her website www.melaniebrown.com!