| Melanie Brown | |
|---|---|
Melanie Brown in 2011 |
|
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Melanie Janine Brown |
| Also known as | Melanie B, Mel B, Melanie G, Mel G, Scary Spice, Scary |
| Born | 29 May 1975 Harehills, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England |
| Origin | Leeds, England |
| Genres | Pop, R&B, dance pop, hip hop |
| Occupations | Singer-songwriter, actress, television presenter, author |
| Years active | 1994–present |
| Labels | Virgin, Amber Café |
| Associated acts | Spice Girls, Missy Elliott |
| Website | melaniebrown.com |
Melanie Janine Brown (born 29 May 1975),[1][2] better known as Melanie B, is an English pop singer-songwriter, actress, author and television presenter. She is best known as Scary Spice, one of the members of the girl group the Spice Girls.[3]
Contents |
Brown was born in Harehills, Leeds, UK, to a white English mother, Andrea, and a black Nevisian father, Martin,[4] and grew up in Burley, Leeds, West Yorkshire. She has a younger sister named Danielle[4] who is an actress. She studied performing arts at Intake High School, in Leeds, before entering the entertainment industry. For a time she worked as a dancer in the holiday resort, Blackpool, Lancashire. After seeing an advertisement for an audition in a newspaper, Brown started her music career in a band known as Touch. The group left the original management team and eventually teamed up with music manager Simon Fuller. In this pairing, she and the other girls became known as the Spice Girls.
In 1996 Brown, along with Melanie Chisholm, Geri Halliwell, Emma Bunton, and Victoria Beckham responded to an advertisement in "The Stage" trade magazine asking "WANTED: R.U. 18–23 with the ability to sing/dance? R.U. streetwise, outgoing, ambitious, and dedicated? Heart Management Ltd. are a widely successful music industry management consortium currently forming a choreographed, singing/dancing, all-female pop act for a recording deal. Open audition. Danceworks, 16 Balderton Street. Friday 4 March. 11 am-5:30 pm. Please bring sheet music or backing cassette".[5] About 400 women who answered the ad went to Dance Works studios. There, Melanie Brown sang "Greatest Love Of All".[6]
Melanie Brown, Melanie Chisholm (who did not attend), Victoria Adams, and a few others got a callback.
The group felt insecure about the lack of a contract and was frustrated by the direction in which Heart Management was steering them. In October 1994, armed with a catalogue of demos and dance routines, the group began touring management agencies. They persuaded Bob Herbert to set up a showcase performance for the group in front of industry writers, producers and A&R men in December 1994 at the Nomis Studios in Shepherds Bush where they received an "overwhelmingly positive" reaction.[7] Due to the large interest in the group, the Herberts quickly set about creating a binding contract for the group.
Encouraged by the reaction they had received at the Nomis showcase, all five members delayed signing contracts on the legal advice from, amongst others, Adams's father Anthony Adams. In March 1995, because of the group's frustration at their management's unwillingness to listen to their visions and ideas, they parted with Heart Management. In order to ensure they kept control of their own work, the group allegedly stole the master recordings of their discography from the management offices.[8] That same day the group tracked down Sheffield-based producer Eliot Kennedy, who had been present at the showcase, and persuaded him to work with them.
The group began a relationship with Simon Fuller of 19 Entertainment and finally signed with him in March 1995. During the summer of that year the group toured record labels in London and Los Angeles with Fuller and finally signed a deal with Virgin Records in September 1995. From this point on, up to the summer of 1996, the group continued to write and record tracks for their debut album while extensively touring the west coast of the United States, where they had signed a publishing deal with Windswept Pacific. On 7 June 1996, the Spice Girls released their debut single "Wannabe" in the United Kingdom. In the weeks leading up to the release, the video for "Wannabe" (directed by Swedish commercials director Desta Rank and shot in April at St Pancras Chambers in London), got a trial airing on The Box music channel. The video was an instant hit, and was played 502 times a week. After the video was released, the Spice Girls had their first live TV slot on broadcast on LWT's Surprise Surprise.[9] The first music press interview appears in Music Week. "Wannabe" entered the charts at number 3 before moving up to number 1 the following week and staying there for seven weeks. The song proved to be a global hit, reaching number 1 in 31 countries[10] and becoming the biggest-selling single by an all-female group of all time.[11]
In January 1997, the group released "Wannabe" in the United States. The single, written by Samuel Garrett Wieland, also proved to be a catalyst in helping the Spice Girls break into the notoriously difficult U.S. market when it debuted on the Hot 100 Chart at number 11. At the time, this was the highest-ever debut by a British (or indeed non-American/Canadian) act in the US, beating the previous record held by the Beatles for "I Want to Hold Your Hand" and the joint highest entry for a debut act beating Alanis Morissette with "Ironic".[12] "Wannabe" reached number one in the US for four weeks.
Brown has charted up five UK Top 20 singles, including two Top 5 hits and a number 1 hit. She has sold over half a million records.
She was invited to work with Missy Elliott on the single "I Want You Back", a song for the soundtrack of the film Why Do Fools Fall in Love. It was recorded in just one afternoon, due to Brown's busy Spice Girls schedule. The video featured Brown's then husband Jimmy Gulzar, who appeared chained and submissive to his wife. Upon its British release in September 1998, "I Want You Back" sold 80,000 copies in its first week alone, giving Brown her first and only solo No. 1 in her home country. Ultimately, the single sold 218,000 copies and became the 82nd Bestselling British Single of 1998.[13]
At the suggestion of her then-husband Jimmy Gulzar, Brown covered Cameo's 1986 hit "Word Up" as her next solo release. The track was notable for being produced by Timbaland. The track was already released on the soundtrack to Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me. This resulted in its flopping in the UK (peaking at #14), making it the lowest-charting Spice Girls-related single of the 90s.[14] Turning to television work, she hosted Pure Naughty, a weekly BBC2 magazine show focusing on black music. She also hosted the MOBO Awards on two occasions, in 1998 with Bill Bellamy and in 1999 with Wyclef Jean, and took part in a BBC-funded short film entitled Fish.
Brown worked with producers such as Sisqo, Teddy Riley, and Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis (Janet Jackson, Prince), with whom she was also working on the Spice Girls' third album, Forever. In May 2000, she performed a small set at the London G-A-Y Astoria club, her only solo gig until 2004, to showcase some of her new album material.On 9 October 2000 she released her first studio album, "Hot", which also included her number one duet with Missy Elliott for the song "I Want You Back". The second single release from the album was "Tell Me". The track debuted at No. 4 in the UK charts with about 40,000 copies sold in its first week. It sold approximately 100,000 copies, making it the 158th "best seller" of 2000.[15] A third single was released in February 2001, "Feels So Good" which peaked at #5, followed by a fourth single, "Lullaby", a pop number dedicated to her daughter. It was accompanied by a video shot in Morocco and featured Brown with Phoenix Chi. The media criticised Brown for using her child in the music video and single artwork, labelling her Desperate Spice and insinuating that she was exploiting her child as a marketing tool. The single entered and peaked at #13. The album was not a success and garnered mediocre reviews,[16] selling a disappointing 7,419 copies in its first week and charting at a weak #28, before quickly falling out of the charts,[17] leading to Virgin dumping Brown from their label.[18]
In April 2004, Brown was approached to take part in the musical Rent in the role of Mimi Marquez. A few weeks after Brown finished her Rent stint, she played her second and last solo gig to date in a New York club, performing some songs from the musical and showcasing some new material she had written. Brown decided to release them a year later through an independent label, Amber Café. The only single from the album, "Today", saw a UK release in June 2005. "Today" entered the singles chart at #41, selling around 1,000 copies in its first week. The album, LA State Of Mind, was released on 27 June 2005 in two formats: as a regular CD and as a Limited Edition with a 30 minute DVD documentary detailing Brown's life in LA.
The only single from the album was "Today", for which Melanie completed a two-week promotional tour of the UK. Brown, who at the time resided in Los Angeles was not in the UK for the week of the single's release. It entered and peaked at #41, charting for only one week,[19] making it the lowest charting and selling single from a Spice Girls member up to that point. In a scathing review, Allmusic stated that this album was one of the worst pop albums of the decade.[20] The album was also released with a bonus DVD featuring an in-depth documentary filmed and directed by Mark McConnell.[21]
In June 2008, Brown revealed that she was recording tracks for a new album she expected to have ready for release late 2008. One of the producers behind the album was Rodney Jerkins, aka Darkchild, who previously worked with Brown on the Spice Girls' final studio album, Forever,[22] as well as on Melanie's first solo album, Hot, both released in 2000. Also Scott Storch revealed he was working on Brown’s album. In July 2008, Contactmusic.com reported that Brown claimed to be collaborating with Janet Jackson and Missy Elliott,[23] but was later forced to deny it.[24] Brown later revealed that she had completed ten tracks and would be working with Lil' Kim for the possible first single. She joined the judging panel of the Australian version of the format The X Factor for its third series, starting on September 2011 on the Seven Network.[25]
From 2000, Melanie B concentrated on a variety of non-singing projects. She hosted a number of TV shows such as This Is My Moment (a talent show) 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 has 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.[26]
In 2002, Brown 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. Outside of SpiceWorld and 'Fish', Brown's first movie role came in the form of a British drama, Burn It. She appeared in a horror film entitled, LD 50 Lethal Dose, which was released directly to DVD in 2004. 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. Melanie also appeared as Mimi in the broadway production of Rent. Brown played herself in episodes of the comedy series Bo' Selecta and A Bear's Tail. In 2003, Brown made a cameo appearance in the music video Bo Selecta's Proper Crimbo. In 2005 she had a leading role in the thriller Telling Lies, released to DVD the following year.
Following an appearance in the short film Love Thy Neighbor,[27] in September 2007, Brown joined the fifth season of the U.S. television hit Dancing with the Stars with her partner Maksim Chmerkovskiy. On 27 November 2007, in the season finale, although they had a perfect score on their final dance, they took second place in the show.[28]
In late 2007, she hosted a television special for Canada's MuchMoreMusic called Your Fave Videos of the 80's.. In June 2008 she hosted, with Joey Fatone, the show The singing office broadcast by American cable TV network TLC In April 2009, Brown joined actress and former Dancing With the Stars champion Kelly Monaco as original stars of a Las Vegas revue called Peepshow at the Las Vegas Planet Hollywood Hotel and Casino.[29]
On 17 August 2009, Brown was announced as a visiting panellist on ITV1's daily lunchtime show Loose Women, having been interviewed on the programme in the past. She appeared for a week of shows during September 2009. In September 2009, Brown took part in the filming of ITV1 series Seven Days on the Breadline during which she spent part of a week staying with a family living in poverty in Leeds, British. Subsequently Brown wrote an article in the tabloid paper The Mail on Sunday, titled 'My Week in Apathy City.' In January 2010, Brown was selected to replace Marissa Jaret Winokur as the new host of Oxygen's weight loss show Dance Your Ass Off.
In September 2010, her own reality show aired on the Style Network called "Mel B: It's a Scary World. In November 2010, Get Fit with Mel B, a fitness program, was released in North America and Europe.[30] On 7 November 2010, Brown was the mentor for Australia's version of the X Factor. On 8 November 2010, Brown performed with the final five acts of Australia's X Factor in one of the Spice Girls' songs "Stop".
While on the Spiceworld Tour, Brown began a romantic relationship with Dutch dancer Jimmy Gulzar. After she became pregnant, they married in Little Marlow, Buckinghamshire, on 13 September 1998.[31] Mel B changed her stage name to Melanie G. Their daughter, Phoenix Chi, was born in Westminster, London, on 19 February 1999.[32] In 2000, Brown filed for divorce, which was finalised later that year.[33] The custody battle for her daughter was highly publicised. Gulzar claimed Mel's breast implants and adultery were the reason for their split.[34] Brown won custody, but had to pay an alimony settlement of £1.25m to her ex-husband.[35]
While living in the US, she had relationships with women, according the Daily Mail.[36]
In 2006, Brown became the subject of tabloid stories on the basis of her relationship with Hollywood actor Eddie Murphy. On 17 October 2006 AOL claimed that Brown was having a baby with Murphy.[37] In early December 2006, news came that Brown and Murphy were no longer a couple, and Murphy told a journalist of the Dutch TV show RTL Boulevard at the Dreamgirls film premiere that the parentage of Brown's unborn baby could not be proven until a paternity test has been performed.[38][39] Brown gave birth to daughter Angel Iris Murphy Brown on Eddie Murphy's 46th birthday, 3 April 2007.[40] On 22 June 2007, People reported the results of a court-ordered DNA test, confirming through Brown's publicist that Murphy was indeed the father of Brown's baby. Murphy then admitted paternity and indicated that he would reimburse Brown for the cost of the pregnancy.[41]
In February 2007, Brown began dating long term friend and movie producer Stephen Belafonte.[42] Brown and Belafonte married on 6 June 2007, in Las Vegas, Nevada.[43] On 1 September 2011, Brown gave birth to her third child, a daughter named Madison Brown Belafonte.[44][45]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | This My Moment | Herself | (uncredited) |
| 2003 | Bo' Selecta | ||
| 2004 | MTV Cribs | 1 episode | |
| 2005 | A Bear's Tail | 1 episode | |
| Avid Merrion's Xxxmas Special | (part of Cribs interview) | ||
| 2007 | Dancing With The Stars | 2nd place season 5 | |
| 2009 | Loose Women | 1 episode | |
| 2010–present | Dance Your Ass Off | TV Host | |
| 2010–present | Mel B: It's a Scary World | Reality TV Series | |
| 2011–present | 'The X Factor (Australia) | Judge | |
| 2011 | Keeping Up With The Kardashians | Uncredited (guest at kim's wedding) |
| Awards and achievements | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Joey Fatone & Kym Johnson |
Dancing with the Stars (US) runner up Season 5 (Fall 2007 with Maksim Chmerkovskiy) |
Succeeded by Jason Taylor & Edyta Sliwinska |
| Media offices | ||
| Preceded by Mario Lopez and Vanessa Minnillo |
Host of Miss Universe (with Jerry Springer) 2008 |
Succeeded by Billy Bush and Claudia Jordan |
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