Melanie started her music career as one fifth of the world's biggest girl group, the Spice Girls. During their reign of the 1990s, the girls scored nine number 1 singles in the UK, sold over 40 million albums worldwide and made their distinctive mark on pop culture.
Melanie released her first solo material in 1999 after months of recording in Los Angeles. The fruit of this liberating labour being the critically and commercially successful album
Northern Star . Promoting in the way Melanie does best, touring and performing live, the record produced five hit singles, including two successive number 1's in
Never Be The Same Again and dance track
I Turn To You.
Reason was the follow up album in 2003 with 'Here It Comes Again' chosen as the lead single. Writing once again with some
Northern Star collaborators and introducing some new writers and producers to the record, it became a top five album when it was released in the spring. Continuing to tour the country, Melanie's captivating on stage performances were attracting more fans as she made her name as a confident live artist. Another single and double a-side were released from
Reason but by the end of the year Melanie had parted ways with record company Virgin.
In this new lease of freedom Melanie felt the time had come to put her money and learning’s from the last eight years in the industry towards her own project by setting up her own label, Red Girl Records, in early 2004. The first such project was third album
Beautiful Intentions . Songs were previewed before fans at a series a Barfly gigs in the summer of 2004 as Melanie became eager to encapsulate the 'live' feel of her new tracks and one such previewed track,
Next Best Superstar , was decided as the first single. It scored a top ten hit for Melanie at the start of 2005 and second single
Better Alone was released as a download and through the official online shop.
In late 2005, Melanie was asked to record the theme tune to German soap opera 'Julia'. The track, written by Guy Chambers and Enrique Iglesias entitled
First Day Of My Life, was then released in Germany where it topped the charts and was certified platinum after selling a massive 400,000 copies. But its success didn't stop there, going on to be number 1 in Spain, Portugal and Austria, it became one of the biggest hits of the year. The huge success of the single reflected on album sales as
Beautiful Intentions became certified gold in Germany and platinum in Portugal, where it stayed at number 1 for nine weeks.
To celebrate her evolution as both a performer and a songwriter, Melanie released her first ever DVD -
Live Hits in 2006, which was filmed before a sold out audience at London’s The Bridge venue. Boasting an impressive catalogue of hit singles and album tracks, the set was split into electric and acoustic sections to truly capture Melanie’s impeccable ability to fulfil and adapt to both singing styles.
Melanie released two singles simultaneously in 2007 in the UK and mainland Europe.
I Want Candy was the fun and infectious track taken from the British comedy film of the same name and
The Moment You Believe is an emotive and uplifting ballad that showcases Melanie's development both vocally and as a songwriter. Both tracks are taken from album number 4,
This Time which was released in April 2007. Largely co-written with Adam Argyle (who penned
Next Best Superstar ),
This Time also features writing and production credits from Guy Chambers, Cathy Dennis, Steve Mac, Stephen Hague, Jill Jackson and two of her own band members Paul Gendler and Greg Hatwell. Melanie played many festivals across Europe during the summer, including the sold out
Isle of Wight Festival.
Further singles
Carolyna and
This Time were released in 2007, the b-side to the latter entitled
We Love To Entertain You got significant exposure in Germany for the Pro7 Starforce TV Channel advertising campaigns.
Promotion for the album across Europe was put on hold by the announcement of the
Return of the Spice Girls Tour. The shows were a massive success and Melanie’s past years of touring and live experience were highlighted by her energetic performances, impressive stage presence and effortless live vocals.
No sooner had the Spice Girls tour finished in late February; Melanie already had a busy schedule in place for 2008. April saw the release of
This Time in Canada, following the music channel success of the video for
Carolyna. To coincide with the album, fans will got the chance to see more of Melanie live when she embarked on a Canadian tour in May.
In August of that year, Melanie happily announced that she was expecting her first child. Scarlett Star was born on February 22nd 2009 and new mummy took some well deserved and essential time off to be with her partner and little girl.
As we move into the winter of 2009, Melanie has taken on what she has called 'the biggest challenge of her professional career' - in the West End stage production of 'Blood Brothers'. She says performing 8 shows a week for the next 6 months will provide great preparation for album number 5.
Melanie C continues to enjoy and build on a critically-acclaimed career, which places her as one of the most successful British female artists of the last decade. For updates on Melanie’s latest news and to visit her forum, check out her
official website.
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