| Mel B | |
 | |
|---|---|
| Mel B 2014 | |
| Birth name: | Melanie Janine Brown |
| Sex: | Female |
| Birthday: | 29 May 1975 |
| Birth place: | Burley, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England |
| Occupation: | Recording artist, songwriter, actress, author, dancer, TV presenter |
| Years active: | 1994–present |
| Labels: | Virgin Amber Café EMI Music Australia |
| Associated acts: | Spice Girls, Missy Elliott |
| Website: | www.melaniebrown.com |
Melanie Janine Brown (born 29 May 1975), better known as Mel B or Melanie B, is an English recording artist, songwriter, dancer, actress, author, television presenter, talent competition judge and model. She is currently a coach on The Voice Kids Australia.
Life and Career[]
Melanie Janine Brown was born in Harehills, Leeds, England, to an English mother, Andrea, and an Afro-Caribbean father, Martin, from the island nation of Nevis.[9] and grew up in Burley, Leeds, West Yorkshire. She has a younger sister named Danielle,[9] who is an actress.
Brown rose to fame as a member of the girl group the Spice Girls, in which she was famously known as "Scary Spice". She is known as Mel B in order to distinguish her from her Spice Girls bandmate, Melanie C.
The Spice Girls signed to Virgin Records and in 1996 they released their debut single, "Wannabe", which hit number one in more than 30 countries and helped establish the group as a "global phenomenon". It was followed by their debut album, Spice, which had sold more than 28 million copies worldwide, becoming the best-selling album by a female group in music history. The band's second album, Spiceworld, went on to sell over 20 million copies world wide. As of 2013, the Spice Girls have sold over 75 million albums worldwide, making them the biggest selling female group in history and also one of the best-selling music artists in the world. Brown is also known for supporting Girl Power and earlier global tours, which grossed an estimated at $500–800 million between 1996 and 2001. The Return of the Spice Girls was the band's comeback tour throughout 2007 and 2008, having grossed US$200 million and winning the Billboard 2008 Touring Award. As of July 2013, Brown's net worth is estimated to be $85 million approximately.
Brown began her solo career when she released "I Want You Back" with Missy Elliott on Virgin Records. The single charted at number one on the UK Singles Chart, followed by the release of her debut album, Hot. The album also saw release of 4 top 10 singles "Tell Me" and "Feels So Good". L.A. State of Mind was Brown's second studio album, released in 2005 on the independent label Amber Café, which saw the release of only one single, "Today" in June that year.
Since 2000, Brown concentrated on a variety of non-singing projects. She became the presenter of shows such as This Is My Moment, Top of the Pops, Party in the Park and The All Star Animal Awards. In September 2007, she became a contestant on the fifth season of the American dance competition, Dancing with the Stars; in which she placed runner-up overall partnered with Maksim Chmerkovskiy. Brown returned to television work becoming a judge for the Australian version of The X Factor from 2011 to 2012, replacing Kyle Sandilands and having previously been a celebrity mentor on the show in 2010. In June 2012, she was a guest judge during the Manchester auditions for the ninth series of The X Factor UK, as one of the temporary replacements for Kelly Rowland; before the role eventually went to Nicole Scherzinger.
The Voice Kids[]
In 2013, It was announced that Mel B would become a coach on The Voice Kids Australia.