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Melanie Jayne Chisholm (born 12
January 1974 in Whiston, Merseyside) is an English singer, songwriter and
television personality most famous as one of the five members of English
girl group the Spice Girls, where she is known as "Sporty Spice". She is
also known as Melanie C or Mel C. As a solo artist she has released four
albums and was nominated for a BRIT Award. Chisholm has co-written eleven
UK number-one singles - second only to Madonna for a female artist.
In 1996 Chisholm, along with Melanie Brown, Geri Halliwell, Emma Bunton,
and Victoria Beckham (at that time Victoria Adams), shot to fame as a
member of the Spice Girls with the release of "Wannabe". The debut album,
Spice, shot to number one all over the globe, including the U.S.. Because
of the fact she was often to be found in a tracksuit with her hair in a
ponytail and sporting a rather "tomboyish" attitude, Chisholm received the
nickname "Sporty Spice" from Top of the Pops Magazine (each member of the
group was given a humorous nickname in a small piece titled "Spice Rack").
The Spice Girls dominated the late 1990s, selling over thirty-five million
albums in just two years. They went on to become one of the best-selling
girl groups of all time, selling more than fifty-five million records
worldwide. They had nine UK number-one singles and two number-one albums.
After a third album release, Forever (UK number-two), the members went
their separate ways, and Chisholm developed a solo career.
Chisholm took her first steps in establishing a solo career in late 1998
by singing with Canadian rocker Bryan Adams on the song "When You're
Gone". She followed the duet with the album Northern Star in 1999. A track
from this album ("Ga Ga") was included on the Big Daddy soundtrack before
her own album's release. Singles "Goin' Down" and "Northern Star" were met
with lukewarm success, but the third single "Never Be the Same Again",
featuring TLC member Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes, became her first UK number-one
single as a solo artist, also a Top Five hit in Germany. Capitalising on
her new found success, Chisholm released a fourth single from Northern
Star, a dance remix of "I Turn to You", and earned herself a second UK
number-one single. "I Turn to You" reached #2 in Germany and eventually
climbed to the top of the Billboard dance chart in the United States.
Northern Star was re-released with the single versions of "Never Be the
Same Again" and "I Turn to You", and eventually peaked at number four on
the United Kingdom album chart and number six in Germany.
"If That Were Me" was chosen as the fifth and final single from Northern
Star and proceeds were donated to a charity for the homeless; it peaked at
number eighteen in the UK. Northern Star is certified three times platinum
in the United Kingdom for shipping 900,000 copies, platinum in Germany for
selling over 500,000 copies, and gold in Australia for selling over 35,000
copies. Chisholm then went on her Northern Star World Tour, performing in
countries such as Bahrain, Israel, Republic of Ireland and the United
Kingdom.
Chisholm released her second studio album, Reason, in March 2003. The
album included production from a series of collaborators including Gregg
Alexander (New Radicals, Ronan Keating), Marius De Vries (Madonna), Dr
Robert of The Blow Monkeys, David Arnold (Björk) and Matt Rowe, writer of
the Spice Girls' "Wannabe". The lead single from Reason was "Here It Comes
Again", which peaked at number seven in the UK, with the album entering
the UK album chart a week later at number five.
Other singles from the album were "On the Horizon" (UK number fourteen,
written with Gregg Alexander), "Let's Love" in Japan (where the song
accompanied a Toyota commercial), "Yeh Yeh Yeh" in mainland Europe and,
finally, a UK double A-side of "Melt"/"Yeh Yeh Yeh", which achieved a
disappointing UK chart position of number twenty-seven. After a series of
disappointments and the failure of "Melt"/"Yeh Yeh Yeh", Chisholm was
dropped by her label, Virgin Records. Reason has been certified gold in
the United Kingdom.
Chisholm spent much of 2004 working on new material and setting up her own
record company, Red Girl Records. Without major label backing, her
activities are decided on and funded by herself, alongside her business
partner and manager, Nancy Phillips. In April 2005 Chisholm released her
third album, Beautiful Intentions. The Adam Argyle-penned "Next Best
Superstar" was chosen as the lead single and was released simultaneously
in the UK, Europe, and Australia. The single peaked at number ten in the
UK and reached the top of the Germany radio airplay chart for several
weeks. A second single, "Better Alone", was released but later restricted
to purchase from the iTunes Store (for digital download) and from her
official online shop. The third single from her third album was "First Day
of My Life", a previously unheard Chisholm recording written by Guy
Chambers and Enrique Iglesias. "First Day of My Life" topped the charts in
several European countries, including Spain, Germany, Sweden, Austria,
Switzerland and Portugal. The single became one of the biggest hits of
2005 in parts of Europe, but it was never released in the UK. Beautiful
Intentions has been certified gold in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and
platinum in Portugal, where it spent nine weeks at number one.
In early 2007 Chisholm released her fourth album, This Time. It features
writing collaborations with Adam Argyle, Peter-John Vettese, Guy Chambers
and Cathy Dennis (amongst others). The first single release from the
project was the international single "The Moment You Believe", primarily
released in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, where it was a top twenty
hit. The single peaked at number one in Spain for two weeks, at number two
in Portugal and was a Top 20 hit in Sweden. In Britain, Chisholm released
the track "I Want Candy", which peaked at number twenty-four and featured
on the soundtrack to the film of the same name. The single peaked at
number nine in Italy and Denmark. The second international single from the
album This Time is "Carolyna", which was released in June in the UK and
across Europe; although it underperformed in the UK (peaking at number
forty-nine due to lack of media support), it became a top five radio hit
in Germany and Switzerland and a top twenty hit in Italy.
Official Melanie C's website announced that next single will be album
titled track "This Time" (Melanie re-recorded this track for a new single
version), to be released on 12 October 2007 in Germany, Switzerland and
Austria, and on 22 October in UK which will include a B-side track called
"We Love to Entertain You" which will be used for this years Pro7
Starforce campaign in Germany. The UK release of the single also will
include the Stephen Hague version of Melanie track "Understand" from the
album This Time. |
