Early life
Brown was born in Harehills, and grew up in Burley, Leeds, West Yorkshire. She has a younger sister named Danielle 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. After the group achieved worldwide success, she embarked on a solo music career in 1998. Her first solo album, Hot, produced by Virgin Records, was a moderate success, including a number one hit. However, it did not sell or chart very well. In 2005, she released a second solo album which did not attract much attention.
[edit] Musical career
[edit] 1994-2001: Scary Spice
In 1996 Brown, along with Melanie Chisholm, 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.. Mel B was called Scary Spice because of her animal print clothing, big hair, loud Leeds accent, throaty laugh, and aggressive attitude. The Spice Girls were popular in 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 Brown developed a solo career.
Solo Artist As a solo artist Melanie B 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.
[edit] 1998-1999: Early solo work
At the height of the Spice Girls' success, Brown 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 #1 in her home country. This was confirmed on the day that the Spice Girls played their last world tour concert at Wembley Stadium in front of 52,000 fans. Ultimately the single sold 218,000 copies and became the 82nd Bestselling British Single of 1998.[4]
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.[5] The European video was a surreal animation, directed by Jimmy. A further video was shot which featured the mini me character from Austin Powers. The track was not included on Brown's UK version of her debut solo album, and speaking at the time of her album release she stated that she "didn't really like 'Word Up'".[citation needed]
Following the disappointing performance of Word Up , Brown stopped releasing records for a while, but worked quietly on tracks for her debut solo album and the third Spice Girls album. 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.
[edit] 2000-2001: Hot
As a way of dealing with the problems of her marriage, Brown continued working on her debut solo album.[citation needed] She 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 September 2000, she said that she heard the first single release from the album, "Tell Me". The track debuted at #4 in the UK charts with about 40,000 copies sold in its first week. It finally sold approximately 100,000 copies, making it the 158th "best seller" of 2000.[6] The album, Hot, was released one month later on 3 October, was not a success and garnered mediocre reviews.[7] It sold a disappointing 7,419 copies in its first week and charted at a weak #28, before quickly falling out of the charts.[8]
Following the release of "Feels So Good", rumours began that if her next single flopped she would be dropped by her record company, Virgin Records. In May, Brown performed a small set at the London G-A-Y Astoria club, her only solo gig until 2004. A source said her introduction was too long, which prompted cries of "get on with it!" from the G-A-Y patrons. A third single was released in June 2001, "Lullaby", a pop number dedicated to her daughter. It was accompanied by a very simple 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 a disappointing #13, and Virgin duly dumped Brown from their label.[9]
[edit] 2004-2005: L.A. State of Mind
In April 2004, Brown was approached to take part in the musical Rent. She played the role of Mimi Marquez and achieved positive reviews, but not from the show's fanbase. 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. As the songs received positive feedback,[citation needed] 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. Brown had stated it was just a gift to her fans, and minus a few small appearances no promotion was made. "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 album fared even worse than its lead single, selling just 670 copies in its first week and charting at #453
Rumours of a second single were fuelled by "Beautiful Girl" bouncing around on the UK Singles Release Schedule for a couple of months. Allegedly a video was made, but due to the poor sales of both the previous single and the album, this release never materialised. Brown was not dropped from Amber Café; both parties decided to amicably part ways.
[edit] 2008-present: Third studio album
Brown revealed in June 2008 that she was recording tracks for a new album she expected to have ready for release late 2008. "It's an R&B-pop kind of thing, a cross between early Pink and Destiny's Child. Urban pop. That's what I do best, where I come from, what people know me for, I've recorded four songs so far with some really great people," she said. 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,[10] 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.[11] Brown later revealed that she had completed ten tracks and would be working with Lil' Kim for the possible first single. Brown made a brief appearance on British morning show GMTV and announced that she would be releasing a fitness DVD, and then continued to say the new album was not ready yet and said the expected arrival of the album would be in 2009. A track from those recording sessions called "Whose Is It" leaked in 2008 but Melanie later said that this track won't be on the album. At the end of 2009 Melanie had 15 songs recorded but due to legal problems concerning a guy who was working with her she was not able to release them. In early 2010 Brown stated that she started to work on new tracks. As of April 2010 she has recorded 3 new songs. In the next 2 or 3 months she will concentrate on writing and recording new music.
[edit] Non-musical works
From 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 which got many good reviews. 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.[12]
In 2002, Brown released her hit autobiography, Catch A Fire, which reached #7 in the official books chart [citation needed] and saw her touring the UK to promote it with a run of book signings.
In her autobiography "Catch a Fire" Brown talked about how she loses interest in her passions with time. She lost interest in dancing once she found music (with the Spice Girls), and after her album failed to meet expectations she found herself not interested in making another. With that she turned to acting. Outside of SpiceWorld and 'Fish' Brown's first real 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 which was a big success in the UK. 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.
In recent years, Brown has also been seen playing 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 late 2007, she hosted a television special for Canada's MuchMoreMusic called Your Fave Videos of the 80's.
Tell Me
Mel B. Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Think I would be fooled?
I now see through you
And you're the fool, tell me
How do you
Feel when you see me
And I disregard you
There's someone new
I can't believe
I was so blind I didn't see
That you couldn't be
The type of man to meet my needs
Strangest thing
Is everyone tried to tell me
But I did what they
Told me not to
You nearly had my everything
By running your game on me
You told me all I had to hear
I thought love was finally here
But then one day, the truth I'd see
Your game was incomplete
Coz when I realised the truth
I see your plan, you're not my man
So get from under my roof
I don't want you!
What made you - made you
Think I would be fooled? - be fooled
I now see through you - yes, I do
And you're the fool, tell me
How do you
Feel when you see me - when you see me
And I disregard you - disregard you
There's someone new
And they're true
It was the saddest thing
I thought there was no help for me
Coz you made me think
I wasn't worth anything
And now I see
You didn't have no self-esteem
And all you loved was
Mel B's money
You nearly had my everything
By running your game on me
You told me all I had to hear
I thought love was finally here
But then one day, the truth I'd see
Your game was incomplete
Coz when I realised the truth
I see your plan, you're not my man
So get from under my roof
I don't want you!
What made you - made you
Think I would be fooled?
I now see through you - I can see through you
And you're the fool, tell me - you are the fool, baby you are the fool
How do you - oh
Feel when you see me
And I disregard you - and I turn my head around
There's someone new - there's someone new
And they're true - and they're so true
What made you -made you
Think I would be fooled?
I now see through you - I can
And you're the fool, tell me - you are, you are
How do you
Feel when you see me
And I disregard you - oh oh oh
There's someone new
And they're true
You nearly had my everything
By running your game on me
You lied to me
Why did you lie to me
But then one day, the truth I'd see
Your game was incomplete
I found out the truth
I see your plan, you're not my man
So get from under my roof
I don't want you!
What made you - what made you
Think I would be fooled? - think that way of me
I now see through you - I'm glad I saw through you
And you're the fool, tell me - tell me, tell me
How do you - what
Feel when you see me - do when you see
And I disregard you - disregard you
There's someone new - meone new
And they're true - and they're so true
What made you
Think I would be fooled?
I now see through you
And you're the fool, tell me
How do you
Feel when you see me
And I disregard you
There's someone new
And they're true
In Mel B.'s song Tell Me, she is expressing her feelings after having been deceived by someone she trusted. The lyrics speak of her realization that the person had been playing a game with her, pretending to be the right guy for her when in reality they were just after her money. She acknowledges that she was blind to the truth for a while but eventually saw through the deception. Mel B. then asserts that she has moved on from the situation and found someone new, someone who values and loves her for who she truly is.
The song can be interpreted as a message of empowerment and self-worth. Mel B. is saying that she will no longer tolerate someone who does not respect her and that she deserves better. She also acknowledges that it was difficult to leave the situation and that the person had attempted to manipulate her emotions, but ultimately she was able to see through it.
The lyrics are accompanied by a catchy pop beat and a melody that is both upbeat and soulful. The chorus repeats the phrase "What made you think I would be fooled?" emphasizing the theme of deception and the singer's new understanding of the situation.
Line by Line Meaning
What made you
Why did you do what you did?
Think I would be fooled?
Did you really believe that I would be tricked?
I now see through you
I finally understand your true intentions
And you're the fool, tell me
You are the one who made the mistake, so tell me how you feel about it
How do you
What is going through your mind
Feel when you see me
What do you experience when you encounter me
And I disregard you
When I ignore you
There's someone new
Someone else has entered my life
And they're true
They are genuine and honest
I can't believe
I am in disbelief
I was so blind I didn't see
I was unaware of the truth and didn't see it
That you couldn't be
You were never capable of being
The type of man to meet my needs
The person who could fulfill my requirements
Strangest thing
The oddest observation
Is everyone tried to tell me
Others attempted to inform me
But I did what they
But I listened to what they had to say
Told me not to
And ignored their advice
You nearly had my everything
You almost had complete control over my life
By running your game on me
By manipulating me
You told me all I had to hear
You said what I wanted to hear
I thought love was finally here
I believed that I finally found love
But then one day, the truth I'd see
One day I finally realized the truth
Your game was incomplete
Your plan was flawed
Coz when I realized the truth
Because when I found out the truth
I see your plan, you're not my man
I understand your scheme, and you are not the person for me.
So get from under my roof
Leave my home immediately
I don't want you!
I have lost any desire for you
It was the saddest thing
It was a disappointing experience
I thought there was no help for me
I believed that there was no way out for me
Coz you made me think
You convinced me
I wasn't worth anything
I had no value
And now I see
But now, I understand
You didn't have no self-esteem
You had very low self-esteem
And all you loved was
The only thing you cared about was
Mel B's money
Mel B's wealth
You lied to me
You deceived me
Why did you lie to me
What was the reason for deceiving me
What made you
What is the underlying reason for your actions
Think I would be fooled?
Did you truly believe that I would be tricked?
You are the fool, baby you are the fool
You are the person who made the mistake, and you are going to pay for it
What do you
What is going through your mind
Do when you see
When you encounter
Disregard you
Ignore you
Someone new
Another person has entered the picture
And they're so true
They are faithful and genuine
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Christina
Mel B's Hot album was a Great to listen too ☺️🧡🌟🌈
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