Melanie Brown
Melanie Janine Brown (born 29 May 1975), better known as Mel B or Melanie B, is a British recording artist, songwriter, dancer, actress, author, television presenter, talent competition judge and model. Brown rose to fame as a member of the girl group the Spice Girls, in which she was known as Scary Spice. She is known as Mel B 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 has 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 worldwide. As of 2013, the Spice Girls have sold over 100 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 $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. 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 (2000). The album also saw the release of two 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 one single, "Today" in June that year. In mid-2012, Brown announced a return to her solo recording career with the release of her third studio album by signing with EMI Music Australia. The scope of the deal with EMI office includes concessions for global partnering with EMI. The first single from the album, "For Once in My Life" was released in September 2013, becoming Brown's first record to be released after eight years. Since 2000, Brown has 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. During this time, she became the female co-host for Dancing with the Stars Australia, in which she hosted the twelfth season alongside Daniel MacPherson. However, Brown resigned from the show and did not return for the thirteenth season in 2013. In February that year, she officially signed on to become one of the four judges for the variety talent show America's Got Talent, replacing Sharon Osbourne from the eighth season onwards. On 1 February 2014, she was revealed to be a coach on The Voice Kids Australia, which aired in mid-2014.