Melanie Brown, known globally as Mel B or Scary Spice, briefly adopted a different stage name during her solo career. Following Geri Halliwell's departure from the Spice Girls in May 1998, Mel B was the first to launch a solo project, collaborating with Missy Elliott on the single "I Want You Back," which reached number one in the UK.
After marrying Dutch dancer Jimmy Gulzar in 1998, she changed her stage name to Melanie G or Mel G. This moniker was used for her 1999 cover of Cameo's "Word Up!" featured on the Austin Powers soundtrack. She even referenced the change in her B-side track "Sophisticated Lady," singing: "Change my name from the B to the G, so my hubby can get with me." The name was short-lived; she reverted to Mel B after filing for divorce in 2000.
Her debut album, Hot, produced by Rodney Jerkins and Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, yielded two top-five UK hits: "Tell Me" and "Feels So Good." However, her second album, L.A. State of Mind (2005), failed to replicate that success. In 2013, she released the dance track "For Once in My Life," which reached number two on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Songs Chart.
Currently, Mel B focuses on television work, including a role on the America's Got Talent panel, where she has hinted that fellow Spice Girls Emma Bunton and Mel C will join her for home visit segments. She recently performed "Spice Up Your Life" with Mel C during the latter's solo album promotion. Despite fan hopes, she has tempered expectations for a full Spice Girls reunion tour, stating that "you can't force everyone to tour if they aren't ready."
Having moved back to Leeds from Los Angeles, she lives with her husband Rory McPhee on a £2.2 million Yorkshire farmhouse with 15 acres of woodland, goats, and chickens. The nickname "Scary Spice" was coined by a journalist from Top of the Pops magazine who struggled to remember the band members' real names, and it stuck due to her "in-your-face" attitude and booming laugh.
