As a child of the 90s, the girl power of Spice Girls never truly leaves you. The same can be said for Melanie C on her latest album cycle, fully leaning into the sporty spice aesthetic that she tried to previously distance herself from when initially carving her solo career.
Described as a ‘love letter to those heady and formative days’, her 9th album turns out to be her greatest, going down the route of 2020s Kylie, Robyn and Dua Lipa, giving us an irresistible collection of pop anthems.
To celebrate its release, Melanie C has been undertaking a promotional UK tour of intimate release parties for the fans who purchased an album with this show in collaboration with Assai Records in Glasgow.
Opening with title track Sweat, Mel C set the tone for the evening with the first of the new pop bangers that are bound to last beyond the length of the album cycle. Mere days since release and the fandom were already well-versed in the lyrics.
Despite announcing that she was very tired and emotional after a full on promotion campaign, “You sound amazing!” “You LOOK amazing” came shouts from the crowd.
Never Be The Same Again was the first journey back in time. Leeds may have had Mel B as a surprise guest but we had Kevin who recited the whole Lisa ‘Left Eye’ Lopez verse rhyme perfect after asking from the audience if he could do so. An authentic, unrehearsed and wholesome moment that brought a huge amount of joy to the room. The intimate environment and the open Scottish charm of the audience allowed for many a fun interaction that may have been unlikely in a full show set up. It felt like hanging out with Mel C for the hour.
Next up were new tracks Undefeated Champion and Attitude, the latter inspired by her involvement with pride events and her relationship with the LGBTQ+ community.
This led us into the acoustic nostalgia portion of the evening. Patting herself down with Mel C approved eucalyptus Kleenex, we were treated to a story about Pavarotti (who was known to always have a handkerchief to hand) and how he performed Viva Forever with the Spice Girls but shocking them with vocals 10x the volume that was heard in rehearsals
Mel and her band stripped things back for Northern Star which she dedicated to Scotland before bringing out the girl power for Spice Up Your Life.
Coming to the end of the release party she played Drum Machine, citing this as her favourite track from the new record before finishing with one the greatest pop songs of the 2000s: I Turn To You.
From start to finish this was an impeccable performance, full of powerful vocals, boundless energy and massive likability that was enhanced further by the intimacy of the show. Artists take note, this is how to release an album.
Melanie C returns with a full show in October on Tuesday 20th at Barrowlands, Glasgow. Get tickets here!
‘Sweat’ the new album is also available to buy here.
Enjoy the set in full in the playlist below.