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Michelle Stephenson | |
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| Birth name | Michelle Stephenson |
| Born | 3 January 1977 Abingdon, Oxfordshire, England |
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| Years active | 1990s |
Michelle Stephenson (born 3 January 1977) is a British pop singer and television presenter. At the age of 17, she was briefly a member of the girl group that would go on to become the Spice Girls. [1]
Alongside Melanie Brown, Victoria Adams (later Beckham), Melanie Chisholm and Geri Halliwell, Stephenson completed the original 1994 line-up of Touch, a girl group that would later go on to become the Spice Girls. Stephenson received the highest scores at the first audition, where she sang Dina Carroll's song "Don't Be a Stranger". [2] Stephenson was a member of the group for only a short period before commitment issues prompted Heart Management to remove her. According to Bob Herbert, she was fired because "she just wasn't fitting in... she would never have gelled with it and I had to tell her to go". [2] : 30 Stephenson later challenged Herbert's claim, stating that it was her decision to leave due to her mother being diagnosed with breast cancer. [3] Beckham later dismissed this claim, saying she "just couldn't be arsed" to put in the work the rest of the group was doing. [2] : 31 Chisholm stated in her 2022 memoir, Who I Am: My Story , that Michelle was undecided if she wanted to remain in the band or attend university, and that she did not share the same passion for the band as the others, even being found sunbathing during early rehearsals. [4] Stephenson was replaced by Emma Bunton. [2] [5]
Stephenson has given several conflicting interviews about her time with the group, stating that she both does and does not regret leaving them. [6] [7] She has also joked she would have been known as Mel S and it would have been confusing if the band also had a Mel C and a Mel B, and has also asserted she was going to be known as Sexy Spice. (The nicknames were given by Top of the Pops magazine after launch.) [8] Stephenson claims she was very close with Geri whilst in the band and wishes they had remained friends, but noted in an interview that she and Beckham did not always see eye to eye.
Stephenson's boldest claim was that the reason Beckham does not have any solo lines in the group's first song "Wannabe" is due to the single being written with Stephenson as part of the group, Beckham subsequently refusing to take Stephenson's solo lines. [9] However, many other accounts suggest that "Wannabe" was written after Stephenson had left the group, and that Beckham's absence from the track was due to a scheduling conflict during the writing sessions. [10]
Stephenson worked briefly as a television presenter for LWT, [9] ITV, Friendly TV, and BSkyB. She also filmed a television show in Malta called Wild Games before forming a songwriting partnership with Ben Hackett and Mike Edwards (under the name SHEsongs). She has also worked as a session singer for various record companies. She performed backing vocals for singers like Ricky Martin and Julio Iglesias, while working on her own songs as well. In November 2003, Stephenson recorded and released an EP entitled SHESongs, featuring six songs called "In Control", "Fall Over", "Hey Sugar", "Dirty Music", "Boom, Boom", and "Happens for a Reason".
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | London Weekend Television | Presenter | 5 episodes [11] |
| 2001 | Raw Spice | Herself | Documentary [12] |
| 2008 | E! True Hollywood Story | Herself | Documentary' [12] |
The Spice Girls are an English girl group formed in 1994, consisting of Mel B ; Melanie C ; Emma Bunton ; Geri Halliwell ; and Victoria Beckham. With their "girl power" mantra, they redefined the girl-group concept by targeting a young female fanbase. They led the teen pop resurgence of the 1990s, were a major part of the Cool Britannia era, and became pop culture icons of the decade.
Emma Lee Bunton is an English singer, songwriter, media personality, and actress. She rose to fame in the 1990s as a member of the pop group the Spice Girls, in which she was nicknamed Baby Spice, reflecting the fact that she was the youngest member. With over 100 million records sold worldwide, the Spice Girls are the best-selling female group of all time.
Geraldine Estelle Halliwell-Horner is an English singer, songwriter, television personality, author, and actress. She was a member of the pop group the Spice Girls, in which she was nicknamed Ginger Spice. With over 100 million records sold worldwide, the Spice Girls are the best-selling female group of all time. Their slogan "girl power" was most closely associated with Halliwell and her Union Jack dress from the 1997 Brit Awards also became an enduring symbol. Halliwell left the Spice Girls in 1998, citing exhaustion and creative differences, but rejoined when they reunited in 2007.
Melanie Jayne Chisholm, professionally known as Melanie C or Mel C, is an English singer, songwriter, dancer, DJ, records businesswoman, actress, TV personality, fitness model and writer. As one of the five members of the Spice Girls, she was nicknamed Sporty Spice and throughout her career her combined sales surpass 135 million records. As a member of the group she released the biggest-selling debut single of all time with "Wannabe" and the biggest-selling album in music history by a girl group with Spice, becoming part of the best-selling girl group of all time with over 105 million records sold and of the second global cultural and media phenomenon after Beatlemania. As a band member she holds, together with The Beatles, the record for consecutive UK Christmas number ones, with three singles. She is considered by many critics as the vocal epicenter of the band thanks to her wide vocal range, vocal agility, impressive versatility and her unique and distinctive tone. Chisholm holds the current record of attendance for a free concert within a public event thanks to her show on a float, during the 2019 Global Pride Tour, in the streets of Sao Paulo in front of 3.7 million people.
Melanie Janine Brown, commonly known as Mel B or Melanie B, is an English singer, songwriter, television personality, and actress. She rose to fame in the mid 1990s as a member of the pop girl group the Spice Girls, in which she was nicknamed Scary Spice. With over 100 million records sold worldwide, the group became the best-selling female group of all time.
"Wannabe" is the debut single by the English girl group the Spice Girls, released on 26 June 1996. It was written by the Spice Girls, Matt Rowe and Richard "Biff" Stannard and produced by Rowe and Stannard for the group's debut album, Spice, released in November 1996. "Wannabe" is a dance-pop song that features Mel B and Geri Halliwell rapping. The lyrics, which address the value of female friendship over heterosexual relationships, became a symbol of female empowerment and the most emblematic song of the group's girl power philosophy. It was written and recorded quickly. The result was considered lacklustre by their label and was sent to be mixed by Dave Way. The Spice Girls were not pleased with the result, and the recording was mixed again, by Mark "Spike" Stent.
"2 Become 1" is a song by the British girl group the Spice Girls. Written by the group members, together with Matt Rowe and Richard Stannard during the group's first professional songwriting session, it was produced by Rowe and Stannard for the group's debut album, Spice (1996). "2 Become 1" is an R&B-influenced pop ballad that features instrumentation from a guitar, an electronic keyboard and string instruments. The lyrics focus on the bonding of two lovers, and also address the importance of contraception. Its Big TV!-directed music video, which features the group performing against time-lapse footage of Times Square in New York City, was completely shot against a blue screen at a studio in London. The backdrop was later superimposed.
"Too Much" is a song by English girl group the Spice Girls from their second studio album, Spiceworld (1997). The group members co-wrote the song with its producers, Paul Wilson and Andy Watkins—the songwriting and production duo known as Absolute—while the group was shooting scenes for their film Spice World.
"Goodbye" is a song recorded by British girl group Spice Girls. It was written by the group, Richard Stannard, and Matt Rowe, while it was produced by the latter two. The song became the group's first song without the vocals of Geri Halliwell. It was released by Virgin Records on 14 December 1998 and was later included on their third studio album Forever (2000). "Goodbye" is a pop ballad that lyrically consists of the group's farewell to a friend, specifically Halliwell. The lyrics were also seen, by the media and fans alike, as the group's end, although the idea was dismissed by the members.
Reason is the second solo album by English singer Melanie C, released on 10 March 2003 by Virgin Records. It was the follow-up to Northern Star, and reached number five on the UK Albums Chart, selling 30,876 copies in its first week. Although not performing as well as Northern Star, Reason was certified Gold in the United Kingdom, with 101,889 copies sold. The album has sold 500,000 copies worldwide. The album has been released with the Copy Control protection system in some regions. Most reviews for the album were mixed.
The Spiceworld Tour was the debut concert tour by English girl group the Spice Girls. It was launched in support of their first two studio albums, Spice (1996) and Spiceworld (1997). The sell-out European/North American tour ran from February to August 1998, after which it returned to the UK in September 1998 for a series of stadium shows. The final concert at London's Wembley Stadium was filmed and broadcast live on pay-per-view, for later VHS release in 1998 and eventual DVD release in 2008.
Greatest Hits is a greatest hits album by the English girl group Spice Girls. It received a physical release worldwide throughout November 2007, except for the United States where it received a limited release on 6 November 2007 through Victoria's Secret and a full release on 15 January 2008. It was their first album to be released in seven years and was supported by an accompanying world tour. The album sold 1.7 million copies by the end of 2007 and was the world's best selling girl group album of that year. In August 2012, after the Spice Girls' performance at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, the album re-charted in the top ten, twenty and thirty of most major charts worldwide including the United Kingdom, United States, New Zealand and Australia.
The Return of the Spice Girls Tour was the third concert tour by English girl group the Spice Girls, running from December 2007 to February 2008. It was the group's first tour since Christmas in Spiceworld in 1999, and their first with all five members since the Spiceworld Tour in May 1998. Across 45 shows (out of 47), the tour sold 581,066 tickets for a box-office gross of $70.1 million, and earned an additional $100 million from merchandising. Overall, the tour was the eighth-highest-grossing concert tour of 2008. The 17-night sellout stand at London's O2 Arena was the highest-grossing engagement of the year, taking in $33.8 million and drawing an audience of 256,647, winning the 2008 Billboard Touring Award for Top Boxscore. This was the last tour to feature Victoria Beckham.
"Headlines (Friendship Never Ends)" is a song by English girl group the Spice Girls for their greatest hits album Greatest Hits (2007). It was written by the Spice Girls, Richard Stannard and Matt Rowe, whilst produced by the latter two. It was released as the only single from the album on 5 November 2007 by Virgin Records. The song was the first commercial single release to feature the group's original lineup since Geri Halliwell left in 1998. It was also the official Children in Need single of 2007. It is their last studio single to date.
"Step to Me" is a song by the British pop group the Spice Girls. It was written by the group members with Eliot Kennedy and produced by Absolute. This song was included on the Japanese edition of the Spice Girls' second album, Spiceworld.
Spice Girls Live at Wembley Stadium is the third video album by English girl group the Spice Girls. It was released on VHS on 9 November 1998 by Virgin Records, and was filmed at Wembley Stadium in London on 20 September 1998 during the Spiceworld Tour. The concert was first broadcast live in a pay-per-view special on Sky Box Office, and although the television broadcast was completely live, studio vocals were dubbed into several songs for the video version of the performance. It received a DVD release in the United Kingdom on 6 October 2008.
Viva Forever! is a jukebox musical based on the songs of the British girl group the Spice Girls. It was written by Jennifer Saunders, produced by Judy Craymer and directed by Paul Garrington.
Christmas in Spiceworld Tour was the second concert tour by English girl group the Spice Girls. The eight-show tour was launched following "solo projects, marriages, motherhood and another round of slagging in the press", as a reunion for the girls. The eight-show tour was attended by more than 153,000 people, grossing $5.7 million in ticket sales. The first four shows saw the group play at Manchester Evening News Arena to over 72,400 fans, grossing $2.6 million; the second portion of the tour saw the group play another four shows at Earls Court Arena to 81,300 fans, grossing $3.1 million.
"Tell Me Why" is a song by British girl group, the Spice Girls, appearing as the second track on their third studio album Forever (2000). The song was written by Victoria Beckham, Melanie Brown, Emma Bunton, Rodney Jerkins, LaShawn Daniels, Fred Jerkins III and Mischke Butler. Jerkins and Daniels produced the song. It was released as a promotional single in December 2000. Originally planned as the second single from Forever, the release was scrapped.
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