Some of the songs on the singer's new album sound like an imitation of Doa Lipa, and some are pleasantly surprising • Without a doubt, Sporty Spice has matured
"Who Am I?", Melanie C. asks us in "," Who I Am The first song on the new album (simply called "Melanie C.", which is probably the obvious answer).
And really, we too are wondering who Melanie Chisholm is today, almost 25 years after she burst into consciousness and our lives as part of the Spice Girls.
And if we were to rely on the album's opening song as an indicator, it seems the answer could have been "a past star who will record disco songs in old-fashioned production in 2020."
While this is true of a fair number of songs here, it is also not entirely accurate as an overall statement.
At certain moments it seems that Mel C., forever the best singer in the female line-up in which she became famous, wastes her vocal abilities on trivial pop songs like "" In and Out of Love for example.
But one in a few tracks on the album would hurt a successful song even in relevant terms, like the excellent "Escape" or "Fearless," a song that would no doubt have received a radio refinement (if only it had been performed by a younger pop star).
On the one hand it is frustrating, and on the other hand it is evident that even those who were once Sporty Spice, are aware of the challenge of creating pop after the age of 30.
"It's clear to me that I'm recording a pop-dance album and I'm a graduate artist, so I have to accept that some radio stations will not play me," she said in a sober interview with the BBC this summer.
In other interviews, she said that the round of reunion with her bandmates and the success she gained were what inspired her to return to making light music, after years of creating more "serious" music.
The result is somewhat confusing.
Some of the songs sound irrelevant or inappropriate.
She can not sound natural when she tries to sound like a beautiful doa.
In another part it is actually a pleasant surprise.
Despite the lack of uniformity, it is evident that Melanie C. is at peace with herself.
And that's rare for an adolescent pop star.
, "Who I Am" Melanie C