Melanie “Mel B” Brown is making a return to America’s Got Talent starting Tuesday, June 2, and her long-time colleague Simon Cowell is once again playing his usual tricks.
“He’s like my annoying older brother,” Brown shared in an interview with Billboard published on Monday, June 1. “He winds me up, then I wind him up. And then I go to his house in Malibu and I take my kids with me and we have a nice dinner and we chill out together.”
Their dynamic isn’t just for the cameras.
“No, he annoys me,” Brown admitted. “Just like I’m sure your siblings annoy you. It doesn’t matter if I’m on-camera or off-camera, if he annoys me, I’m going to tell him!”
Mel B Explains 6-Year Absence From ‘America’s Got Talent’
The Spice Girls singer, now 51, was previously part of the show from 2011 to 2018.
“They fired me and then they rehired me,” Brown explained. “They couldn’t get enough of me!”
This time around, she’s stepping in as a replacement for longtime judge Heidi Klum. But why return?
“It’s just a fun show,” Brown said. “I would be watching with my kids, with my husband, with my dogs anyway. So to be invited back … I love America. I love the weather, my kids were raised there. It’s pretty different from where I live now, I live back home where I was born and bred in Leeds [U.K.] in the countryside. So it’s nice to be able to go back there and be involved in a job that I love, that I think of as my family.”
Mel B Wants to Be ‘Mesmerized’ This Time
As a seasoned judge, Brown knows exactly what she’s looking for in a winning act this season.
“I just want to be mesmerized and I don’t want the act to stop, whether it’s a comedian, singer, dance troupe, magician, pole acrobat, I just want to be fixated,” she said. “I’m very much like an empath. I very much feel what they’re feeling, so if they’ve really pushed themselves to their limit and laid it all on that stage, I’m on that journey with them and I don’t want that journey to end.”
She also believes the show brings something special to television.
“It brings families together, it gives the whole family something to talk about, something to look forward to, something to be entertained by, whether you’re three-months-old or 35 or 65 or 85-95,” Brown said. “It’s a universal, happy place to be watching it.”
Watch for a ‘Spicy’ Appearance
Fans can expect a special appearance from another Spice Girl this season, though the identity hasn’t been revealed yet.
“I got my extra special, ‘spicy’ guest judge to help me,” Brown said. “And more than anything we had a really good catch-up, and she helped me decide [who to pick], which was really hard for me to decide.”
The group is celebrating the 30th anniversary of their first single, “Wannabe,” and considering a reunion.
“I’m definitely really excited about the 30th anniversary and we’re all talking about it,” she said. “So hopefully, yeah, something good will come out of it — for the fans more than anything. To think that they’ve still been with us 30 years on is just incredible.”
Mel B Talks New Music
Brown recently caught up with Melanie “Mel C” Chisholm, whose new album Sweat has received rave reviews.
“I actually went to see her in concert and she dragged me up on stage and I was like, ‘oh God, Melanie, what are you doing?’” Brown said. “We had an absolute blast and I think her album got to No. 3, which is one of her highest chart positions. She’s brilliant, she’s still doing her thing.”
As for new music from Brown herself?
“You never know?” she responded. “I am in contact with a few songwriters in L.A., so let’s see. I’ll be back there for the live shows in August.”
