MELANIE C should have a smile on her face after raking in £2.8million last year for the Spice Girls reunion.
But it’s ironic she pocketed such a big payout for the 13-date tour, given she turned down £2million for their proposed comeback four years ago, saying being in the group made her depressed.
New accounts for Mel’s touring company, Red Girl Media Ltd, show Sporty Spice raked in a hefty £2,780,556 for the Spice World tour and her own solo shows. However, in an interview in 2016 shortly after she quit initial talks of a reunion, she said £2million would not be enough to return.
She said at the time: “When the Spice Girls were at their biggest, I couldn’t even really look at myself in the mirror because I didn’t like what I saw. Depression, eating disorders, over-exercising . . . I went through all of it.”
Speaking about rejecting the early offer to get back with the girls, she continued: “Realistically, it would have been a couple of million pounds.
“It was a really hard decision. I’d like to say the money didn’t matter to me. I made a lot in the Spice Girls but I spent a hell of a lot and had a lot of fun spending it.
“I’m a single mother now and I have financial concerns but at the end of the day I didn’t want to base my decision on the money.
“I didn’t make the decision lightly. I did go quite far down the route with the girls.
“I went to a lot of meetings. But when it came to it, I just didn’t feel it was right in my gut. When I finally said no, I just felt absolute relief.”
Posh Spice Victoria Beckham snubbed the 2019 reunion after deciding to focus on her troubled fashion business instead.
Getting back with bandmates Emma Bunton, Geri Horner and Mel B certainly paid off for Mel C in the end and she is in line to pocket even more after I revealed they hope to perform more shows next year.
With her self-titled album due in October, she’ll be laughing all the way to the bank.
ARIANA Grande gave fans a peek at rehearsals for her MTV Video Music Awards gig – wearing her trademark high ponytail in bunches.
The American singer, who also wore workout gear and a sparkly mask, will take to one of the stages dotted across New York on Sunday night to perform her duet Rain On Me with Lady Gaga.
The Weeknd, Miley Cyrus and Black Eyed Peas are also among the big names due to perform, with the full show airing on MTV on Monday.
TRAVIS’s Fran Healy pulled off the impossible making the video for new single The Only Thing, with Susanna Hoffs from The Bangles, in lockdown. He said: “We had to capture the spontaneity of a duet while in different locations.”
JAMES Bay has tackled his fear of heights – by performing 443ft above London.
The singer-songwriter played new single Chew On My Heart at the top of the London Eye for James Corden’s US chat show on Tuesday night.
He said: “In truth it was a bit terrifying.
“I was also so excited about the idea of the shoot that I kind of forgot I was scared of heights until I got there and saw it.
“We were up there for just over an hour filming.
“I spent so much of it trying to stop my legs wobbling when I looked down that I felt like I had calves of steel when we finally got back to solid ground.”
CHRIS Hemsworth’s model wife Elsa Pataky has admitted their relationship requires constant nurturing. She said: “It’s funny that people think of us as a perfect couple. No way. It’s been ups and downs, and we still keep working.”
IT’S carrying the hopes of the cinema world post-lockdown, so it’s fitting that new blockbuster Tenet comes with a bombshell ending.
Christopher Nolan has included an eye-popping 57 explosions in the epic 30-minute final scene, during which more than 200 bullets are fired.
The film – which stars Denzel Washington’s son John David, Robert Pattinson and new The Crown star Elizabeth Debicki – is especially dramatic when a jumbo jet crashes on screen.
It is the first major movie to be screened in a cinema since the coronavirus pandemic hit and is thought to have cost £153million to make.
I can see why.
During the flick’s two and a half hours, 473 bullets are fired, there are 72 explosions, 82 punches and kicks are delivered in fight scenes and at least 14 people are killed.
The complicated film is about a secret agent travelling through time to save the world – but don’t ask me to elaborate on it further than that.
Even Twilight star Robert admitted: “There were months at a time where I’m like, ‘Am I . . . I actually, honestly, have no idea if I’m even vaguely understanding what’s happening’.”
Clemence Poesy’s character says on screen: “Don’t try to understand it. Feel it.”
Good advice.
BRADLEY Cooper pulled off Seventies style with flair after landing the lead role in director Paul Thomas Anderson’s new film set in the “free love” era.
And the long-haired star looked the part in white flares and platform heels.
The untitled project has been so closely guarded that details about the plot are slim.
But it’s believed to follow the story of a famous child actor.
It isn’t the only flick Bradley has been filming this year. Before lockdown, he was seen working on Guillermo Del Toro’s Nightmare Alley. With a schedule this hectic, he’ll be glad of some time off.
TWO of the biggest names in pop have struck up a friendship – Ed Sheeran and Lewis Capaldi.
Ed reached out last year as Lewis’ career skyrocketed and the pair have kept in touch.
Lewis said: “It was interesting speaking to him and one of the first things he said to me was about fame. He was like, ‘Has it got weird yet?’ And I said, ‘It’s a bit weird’. He was like, ‘Just remember, fame doesn’t change you – it changes everyone around you’.”
Lewis told a US radio station: “I was like, ‘Woah, that’s pretty heavy!’ But it’s a good point. I don’t feel any different or anything but what he said has come to fruition.”
Now they just need to get into the studio together.
MICK Jagger insisted he did his “homework” before playing an art dealer in new film The Burnt Orange Heresy.
The Rolling Stones frontman said: “I hadn’t acted in so long. I had to ask, ‘So how does this work again?’
“I looked into art dealers I knew. I actually did homework.”
WAR Child’s groundbreaking 1995 charity album Help will be re-released on September 9 – exactly 25 years after the record came out.
The collection, featuring The Stone Roses, Radiohead, Oasis, Blur and Massive Attack, will be streamed, with a vinyl release.
THE Weeknd insists there’s no feud with Usher despite claiming his music directly inspired the latter’s 2012 song Climax.
The Blinding Lights singer said: “I hit him up to apologise and tell him that it was misconstrued.
“I have nothing bad to say about Usher.”
BRITNEY Spears relied on the spiritual power of crystals while stuck at home.
She said: “During this pandemic, I’ve had more time to myself so I started a collection of crystals and I now have 33.
“They are stunning and I pray and meditate with them every darn day.”
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