Spice Girls member Mel C's advice to Blackpink: 'Enjoy every minute'

From one girl band member to another, Mel C tells Blackpink to savour every moment. Photo: Handout

Spice Girls member Melanie C, or known to many as Mel C and Sporty Spice, spoke exclusively to StarLifestyle about her latest album besides embracing her girl group roots in our cover story.

The 46-year-old who – back in 2015, served as a full-time judge on Asia’s Got Talent – also talked about the music from Asia, especially K-pop, exploding all around the world.

“To see the rise of K-pop has been fantastic because I think so often, Western artistes have come to Asia and had a lot of popularity. Just to see the export go the other way is a really lovely thing to see.

“And I think what's happened is these bands have taken the influences they've had from pop music they've seen from the West, and they've made it their own, and they've got something quite different to it.”

Asked what advice Mel C would give to the members of Blackpink, the biggest girl group in the world at the moment originating from South Korea, she offered:

“Just enjoy every minute. It's hectic and it's busy and you have these incredible experiences.

"But sometimes you're so busy, you're not in the moment. Then it moves on so quickly and you wonder where the time went.”

She also reflected on why there haven't been many girl groups over the course of history:

"I think, traditionally, the boy band has been the thing. It's what we were faced with. With labels, they told us that girls buy records by boys. That young girls really invest in male artists and boy bands.

"And I think what was so important about Spice Girls was to change that. We wanted to show that girls can do this too."

There are other contributing factors too. "I think also the dynamics of females together can be more difficult than the boys together. And I think their relationships can be more complex."

She also pointed out that music executives tend to be mostly males and may not be able to adequately understand how to manage an all-female band.

"It's a very male-dominated industry. I think often it's men that are managing these bands and are taking care of them. And they can't really deal with it. So when you get one that works, it makes it incredibly special."