Mel B has seen every kind of dog, roller skating, magic, dance and balancing act you can imagine during her seven seasons behind the desk on America’s Got Talent. But after returning to the show last year following a six-season break, the singer/presenter and Spice Girls charter member born Melanie Brown swears viewers are in for some wild acts they’ve never seen before when season 21 launches on NBC on June 2.
Ready to take her seat alongside irritating “big brother” Simon Cowell as well as six-season veteran Sofia Vergara and the show’s longest-running judge, comedian Howie Mandel, Mel tells Billboard that at a time when her adopted country, and the world, can be in a dark place, AGT is the soothing, summer respite from all the madness we need right now.
“I think it does what it says: 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 3 months old or 35 or 65 or 85-95. It’s a universal, happy place to be watching it,” she says.
If you’ve watched over the years, Mel is certain you’ve seen the level of talent develop and grow, even as the show maintains its cheeky and risqué sense of humor, along with the occasional flash of danger. “It ticks all the boxes. You’re guaranteed to be near to tears,” she says of the wide range of emotions summoned by acts that range from circus silly to death-defying fear and tear-jerker serious. “To be crying, to be yelling at the TV, to be rooting for somebody — it’s just a whole bundle of everything. It’s like a good emotional roller coaster ride that you want to get on time and time again.”
A week before the season debuts, Billboard caught up with Mel B from her English home to talk about the upcoming season, find out what the legendarily irascible Cowell is like offscreen and bug her about the plans for the Spice Girls’ 30th-anniversary celebration this year.
After watching 15 seasons of sword swallowers, dance troupes, acrobats, magicians and so many dog acts, did you still find things that blew you away this go-round?
Yeah. Whether it’s a sword act or a magician or a dog act, what you see is something completely different all the time. It may be that they bring out some cards or a dog, but what you’re seeing is that everyone has developed their skills because everyone is doing their research from season one to season now. It’s interesting and exciting and literally you never know what will come on that stage.
Producers said one of the biggest trends this season is how bold and unexpected the acts are, with contestants blending genres and skill sets more than ever before. Can you give me an example of a few?
Last year we touched on it. We had someone juggling on a unicycle, so last year was definitely a kickstart of people blending all kinds of talents. But this year, because people have really stepped it up and done their homework, we have people who have come back from previous seasons to have another go, so that’s amped up the level of talent and drama and passion for wanting to make it further than they did before.
What do you look for in a winning act, or one you give a golden buzzer to?
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. 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.
In a twist this season, the judges will invite a select group of acts back to perform again in the Judges’ Callbacks round. What excites you about brining back some of your favorites?
We’ve not done that before and it’s nice to choose who you have as a guest mentor/judge. Hopefully everyone on the panel has chosen someone who is close to them and understands them. I got my extra special, “spicy” guest judge to help me. 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, if I’m being honest. [Mel checked with the AGT publicity team and they confirmed that she cannot reveal yet who her “spicy” helper is.]
This is your second go-round on the show and first since you originally split after season 13 in 2018. You took six seasons off …
No, they fired me and then they rehired me. They couldn’t get enough of me!
Well, now you’re replacing another long-timer, Heidi Klum. What keeps you coming back?
It’s just a fun show. 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.
You’ve always had a spicy relationship with Simon, though it seems like you two have reached a détente lately. How would you describe things between you two?
He’s like my annoying older brother. 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.
So it’s all for camera?
No, he annoys me. 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!
You mentioned before that this year marks the 30th anniversary of the Spice Girls releasing the “Wannabe” single, so it’s my journalistic duty to ask: Any chance for a reunion or activity this year?
I can’t comment on that, but I’m definitely really excited about the 30th anniversary and we’re all talking about it. 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.
I know Mel C released an excellent solo album recently, Sweat, so how about any new solo music from you?
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?” 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. You never know? 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 … hold this thought!
