Mel B says Channel Nine and Seven court battle ‘nothing to do with me’

THE court battle between Nine and Seven over her services had ‘nothing to do with me’, claims The Voice Kids’ coach Mel B.

IT’S been almost two decades since Melanie Brown told the world what she really, really wants.

Storming the pop charts as part of girl band phenomenon, The Spice Girls, the then 20-year-old Brown knew exactly who she wanted to be: the brash, ballsy, bold one, taking prisoners in tiger prints with a wild mane of hair to match.

PICTURES: MEL B

Reinvented as a reality TV judge, Scary Spice stayed true to her stage form as the no-filter, all-fire panellist who knew what she liked, what she didn’t, and wasn’t afraid to tell us.

So when an ugly court case between her former Channel Seven X Factor bosses forced her to cancel plans to be part of Nine’s reboot of Australia’s Got Talent and, as a consolation, find a new gig as a coach on The Voice Kids, the industry wondered out loud how suitable Scary was for such a PG platform and its vulnerable young artists.

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Distance: “I don’t know the in and outs (of the court battle),” Mel B says.

The fierce Yorkshire woman curls her lip, turns up her nose and is having none of it.

``No, I’m just honest no matter what I’m judging or what panel I’m on,” she says.

“Kids more so than anyone appreciate it if you’re really honest with them. You know, they’re tough as houses these kids and they’ve got so much confidence. There’s not a lot of stress or emotion, they’re just kids who love doing what they’re doing.’’

Asked about ‘that’ court case, Brown distances herself from the intricacies.

“I wasn’t here, I was in America but (laughs) I came out of it doing the kids’ Voice, which I love,” she says.

“I don’t know the complete ins-and-outs of that (court battle) … I was just there and I’m glad I’m here. What else do you say about it (chuckles)?”

“It’s not been awkward for me. It was between them, not me. They figured it out, I guess.”

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Kids “naturally talented” ... Mel B is a coach for The Voice Kids. Picture: Channel Nine

Brown is still the sex kitten not averse to getting her claws out, but she’s also a mother of three daughters, who says she keeps it just as real with them as she does on The Voice Kids.

The Voice Kids producers took a lot of the pain out of the process for the coaches, culling only the best of the 8000 child singers who applied to make it onto the stage.

Brown says those `kids all really deserve to be there. We’re not talking about stage school kids here, we’re talking about regular kids. Maybe their parents have heard them sing around the house once or twice and they thought `wow, let’s put them in for this show.’

“They are very unaffected, so that from the get-go it means they are naturally talented, not chasing necessarily fame or to be a star. They just happen to be gifted.’’

The Voice kids ... Coaches Benji Madden, Mel B and Joel Madden. Picture: Channel 9

Any anxiety about exposing young talent to harsh criticism is misplaced, Brown argues, with extra care taken to ensure they’re guided in an age-appropriate direction; or when they falter, are supported off the stage with kid gloves (during the battle rounds, eliminated singers leave in pairs so as to share the disappointment).

Brown has tried to set realistic goals for her team.

“One of my contestants is singing a love song, so I’m like `obviously you’re not in love, you haven’t experienced being in love yet with your to-be partner’, so I set them goals to think about what they really want by the time you’re 21. Is it a nice car? Is it house?

“I said: ‘think about that and the passion for getting your number one dream house’. I work around the songs with them so they can actually connect with the song because they can sing their little hearts out, it’s ridiculous.’’

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