Home Read Classic Album Review: Melanie B | Hot

Classic Album Review: Melanie B | Hot

It's as insubstanial as the bikini she wears on the cover, but nowhere near as enticing.

This came out in 2001 – or at least that’s when I got it. Here’s what I said about it back then (with some minor editing):

 


Hot? Try Not.

Mel B.’s first words — “Oh, I’m gonna get all soft and smoochy” — set the tone for this debut solo album from The Artist Sometimes Known as Scary Spice. For nearly 45 minutes, Ms. B bounces, flounces, swoons and croons her way through a set of hip-hop and soul-pop ditties that are about as insubstantial as the bikini she sports on the cover, but nowhere near as enticing (although the heavy breather Feel Me Now easily qualifies Mel as the, er, Spiciest Girl). Ultimately, though, despite the aid of a roster of heavyweights on Hot, including Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, Teddy Riley and Missy Elliott, Mel’s mediocre voice just leaves you cold. The best thing about Hot is it brings us all one step closer to the end of Spice World as we know it.

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