Has Melanie changed? Have the trappings of fame gotten to our idol? I have 
been thinking about this for some time, and I have a bit to say on the 
subject. So that's why I am writing this. Just to get my thoughts out.

Melanie started off as Shy Spice more than anything else. She would always 
be the one in the corner, always at the end of the photograph, never in the 
limelight, always in the background. As the Spice Girls rose and rose, 
Melanie got used to being in the limelight, but she always had to compete 
with four other girls for the attention. Even in interviews, it was quite 
noticeable that certain members of the group would talk over others, so if 
Melanie had something to say, she very rarely got to say it.

Time passed, and Geri left. Suddenly, there were four girls instead of five, 
and therefore, more attention could be focused on each one. This still 
didn't change the situation much because the main offender for talking over 
people hadn't left. So Melanie settled comfortably into the safe environment 
of being famous with three other girls.

Then she launched her solo career.

Suddenly, Melanie was thrust into the limelight alone. There were no other 
girls dancing and singing on stage with her. There were no other girls to 
help answer the interviewer's questions. There were no other girls to rescue 
her from the awkward moments. She was on her own.

She has always admitted to being shy. Therefore, when she was suddenly the 
only one being focused on, she must have found it overwhelming, to say the 
least.

Cue the "show-off" attitude and the "trying to hard to be funny" act. How 
would you feel if suddenly, you were being paid copious amounts of attention 
that you had never experienced before. If your shield had been taken away 
from you? (The other girls). If you were suddenly so in demand, you had to 
add extra tour dates and promotional blitzes to your schedule? If your 
single went to NUMBER ONE, sales so exceeding the last week's contender, you 
couldn't believe your fortune? Exactly. Melanie hasn't let fame get to her. 
She has just been overwhelmed by all the good things that have happened 
lately.

If I were in her shoes, I guess I would be much the same. Hiding my 
nervousness by making too many jokes, or putting on an over-confident 
attitude. Give her time to get used to her fame, and she will mellow out and 
be the same Melanie Jayne Chisholm we all knew and loved.

Now if we could just convince her to do something about that hair....