Along with her Spice Girl counterparts, the Sporty one has sold more than 40 million records, hobnobbed with world leaders, and played to millions of fans across the globe. She also helped to usher in the dance pop gold rush that has seized the sales charts for the better part of the last three years and continues to reign supreme. Mel should be on an island somewhere counting cash and helping to plot the Girls' next step to world domination.

But apparently, even Spice Girls get the blues.

During a rare patch of downtime, Chisholm headed to Los Angeles, hooked up with production heavyweights such as Rick Rubin (Beastie Boys, Slayer, Red Hot Chili Peppers), William Orbit (Madonna, Blur, Ricky Martin), and Marius De Vries (Bjork, Massive Attack, Fiona Apple), and banged out "Northern Star," her solo debut.

Sporting more of an edge than her Spice work (and how could it not?), the album has raised the curiosity of industry observers not only with its sound, but also with the Sporty-no-more image that Mel has adopted while promoting it. Tracksuits have been traded in for cut-up sleeveless t-shirts and tattered jeans, and a Joan Jett-esque patch of close-cropped highlighted hair in lieu of the straight, dark 'do that Spice fans recall.

On a recent stop in New York to drum up support for the album's November 2 release, Chisholm sat down with MTV News' Robert Mancini to talk about going it alone as well as her workaholic nature, finding herself in L.A., and the "pop trash" that has following in the wake of her Spice work. You'll find that conversation, plus RealVideo from Mel's recent New York solo performance and a streaming full-length version of her first solo video, "Goin' Down," right here in our MTV News Online feature.

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