MTV: Why did you choose "Goin' Down" as the first single and the way to sort of introduce the solo Mel C. to fans?
 Mel: It wasn't really something that I thought about too much. It's not a big whole pre-conceived idea. It was just when I was writing the album, I wrote "Goin' Down," it was just an instinct. I just felt like it was my first single, it was the one I wanted to be the first single, and it's probably the most different track on the album. So I don't know why, really. It just felt right.
MTV: So you're not making any sort of statement here...
Mel: I wasn't consciously making an effort to shock people, or I'm not making a statement of any kind, but maybe subconsciously I was. I don't know, I mean, I feel that every single song on the album, to me, is very, very strong, and also there were so many songs written and recorded and some great songs that didn't actually make the album. Not because they weren't good enough, but just because they didn't quite fit into the running of things. I wanted to tell a story. It's just fate the way it's worked out, but I don't actually think "Goin' Down" is going to be a single here. I think "Northern Star" is the first single, which is a shame, because it's a great video, "Goin' Down." I really enjoyed making that in L.A., and it's quite an American video.
MTV: When you see high-energy videos like that, it usually turns out that the shoot went one of two ways. It was either a taxing and tedious shoot that was in no way as exciting as the clip, or sometimes it turns out that it was actually as much fun it appears to be. Which was the case?
Mel: Oh! It was fabulous. I had such a great time. The shooting took three days but I was only actually there for one day. The rest was just other shots that they needed, but we just had a great time. We were just jumping around. For me, I wanted to do a video like that, because I just enjoy and love performing, and I feel sometimes the videos, the whole process can be tedious. I think they can get all intricate and involved and stuff, and for me, it's about the music and it was about the song. I wanted it to be fun, and I wanted to have fun doing it. So we did. There were a few special effects in there, which was funny because, I mean, the song's pretty quick anyway, so when we were doing things like [filming in] double time so we can get the slow motion, [the playback sounded] a bit like Minnie Mouse on helium. So that was quite fun.
MTV: You mentioned that you love performing live. How's the tour going?
 Mel: Really good, actually. I'm a glutton for punishment, I think, because I played the V99 Festival, and it was a radio festival in Manchester, and people don't really know all the material. Now they're familiar with "Goin' Down," and people are familiar with this track "Ga Ga" which appeared on the "Big Daddy" soundtrack. But other than that, they don't know any of the other stuff, and I know what I'm like when I go to gigs; I want to be singing along. But the crowds have been pretty cool. They've really been up for it, and they've been very supportive. So fingers crossed here, but the fans are great in America. They have always been with the Spice Girls, so I just hope it follows on to my stuff too.
MTV: As a member of the Spice Girls, you've played to millions of fans all over the world, so the stage should be old hat to you. Now that it's just you up there, is it a bit more intimidating?
Mel: Whatever I'm doing, no matter if I'm performing or whether I've got an interview, I always get nervous, but to what degree? It differs. With the girls, the girls take the Mickey out of me actually, because I do get so nervous. They think it's quite funny. I go all quiet, and I have to sit in a corner and get all calm, but on my own it's double. Sometimes I think I'm going to get adrenaline poisoning because I can feel it pumping through my veins, and I know [my solo American debut on] Friday night's going to be no different. In fact, Friday night's going to be huge, because America... I don't know, there's just something about America. It excites me so much, and I love spending time here, and to be accepted here is really important to me. So on Friday night, I'm going to be on the toilet every five minutes. [Laughs]
MTV: You worked on this album in Los Angeles, and I read in a piece that your Spice counterpart Mel G. said something like, you've "gone totally L.A.," so I was curious to find out how you think L.A. influenced "Northern Star."
 Mel: Well, it's funny, because that quote gets brought up a lot in interviews, and she was joking, and she was going, "All L.A., dahling," you know, because we have little jokes. But as for L.A. being influential, I don't know whether it was so much the place or the time that I had there, because it was the first time in about five years I was working on my own, and I had a little bit of time to sit back and just look back at what the Spice Girls have achieved. It just made me realize how lucky I am and I just thought, "No matter what happens, if I never sold another record the rest of my life, I'd be gutted, but no one could ever take that away from me." So it put me in a pretty contented place, and it just... I'm proud, you know. I'm proud of what we achieved, and so being in L.A. at that time, I don't know, it all came together, and I just felt like it was a new beginning for me. I felt stronger and wiser... a little bit older.
MTV: But since this effort is in a sense more you, how different is the pride that you feel in completing this album from what you feel when you look back at the Spice Girls' accomplishments?
Mel: Well, the thing is, I take my career very, very seriously, and of course Spice Girls is such a fun project to work with. I love being in the Spice Girls and it's very important to me, but my solo work is wholly me, so if it comes into criticism, then I do take it a lot harder, only because it's just my baby. It's completely from my heart, whereas with the Spice Girls, it's all of us taking the flack, and we can all, like, fall back on each other.
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