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[Piers]

Think back to 1997/first half of 1998. What were your expectations of each of the girls' solo careers? Were your expectations anywhere close to what they ended up doing?

Geri/Victoria - Honestly, I never expected solo albums out of them. It's not that I didn't like their voices. In fact, both of them often have my favorite parts of Spice songs. But with the way they were used in the group...I just didn't see either of them carrying an entire album. So. Both their solo ventures exceeded my expectations by miles. Out of Your Mind was probably the biggest surprise for me as I didn't expect Victoria to do anything that bold. As for Geri...I do have a bizarre memory. As a kid, the only song I pictured her singing was Fame (the one from the film/TV series of the same name). That was a truly odd thought as...the song is wrong for Geri, actually...and as it turned out, Geri would use the Fame film as a basis for the It's Raining Men video. Also. The first line of that song is "baby, *Look At Me*". Anyway. Hardly a premonition. But still weird.

Mel C - In the early days, the uniqueness of Mel's voice kinda reminded me of Alanis Morissette...so I guessed Mel's solo output could be a little similar to Alanis' Jagged Little Pill album. So, when we first heard Gaga from Mel...I kinda figured that was, indeed, what we were getting. Now, I couldn't have guessed just how varied Mel's debut album (and career in general) would turn out to be. I do think moments of Mel's career have a slight kinship to Alanis. Goin Down doesn't sound like You Outta Know...but both are revenge songs that shed a previously more pop-y image. I'd also say Mel's Why has a similar vibe to Alanis' Uninvited.

Mel B - I was kinda expecting something close to the lighter/most commercial songs by TLC. Mel could sing low and raspy like T Boz...and Mel could also rap and sing ballads. She just seemed like...one woman TLC to me? She carried some traits of all that group's members. I wasn't completely off. Hot has some of the same collaborators TLC used. I Want You Back sounds edgier than what I was expecting...but I'd also say that I loved Mel's first four singles, and they all surpassed my expectations (even if the album itself didn't)

Emma - I was expecting very young sounding pop. A World Without You and the A Girl Like Me album track are very in line with what I was expecting. I figured her stuff would be good, but there's a maturity to the best of her work that I didn't expect. I didn't predict the more adult contemporary stuff like What Took You So Long...or that she'd create something as artful as the Free Me album.