Sporty Spice finds "Time" for new album

TORONTO (Billboard) - Now that the Spice Girls reunion tour has ended, Melanie "Sporty Spice" Chisholm is getting ready to release her fourth solo album in April.

"This Time," on her own Red Girl imprint, will come out in the U.K. on April 2 and in Canada six days later. It marks the follow-up to 2005's "Beautiful Intentions," her final release for Virgin Records.

Chisholm -- who also goes by the name Mel C -- has been on the road since December 2 with the Spice Girls. The 47-date trek ended in Toronto on Tuesday. Along the way, Chisholm performed solo acoustic shows in New York and Los Angeles. She plans to play some Canadian dates in May.

Before all the publicity from the reunion, little had been heard from Chisholm in North America following the success of her solo debut, 1999's "Northern Star," which sold close to 3 million units worldwide. Her next two albums, "Reason" (2003) and "Beautiful Intentions," were not released in the States.

Chisholm describes "Beautiful Intentions" as a rockier release, and says she wanted to do something different on "This Time," which she calls "mature pop." The first single, the upbeat pop track "Carolyna," tells the story of a young runaway, but it's the only issue-oriented lyric on the album.

"I think most of the songs on this album are more about relationships and personal feelings and fears and experiences," she says, including being a child of divorce ("Your Mistake") and love conquering all ("The Moment You Believe").

Reuters/Billboard