Melanie C - Putting Us All To Shame With Sweat
Plus a little Charli XCX throwback
This week’s track was a request by t-recx914 on YouTube - I’m taking on Sweat by Melanie C.
I’d consider myself a Spice Girls fan, but tbh I haven’t kept up a ton with their individual solo careers post-girl group, so when this track was requested, I wasn’t entirely sure what I was in for. I had a guess it would probably be pop-oriented, being that she’s a former Spice Girl and based on some of the visuals I had seen prior. I was expecting something Kylie Minogue adjacent.
Just from hearing the vocal alone, the topline wasn’t overly complicated. It flipped back and forth between Mel’s vocal hook and a Diana Ross sample for most of the 3 minute track, making it feel very fit for a DJ/house mix. I wanted to add a little more edge in there, so I went a bit more rave-y/acid/artpop with my sound choices, which I think ended up being a fun switch up from the original production.
Haven’t heard the original yet? Check it out here:
One thing’s for certain - this song and music video are very on-brand for the Sporty Spice moniker. My god, this woman is in shape. Regardless of what was happening musically, her physicality in this video is impressive on it’s own.
As I was working on my version, I could pick up some of the electric guitar tags cutting through in the higher frequencies of the acapella vocal track, so that was giving me some hints that this might lean towards the nu-disco style that’s been every so popular as of late (much to my dismay 😴). But I was pleasantly surprised to hear a good mix of heavier synths in the original version as well.
I’ve seen some critique that the song is too generic, but after doing a bit of a deep dive into her recent career, I feel like this direction makes a lot of sense with all the DJ gigs she seems to be doing. I could 100% see a song like this fitting into one of those sets so easily. I’m excited to hear what else she has coming with the 2026 album.
Listen to Crash with me:
For this week’s album ranking, I’m doing a little throwback to Charli XCX’s 2022 album Crash. This album was a bit of a slow burn for me originally, not complete grabbing me right from the first listen, but the more and more I heard it, it really grew on me. A few of these tracks have definitely made their way into some of my favorites from Charli’s catalog. Come listen along with me as I rank each track from my favorite to least favorite and let me know how our rankings compare!
Looking for more?
Find all previous episodes in this series here
Stay tuned for next week where I’m taking on Hilary Duff’s recent comeback single - Mature
And make sure to check out my original music wherever you like to stream: https://snd.click/uh8r