Mel B has seen every kind of dog, roller skating, magic, dance and balancing act you can imagine during her seven seasons behind the desk on America’s Got Talent. But after returning to the show last year following a six-season break, the singer/presenter and Spice Girls charter member born Melanie Brown swears viewers are in for some wild acts they’ve never seen before when season 21 launches on NBC on June 2.
Ready to take her seat alongside irritating “big brother” Simon Cowell as well as six-season veteran Sofia Vergara and the show’s longest-running judge, comedian Howie Mandel, Mel tells Billboard that at a time when her adopted country, and the world, can be in a dark place, AGT is the soothing, summer respite from all the madness we need right now.
“I think it does what it says: It brings families together, it gives the whole family something to talk about, something to look forward to, something to be entertained by, whether you’re 3 months old or 35 or 65 or 85-95. It’s a universal, happy place to be watching it,” she says.
If you’ve watched over the years, Mel is certain you’ve seen the level of talent develop and grow, even as the show maintains its cheeky and risqué sense of humor, along with the occasional flash of danger. “It ticks all the boxes. You’re guaranteed to be near to tears,” she says of the wide range of emotions summoned by acts that range from circus silly to death-defying fear and tear-jerker serious. “To be crying, to be yelling at the TV, to be rooting for somebody — it’s just a whole bundle of everything. It’s like a good emotional roller coaster ride that you want to get on time and time again.”
