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" We know all of the Spice Girls are busy ladies, but if we had to guess which of their diaries was the most filled out at the moment, we&amp;#039;d suggest Melanie C. Aside from reuniting with her former bandmates to launch the Spice Girls musical and performing with them at the Olympics Closing Ceremony, she&amp;#039;s helping people get excited about the Games and, crucially, lining up her sixth solo album. Digital Spy sat down with the star find out more about the record, the musical and, of course, whether another Spice reunion is on the cards.  You&amp;#039;re putting out your sixth record Stages next month; why did you decide to do a covers record of musical theatre now? &amp;quot;It feels like it&amp;#039;s all happened very suddenly, but really I started working on this album two years ago when I was in Blood Brothers. When I was growing up I did loads of music theatre, so there were loads of songs that I sang throughout my childhood. I kind of left it behind for a while when I pursued pop music.&amp;quot;  You went in a pretty different direction for a while... &amp;quot;Just a little bit! Going back to the theatre reminded me how much I loved singing those songs, so I started working on it a few years ago, but it took a backseat for a while as I did my last album The Sea. I was then asked to be in [TV show] Superstar and it felt like the right time to finish it and put it out.&amp;quot;  You have your own record label, which must make those sorts of decisions a lot easier? &amp;quot;It certainly does. I can do whatever I like! Finances permitting, of course.&amp;quot;  There are songs on there from Cabaret, Company and a cover of Joni Mitchell&amp;#039;s &amp;#039;Both Sides Now&amp;#039;. What production was that in? &amp;quot;Don&amp;#039;t quote me on this but I think it was in Priscilla: Queen of the Desert. The album is predominantly musical theatre but there are a few other things on there as well. There&amp;#039;s a Dusty Springfield cover on there as well.&amp;quot; And of course your duet with Emma Bunton. What was it like being back in the studio together? &amp;quot;That&amp;#039;s my crowning glory on the record, the cherry on top! I really wanted to do a duet on the album and I couldn&amp;#039;t think of anyone better because I love her voice so much. I wasn&amp;#039;t sure she would do it but when I asked her she squealed! It was so emotional when we first heard our voices together again. It&amp;#039;s so Spice Girls. I&amp;#039;m so excited for people to hear it.&amp;quot;   Are you up for recording again with her? &amp;quot;I&amp;#039;d work with her again tomorrow! We definitely had a moment in the studio. It felt very special. We&amp;#039;ve talked about performing the song together as well so fingers crossed for that.&amp;quot;  Are there any plans for another album of original songs soon? &amp;quot;I&amp;#039;m not working on anything at the moment, but I&amp;#039;ve got some free time next year. I&amp;#039;m looking forward to getting back in the studio and recording some news songs. To me, being in the studio is free time - it&amp;#039;s very relaxing!&amp;quot;  The original Sugababes have got back together; were you a fan of the first lineup? &amp;quot;I am! They didn&amp;#039;t really do a lot together as the original lineup, but &amp;#039;Overload&amp;#039; is such an incredible track. They&amp;#039;ve all got incredible voices so I&amp;#039;ll definitely be listening. I don&amp;#039;t think an original lineup of a band has ever reformed before - it should be interesting!&amp;quot;  Before the Olympics you appeared with the rest of the Spice Girls to launch the Spice Girls musical. Is it strange meeting up at first when you haven&amp;#039;t seen each other for ages? &amp;quot;We do see each other individually or in groups here and there. We&amp;#039;re always a bit nervous and apprehensive about it but after we&amp;#039;ve said hello the awkwardness quickly passes! It&amp;#039;s great though - every time we see each other we always ask why we don&amp;#039;t do it more.&amp;quot;   The musical must be in its final stages now? &amp;quot;They&amp;#039;re casting the final roles at the moment. It&amp;#039;s completely amazing! We were all really nervous when Jennifer [Saunders] read through the first draft and then we saw a recording of the workshops for act one and act two. I was so nervous because you think, &amp;#039;Please, please be good!&amp;#039; Thankfully we laughed and we cried - it was better than we ever could have hoped for. Obviously there&amp;#039;s interest because it&amp;#039;s the Spice Girls, but there is genuinely a brilliant story to back it up.&amp;quot;  You also performed at the Olympics Closing Ceremony together; are there plans to do something like that again? There are reports that you&amp;#039;ve made a &amp;quot;deal&amp;quot; not to... &amp;quot;I never ever thought we would get back together when we did in 2007. I&amp;#039;m glad we did it because it was brilliant. There&amp;#039;s nothing to say we wouldn&amp;#039;t do it again at some point!&amp;quot; Melanie C releases Stages on September 10. Listen to a preview of her duet with Emma Bunton &amp;#039;I Know Him So Well&amp;#039; below:   "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.digitalspy.com/music/interviews/a403070/melanie-c-interview-emma-bunton-duet-is-so-spice-girls/>