What happens when two artists from the two of music’s biggest girlbands join forces? Apparently, smash hit bliss!

This week’s From The Vault pick is Melanie C‘s ‘Never Be The Same Again‘ featuring the incomparable Lisa ‘Left Eye’ Lopes.

A rather unlikely pairing on paper, it quickly becomes clear upon listening to ‘Same’ that the ladies were onto winner. Released in early 2000, the track served as the third single from Sporty Spice’s debut effort ‘Northern Star‘ and saw her showcasing a radically different facet of her artistry. Especially when compared to the sugar-coated sound that defined “Spice Mania,” which took over the globe (with the firmest of grips) during the latter 90’s.

Rhett Lawrence produced the track which he co-wrote with Chisolm and Lopes – who was in the midst of expanding her brand following TLC‘s blockbuster album, ‘FanMail‘.

The track proved to be a huge European success for the duo, hitting #1 in the UK and #5 in Germany. Sadly, it didn’t chart in the US but fared very well in Australia where it reached the second position of the ARIA chart.

With its futuristic feel and modern-design elements, the video for the single was very much carved in the vein of what could be seen on MTV in a post-Matrix reality.

Lensed by Francis Lawrence, the visual presents Melanie in a sterile, Feng-shui environment meditating to music, running (no doubt to the top of the charts) before being joined by Left-Eye for a synchronised Tai-Chi session. The latter dubbed as captivating “choreography” in itself.

With this collaboration, the girls showed that mixing Spice with touch of TLC can yield the most delicious of results. We yearn for more out-of-the-box pairings such as this. Hopefully, today’s top talent will do away with the rigid politics and oblige.

Your thoughts?