Former Spice Girl Melanie “Mel C” Chisholm knows all too well what comes with life in the spotlight.
As a global superstar, she has faced her share of pressures and critique.
So when The Voice contestant Cassie Henderson, 26, opened up to her mentor about being bullied online as a teenager, the pop icon didn’t just listen — she related.
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Henderson got her first guitar when she was eight and started posting videos of herself singing on social media when she was 14.
But the semi-finalist confessed to her coach that she didn’t deal with the criticism from friends, family and strangers well.
Drawing from her own experiences, Mel C offered heartfelt advice to the aspiring artist on her team.
“Mel said to me, ‘Back when I was younger, I was probably singing for other people and singing to try and prove them wrong’,” Henderson told 7NEWS.com.au.
“And I realised she was right.
“She said, ‘Going forward, you just need to realise who you’re singing for and that’s for yourself’.
“For me, singing was always about wanting to connect with people when I’m on stage.”
Reflecting on that challenging moment as a teenager, Henderson said it was a period of time when social media was really kicking off and people were quite public with their opinions on her voice, which weren’t always positive.
At the time, Henderson, who is from New Zealand, also took part in a singing competition in her home country, which drew more attention.
“It was a really difficult time for me,” Henderson added.
“If you’re in this industry, you are a performer or songwriter of whatever, your whole career is built off whether people like you or not.
“And so you’re really seeking out that validation and 14 I was looking for that validation hard in the comment sections of my videos.”
Henderson revealed she and Mel C connected on many things, including the “bonding over the critique”.
“I started out singing when I was a kid and have been working at this a long time, and Mel started out when she was a kid too,” Henderson said.
“We’ve both bonded over the critique that comes from there and how you work through that.
“She’s such a legend and I feel so lucky that she wanted me on her team.”
With age and maturity, Henderson realised singing and being on stage is the only thing she ever loved doing.
And at 26, she found the confidence to come back to music and audition for The Voice.
“Being on stage is such a privilege,” she said. “But you have to take the bad with the good — that’s just part of it.”
“I learnt that people in the conversation aren’t always going to be a fan of you.”
“I had some really good friends that were so proud of me,” Henderson said, revealing her support network also encouraged her to repursue a career in music.
“I was a in a full-time marketing job and realised that is not what I wanted to do for the rest of my life.
“That was the shift for me.”
Henderson described having Mel C as a coach as “quite bizarre” but in the nicest way possible.
“These people that you have known for so long, these superstars, are actually just really normal, down to earth people,” Henderson said.
“Mel is like one of the coolest people I’ve ever met.
“She clearly works so hard and is still calm and reserved and just loves being part of somebody else’s journey.”
Ahead of Sunday night’s semi-final, where Henderson will go up against team mate Euan Hart for a spot in the grand final, Mel C shared some advice to help settle the nerves.
“She said, ‘This doesn’t happy very often, being part of something of this scale, even for big stars, so just try and take it all in’.”
