The Spice Girls star went to see the Bad Guy hitmaker perform in London last year, and after meeting for the first time at the show, the pair quickly formed a close bond.

Since then, Billie's popularity has grown exponentially, but she still regularly speaks about matters that are important to her - a fact Mel greatly appreciates.

"She's so wise beyond her years," the British singer told Entertainment Tonight of the 18-year-old. "She knows she has a very powerful platform to be speaking from and she's using it in the best way. And, it's brave because everybody has an opinion and everybody is ready to criticise when you're in those positions. I feel extremely proud of her.

"And, I feel for all younger artists now because the Spice Girls didn't have to deal with social media. It was a very, very different time.We felt pressure (and) we felt like we had a responsibility to our younger fans, but now you are literally under the spotlight. She handles it beautifully, so more power to her."

Most recently, Billie hit headlines for sharing a passionate message on Instagram in support of the Black Lives Matter movement following the shocking death of African-American man George Floyd at the hands of Minnesota police officers on 25 May.