music
Kelly Rowland
For a Grammy-award winner who has been part of one of the most successful groups of all time, a solo star in her own right, with roles in motion pictures and television, Kelly Rowland isn't kidding when she says: "This is a fresh start for me. I'm in a fantastic place right now."
Kelly launched her post-Destiny's Child solo career by teaming up with rapper Nelly in 2002, recording the vocals for the track 'Dilemma' for his album Nellyville. The song ended up with a Grammy nomination for Record of the Year and earned Rowland an award in the Best Rap/Sung Collaboration category.
After two successful solo albums - 2002's RIAA-gold certified 'Simply Deep', which reached #12 on the Billboard chart, and 2007's Ms. Kelly, featuring top producers like Billy Mann, Scott Storch, Sean Garrett, Tank, Rockwilder and Polow da Don, and guest stars Snoop Dogg and Eve, going on to sell 1.2 million worldwide - Rowland found herself ready for a change of pace. One of the singles from Ms. Kelly, 'Work', offered a hint of her new direction, when a dance remix hit the Top 10 in France, Italy and the U.K.
After spending a summer in Europe, Rowland found herself turned on to different sounds and musical genres, especially dance and electro, which encouraged her latest stylistic direction - begun with the 2009 smash hit 'When Love Takes Over' featuring David Guetta and culminating in her third solo album, 2011' 'Here I Am'.
As for her illustrious past, Kelly just wants room to grow as an individual, to explore her own artistic path.
"It's about respecting me in my space as an individual, as I respect the other members of Destiny's Child in theirs," she insists. "That is certainly a large part of my career, how big it was. We continue to love and support each other, but we're all adults moving forward."
Rowland is also intent on continuing to appear on TV and in the movies. She had a recurring role in the sitcom 'The Hughleys', before appearing in other shows such as 'Eve' and 'Girlfriends'. She also appeared as Martha Reeves in 'American Dreams', singing 'Nowhere to Run'.
In 2003, Rowland made her big screen debut in the film 'Freddy vs. Jason', then the following year starred in the romantic comedy 'The Seat Filler', executive-produced by Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith, playing a pop star who falls for an awards-show seat filler she mistakes for a high-profile record executive. In 2009 she co-hosted the reality series 'The Fashion Show' with designer Isaac Mizrahi and in 2011 took a seat on the judging panel of UK talent show 'The X-Factor'.
"I'm definitely going up for more roles because it's something I truly enjoy," she says. "I really want to continue to study the craft to where I can be respected as an actor. I want to completely understand the role and get engrossed in it to the point where I am that character. For me, it’s about passion, not taking a role just to say I did it."
With a clean slate and a strong start on this latest phase of her impressive career, Kelly is ready to embark on this new chapter of her career.
"I'm very confident in everyone that’s around me now," she says. "I believe in them as much, if not more, than they believe in me. I let them know what's going on, what I want, what I expect from them. I'm in control, and that's a great thing."