Watch: Making of Kelly Rowland’s ‘Here I Am’ Cover

Published: Thursday 28th Jul 2011 by Rashad

Footage from behind the scenes of Kelly Rowland‘s newly released ‘Here I Am’ cover surfaced today.  The ‘Motivation’ diva played muse to famed photographer Derek Blanks and the results, as we already know, were sizzling.

Catch the commander striking every bit the diva pose and more after the jump:

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  1. U MAD? (S***) July 28, 2011

    (Here i Am… TO FAIL!!)

    #FLOP

  2. UMG WORKER July 28, 2011

    why the first comment have to be a hate one SMH

  3. Obi July 28, 2011

    So beautiful!

  4. Harvey July 28, 2011

    75,000k is not a flop…her album is sold out so how is she gonna have flop when she landing #2 she gonna go gold.she gonna prolly be like Marsha brosius even though she not gold yet but almost close!!! She got lucky Ive seen MTV advertise her album!!!

  5. Lebo(CaribbeanBoi) July 28, 2011

    kelly is just gorgeous …

    I LUV HER !!!

  6. theman July 28, 2011

    Don’t worry about this irrelevant a** troll. Kelly looks great. Congrats to her on all of her success.

  7. TEAm Kelly ROWLAN BUY HERE I AM July 28, 2011

    Go go go go WHOA LOVER!!!!… Lay it on me baby lay it on me ohhhhh lay it on me…… Feelin me right nowww…

  8. KAT DELUNA FAN July 28, 2011

    she is s***
    she is so prou to finally have this project out

    happy 4 her

    go kelly

  9. Classy Diva July 28, 2011

    Derek Blanks did a phenomenal job on her album artwork! These r classic photos. Omgoosshh… she looked like Janet @ 1:27. I am glad she is getting the success she deserves. 75k or not it doesn’t matter bcuz she is still a superstar… her label only shipped 200,000 copies out. They suppose to be shipping more out b4 Friday! So Kelly Rowland Fans & supporters plzzzz…. keep checking OMKELLY.COM for updates on this situation!

  10. danny b July 28, 2011

    This gives me so much from the Janet “All For You” 2001 packaging . And the “Damita Jo” album as well. Won’t say if that’s a good ting or bad thing on Kelly’s behalf. But that hair and wardrobe do look straight up outta the All For You photos.

  11. danny b July 28, 2011

    She looks gorgeous tho.

  12. U MAD? (S***) July 28, 2011

    Los Angeles Times- Album review: Kelly Rowland’s ‘Here I Am’

    “It’s hard not to feel a little bad for Kelly Rowland. The only singer except Beyoncé to last the entirety of Destiny’s Child’s run, her solo career has had a similarly second-fiddle quality to it — how could it not? But she does herself no favors by choosing consistently bland material, and her third album does nothing to dispel the sense that Rowland should be more selective. There’s a deflated, defensive quality to “Here I Am,” starting with the lead track, “I’m that Chick,” which features her mewling, “I’m not tacky, I just love myself,” and declaring that she’s “putting on a show so you can check me out.”

    “Feeling Me Right Now” is about Rowland falling in love with her own reflection in the mirror, an awkward attempt at cleverness that sounds like something forcefully rejected from the last Robyn album. (It’s also confusing — if you don’t pick up on the metaphor, it sounds like she’s singing about picking up a woman at a club. Maybe she’s going for some of those Katy Perry dollars as well?) The secondhand beats and phoned-in guest spots don’t help, either — the nadir might be Lil Wayne on the inaptly titled “Motivation”: “I let her ride/While I drive her crazy.” By the time the album ends with the stomping Euro-cheese “Down for Whatever,” with lyrics as shrugged-off as the title, it’s hard not to want to find Rowland a life coach.” (25 /out of 100) ~Los Angeles Times

  13. jamir21:rih,gaga,brit,mimi,nicki,mike,and bey ! July 28, 2011

    @ S*** BE QUIET WITH YOUR HATING ASS !!!!!!!!
    EVEN THOUGH I DONT LIKE KELLY BUT I WISH HER THE BEST !!!!!!

  14. YeaBey HATES KELLY’S FLOP STANS! July 28, 2011

    i love KELLY and as much as I want her to be “sold out” ….I saw many copies at WALMART today…

    *clicks play on video*

  15. YeaBey HATES KELLY’S FLOP STANS! July 28, 2011

    I enjoyed this video…I always love to watch Behind the scenes videos to see how things fall into place…I hope some videos surface with her in the studio…

    I enjoy Derek Blank’s work, especially his alter ego shoots…

  16. I’ve always been a jayz groupie (queenbey) July 28, 2011

    Im sorry but I am laughin my ass off @ these Kelly stans makin excuese……ALREADY

    HER record label didnt have faith in her if they really only shipped 200k……..

    And outta of that 200k only 75k ppl brought it……so thats still no excuse

  17. JAMIR21:BRIT,RIH,GAGA,MIMI,NICKI,MIKE,BEY! July 28, 2011

    @ QUEENBEY WELL….YOU HAVE A POINT !
    AND SOMETHING ELSE KELLY IS NOT THAT BIG WITH THE WHITE AUDIENCE SO….HER ALBUM IS….IDK !

  18. I’ve always been a jayz groupie (queenbey) July 28, 2011

    Typo: excuses

  19. Harvey July 28, 2011

    200,000 copies and her album is sold out I’m mad.

  20. I’ve always been a jayz groupie (queenbey) July 28, 2011

    I f***** hate late night shows…….they are so boring and da hosts ALWAYS trys too damn hard to be funny…..

  21. JAMIR21:BRIT,RIH,GAGA,MIMI,NICKI,MIKE,BEY! July 28, 2011

    @Queenbey Me too like Conon i hate that show is so boring ! He is a boring person…. !
    The only good late night shows for me is Lopez Tonight, and The Monique Show !

  22. I’ve always been a jayz groupie (queenbey) July 28, 2011

    I fell like im gettin tortured…..

    Im only watchin dis for QUEENBEY

  23. JAMIR21:BRIT,RIH,GAGA,MIMI,NICKI,MIKE,BEY! July 28, 2011

    @ Queenbey WHERE THE F*** DO U SEE BEYONCE AT NO WHERE !!!!!!!!!!

  24. I’ve always been a jayz groupie (queenbey) July 28, 2011

    @JAMRI21- Well Monique has been cancelled, I guess ppl wasnt feelin allllllllllllllllllllllll that yellin she use to do…….

  25. I’ve always been a jayz groupie (queenbey) July 28, 2011

    @JAMRI21- Boy u need to calm ur lil pissey ass down!!!

    QUEENBEY is on Jimmy Fallon right now

  26. JAMIR21:BRIT,RIH,GAGA,MIMI,NICKI,MIKE,BEY! July 29, 2011

    @ QUEENBEY SHE`S BEEN CANCELED !
    YEAH YOU GOT A POINT SHE WAS YELLING TOO MUCH !!!!!

  27. iLoveXtina July 29, 2011

    “I’m not tacky, I just love myself,”

    sounds like she heard Vanity by Xtina, (“I’m not cocky, I just love myself…”)

    hmph. Her album is pleasant though, it’s fun.

  28. I’ve always been a jayz groupie (queenbey) July 29, 2011

    Sam post up da video

  29. I’ve always been a jayz groupie (queenbey) July 29, 2011

    QUEENBEY just promoted Kelly’s album……AGAIN

  30. YeaBey HATES KELLY’S FLOP STANS! July 29, 2011

    YES ……TO YOU KELLY STANS (NOT ALL) WHO SAID BEYONCE NEVER PROMOTES KELLY…WELLLL….she just promoted KELLY’S ALBUM IN HER INTERVIEW….that’s the most promo Kelly has had so far…

    s/n: Beyonce also promoted Kelly’s album on her facebook

  31. Musictologist July 29, 2011

    yes!!! this was fly….

  32. 4FlopStayInYourLaneBiotch July 29, 2011

    @YEABEY You act like Beyonce is talking about Kelly every chance she gets. So what she wrote a comment about Kelly on her FB page. I personally don’t feel that she should be promoting Kelly at all because that is Kelly’s label and manager job. And once again Kelly has a bonk team doing minimal effort to support her album.

  33. Songbirdie July 29, 2011

    She’s beautiul. I love her album. She loves her album, and that’s all that matters!!!

  34. FlopJuice July 29, 2011

    FLOP of the DECADE.

    After millions of US dollars spent for this project.
    After 6 or 7 singles (“warm-up” failed singles LMAO).

    FLOP

  35. RollinDeep July 29, 2011

    Her album is GREAT…….so all the haters go hold ur breath under water

  36. diva July 29, 2011

    Lovely packaging and for all the other jobless negative people…grow up kids. loved the Beyonce Jimmy Fallon performance

  37. Kellymotivation July 29, 2011

    She looks good!!

  38. YOOSONDALOOSE July 29, 2011

    She looks great!

  39. mademoney July 29, 2011

    the label shipped 200.,000 and only 70k sold but yet and still people have been complaining since the 26th that most targerts and exspecially walmart ole bootleg a** has been sold out hence she would have sold more if the label would have shipped more. people from places like north corolina,new york, alabama and some other places were really upset about it I personally know some teamkelly fans who even said their stores were even f***** up with stocking the album. some people even spoke to store manager I knew something just didnt sit right or make sense to me about why she was predicted to sale so low. it wasnt adding up hell she was a damn trending topic on tueday she had a lil buzz going she was the most searched for on yahoo.com people should have went on itunes .so at the end of the day I guess thats why she wasnt bothered by low first weeks sales..but still kelly you knew people would be curious about the album. duh! you had one of the biggest r&b records of this damn year and although some people front on you low key they be checking for you. just cause of where you started out from.

    well thats on the label they like it I love it I know my target had my deluxe so whatever..I dont know what the shelf look like my guy went and bought this for me. I was going to get up and go but I was sick as hell stalking twitter that day and he came back ans surprised me with it. I dont want wanna ask him how the shelfs was looking cause he might think im a lil obsessed sooo lol

  40. Tiff July 29, 2011

    I feel really bad for Kelly. She will always live in Beyonce’s shadow. But that would have been over looked if her album was even remotely good. Just like the critic said, it was BLAND.

    Just when everyone thought her performance on the BET Awards would give her some kind of momentum for her album…tisk tisk.

  41. pop royalty (I’m a rude Boy) July 29, 2011

    give her a break ppl ! but she can be a model easily !

    @s*** :
    LMFAO ! u r so mean ! and that beyonce line is hilarious 🙂 !

  42. Monica July 29, 2011

    Here I Am received positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 68, based on 7 reviews, indicating “generally favourable reviews”[104]. Allmusic editor Andy Kellman gave Here I Am four out of five stars and complimented its appeal to “hip-hop and R&B” radio, adding that “Although very eclectic taste is required to appreciate in full, this is clearly Rowland’s brightest, most confident album yet.”[55] Entertainment Weekly’s Adam Markovitz gave Here I Am a B rating and called it “a solid if unambitious set of medium-hot finger snappers.”[107] Simon Gage from the Daily Express called Here I Am a “jumping” collection of up-tempo songs comparable to Donna Summer, but “broadly much tougher and maybe just a tad over-processed.” Gage added that Rowland could include Here I Am amongst her other career highlights such as her singles “Work” (2008) and “When Love Takes Over” (2009 collaboration with David Guetta), as well as her judging role on series 8 of The X Factor (UK).[114] The A.V. Club’s Evan Rytlewski called Here I Am a declaration of Rowland’s liberation. Rytlewski attributed the album’s appeal to the producers, whom he felt “drove forward the sound” and prevented Rowland from taking “songs too seriously” as done on Simply Deep. He concluded his review by also praising Rowland’s choice to include elements of dance music.[105] Elyssa Garnder from USA Today gave the album a mixed review, stating that “Rowland traverses the gamut of predictable romantic scenarios prettily enough… alas, Here I Am proves a lot more cautious than that dare suggests.”[112] Jon Caramanica from the New York Times called the album both smart and suprising. “Here I Am is something much more confident and more surprising [than expected]. It’s a chewy and moody R&B album on which Ms. Rowland sounds assured and vital. Or, at minimum, is made to sound that way… Her vocals are stacked thick and placed loud in the mix, but while they’re noticeable, they’re not particularly notable apart from their arrangements.”[109]

    Despite finding some of its material unoriginal, Ken Capobianco of The Boston Globe commented that “Rowland makes up for her limited range with expressiveness throughout,” while noting that the songs are centered around “self-affirmation and confidence.”[106] He ended his review by stating that the album’s closing track “Down for Whatever” had a “pounding groove” which should have been the sentiment for the rest of the album.[106] Allison Stewart from The Washington Post commented that Here I Am would not establish a personality for Rowland, but it did not matter as she was in a place in her career where she did not need one. Described as a “perfectly likeable club-centric R&B” offering, Stewart said Rowland makes the most of the “killer beats and a flat affect” trends in the industry.[113] Comments echoed by Michaelangelo Matos from the Los Angeles Times’ who’s scathing review criticised the “bland material,” particularly noting “secondhand beats” and akward lyrics.[108] Slant Magazine’s Jesse Cataldo also called the album mediocre. Cataldo said “the skimpy roster [of rappers] makes Here I Am sound distressingly bare, and depressingly short on surprises and diversion. Rowland makes up for this by pushing the s** angle, but this pose never seems entirely natural.”[111]

  43. Monica July 29, 2011

    Here I Am received positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 68, based on 7 reviews, indicating “generally favourable reviews”[104]. Allmusic editor Andy Kellman gave Here I Am four out of five stars and complimented its appeal to “hip-hop and R&B” radio, adding that “Although very eclectic taste is required to appreciate in full, this is clearly Rowland’s brightest, most confident album yet.”[55] Entertainment Weekly’s Adam Markovitz gave Here I Am a B rating and called it “a solid if unambitious set of medium-hot finger snappers.”[107] Simon Gage from the Daily Express called Here I Am a “jumping” collection of up-tempo songs comparable to Donna Summer, but “broadly much tougher and maybe just a tad over-processed.” Gage added that Rowland could include Here I Am amongst her other career highlights such as her singles “Work” (2008) and “When Love Takes Over” (2009 collaboration with David Guetta), as well as her judging role on series 8 of The X Factor (UK).[114] The A.V. Club’s Evan Rytlewski called Here I Am a declaration of Rowland’s liberation. Rytlewski attributed the album’s appeal to the producers, whom he felt “drove forward the sound” and prevented Rowland from taking “songs too seriously” as done on Simply Deep. He concluded his review by also praising Rowland’s choice to include elements of dance music.[105] Elyssa Garnder from USA Today gave the album a mixed review, stating that “Rowland traverses the gamut of predictable romantic scenarios prettily enough… alas, Here I Am proves a lot more cautious than that dare suggests.”[112] Jon Caramanica from the New York Times called the album both smart and suprising. “Here I Am is something much more confident and more surprising [than expected]. It’s a chewy and moody R&B album on which Ms. Rowland sounds assured and vital. Or, at minimum, is made to sound that way… Her vocals are stacked thick and placed loud in the mix, but while they’re noticeable, they’re not particularly notable apart from their arrangements.”[109]

    Despite finding some of its material unoriginal, Ken Capobianco of The Boston Globe commented that “Rowland makes up for her limited range with expressiveness throughout,” while noting that the songs are centered around “self-affirmation and confidence.”[106] He ended his review by stating that the album’s closing track “Down for Whatever” had a “pounding groove” which should have been the sentiment for the rest of the album.[106] Allison Stewart from The Washington Post commented that Here I Am would not establish a personality for Rowland, but it did not matter as she was in a place in her career where she did not need one. Described as a “perfectly likeable club-centric R&B” offering, Stewart said Rowland makes the most of the “killer beats and a flat affect” trends in the industry.[113] Comments echoed by Michaelangelo Matos from the Los Angeles Times’ who’s scathing review criticised the “bland material,” particularly noting “secondhand beats” and akward lyrics.[108] Slant Magazine’s Jesse Cataldo also called the album mediocre. Cataldo said “the skimpy roster [of rappers] makes Here I Am sound distressingly bare, and depressingly short on surprises and diversion. Rowland makes up for this by pushing the s** angle, but this pose never seems entirely natural.”[111]
    m

  44. Monica July 29, 2011

    I enjoyed the album.

  45. Toya July 29, 2011

    She looks GREAT and I looove the album!

  46. Kelly’s album aint sold out no where July 29, 2011

    Quit it with the lies. Her album isn’t sold out any f****** where. I called walmart on purpose to ask and the lady said Girl we got a lot of kelly rowland album here, i don’t have to reserve a copy here, if u come tomorrow, you will see it there. It’s a lot i lmao. So i said do u have the Beyonce 4 and she’s like oh we r out.

    She has flopped and her fans should quit saying it’s sold out. If they wanted it so bad, they could have ordered it online and it would have been shipped to them regardless and counted as sold. Stop making excuse she flopped and failed.

    I barely even saw the country singer’s album in the store that’s been whooping her ass on itunes. Quit lying her album is sold out but yet she can barely make #1 on itunes. That album is not sold out any damn place. Nobody bought it and you fans(NOT) will deal kelly is a flop tar b****, that needs to quit and go look for her dad.

  47. mademoney July 29, 2011

    ^^ your broke ass needs help dumb b**** and all you gotta do is look it up on twitter dumb f**.
    and what kind of lame are you to be so desperated to call walmart checking on kellys album
    people who probly never bought a kelly album in their life said it was sold out b**** I’ll believe them before I ever listen to your hobby needing ass.

  48. YEAKELLY July 29, 2011

    Kelly is sold out everywhere in my city. The wal mart wasnt sure when they would be getting more, and they also were getting complaints for not having it. So does this mean that she will actually sell more than what was predicted?? or will people just have to wait until after this upcoming week to see how she really did???

  49. KELLY ROWLAND’S ALBUM HAS BEEN SOLD OUT B******!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! July 29, 2011

    On her fansite, this is what the author wrote
    We have been told that plenty of stores are sold out of Kelly’s albums. Please email RestockHereIAm@Gmail.com with the store name, store number, city and state of the store so we can make sure that more copies are shipped to that location. Thanks again for all the support!

    So all of you dumbass haters need to GTFOH with she’s a flop! I knew she wouldn’t sell just 75,000 copies! I realize her label has a budget, but why the f*** did the ship out so little???????????

  50. KELLY ROWLAND’S ALBUM HAS BEEN SOLD OUT B******!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! July 29, 2011

    On her fansite, this is what the author wrote
    We have been told that plenty of stores are sold out of Kelly’s albums. Please email RestockHereIAm@Gmail.com with the store name, store number, city and state of the store so we can make sure that more copies are shipped to that location. Thanks again for all the support!

    So all of you dumbass haters need to GTFOH with she’s a flop! I knew she wouldn’t sell just 75,000 copies! I realize her label has a budget, but why the f*** did the ship out so little???????????

  51. KELLY ROWLAND’S ALBUM HAS BEEN SOLD OUT B******!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! July 29, 2011

    On her fansite, this is what the author wrote
    We have been told that plenty of stores are sold out of Kelly’s albums. Please email RestockHereIAm@Gmail.com with the store name, store number, city and state of the store so we can make sure that more copies are shipped to that location. Thanks again for all the support!

    So all of you dumbass haters need to GTFOH with she’s a flop! I knew she wouldn’t sell just 75,000 copies! I realize her label has a budget, but why the f*** did the ship out so little??????????

  52. KELLY ROWLAND’S ALBUM HAS BEEN SOLD OUT B******!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! July 29, 2011

    On her fansite, this is what the author wrote
    We have been told that plenty of stores are sold out of Kelly’s albums. Please email RestockHereIAm@Gmail.com with the store name, store number, city and state of the store so we can make sure that more copies are shipped to that location. Thanks again for all the support!

    So all of you dumbass haters need to GTFOH with she’s a flop! I knew she wouldn’t sell just 75,000 copies! I realize her label has a budget, but why the f*** did the ship out so little????????????

  53. NO HATER BUT I LOVE BEYONCEEEEEEEE July 29, 2011

    kelly rowlands reviews on her album are horrible!!!!! CHECK IT OUT FOR YOURSELF

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Here_I_Am_(Kelly_Rowland_album)

    Talking about the “lack of creativity”, “her limited rage” “handed down beats and simple lyrics”

    her album is very safe and its clear she doesnt have a main direction their just writting and she singing….

    again no HATE but she’s just not what everybody trying to make her out to be and TGJ.COM is full of s*** cause if it was anybody else not promoting and FLOPPING, they would have been dissing them

    THEY DISS RIHANNA ALL DAY BUT ATLEAST SHE SELLS RECORDS AND NO HER DIRECTION AND DONT CONTRIDICT HERSELF

  54. NO HATER BUT I LOVE BEYONCEEEEEEEE July 29, 2011

    THE THING IS KELLY ROWLAND IS BEING ACKNOWLEDGE FOR POOR WORK AND THEIR CALLING IT HER ‘BEST’ WORK….! THATS KIND OF SAD

    SHE’S ALWAYS SAYING “I HAVE A GREAT TEAM” BUT R YOU “GREAT” IS THE REAL ???????????QUESTION???!!!!!

    CHECK OUT HER REVIEWS FROM PROFESSIONAL POPULAR CRITICS http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Here_I_Am_(Kelly_Rowland_album)

    THEIR ADMITTING THAT ALTHOUGH ITS VERY POOR AND RUSHED WORKED IT IS KELLYS ‘BEST’ WORK…..

  55. Kellymotivation July 29, 2011

    I love Kelly but the album is HORRIBLE…I co-sign with you “NO HATER BUT I LOVE BEYONCE”

  56. nice_gurl July 29, 2011

    She looked so good in those shoots. And her album is not exactly flopping. Will probably be in the top 5 on next weeks charts.

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