During a recent promotional trip to France, Kelly Rowland was interviewed by one of, if not the, top Destiny’s Child fan website DC3 Forever. In the candid interview, Rowland spoke on a number of issues including the omission of popular tracks from the ‘Ms. Kelly’ re-release, the mishaps of the album’s original release and her third solo album. Check out extracts below (the full interview is in the ‘comments’ section):JC: Some songs (Comeback, Still In Love With My Ex, Ghetto, Flashback) were removed from the re-release. Whose decision was it and why ?
Kelly: It was my choice, I wanted to close a chapter and move to the next step, so people asked me why I wouldn’t do a whole new record but the Freemason remix of Work took it to the next level.JC: By closing a chapter, do you think of songs such as SILWMX ?
Kelly: Not really, I just wanted to have another view on the record and close the Ms. Kelly chapter.JC: With Work being a international hit, why wasn’t it released in the US ? At least the original version that could fit better the American market ?
Kelly: I don’t know, seriously, I feel like I didn’t have anything to do with the success of Work in Europe. The Freemason remix took the song to the next level, fans kept requesting it on the radio. Look at Say My Name, the fans in the US made it a single, they made it happen, I didn’t have that little extra with Work over there.JC: It looked like Work (Put It In) was originally supposed to be the first single ? Who decided that Like This would be a better first single and why ?
[I explained that way before the album got released, Work, under the title Put It In, was up for pre-order on different websites]
Kelly: Wow, really ? It was considered as the first single but I wasn’t sure of myself, I didn’t think it could be a hit. And then I read that blog and it made me feel bad, I got confused. So we picked up Like This, it sounded like a new beginning to me. But I wanted Work to be a single just like I wanted Still In Love With my Ex to be a single.JC: Then why was Ghetto released as the 2nd single ?
Kelly: It was my decision. *SILENCE* (-I could feel she somehow regretted that choice-) I was in that zone, I wanted to release it.
JC: Do you already have any themes in mind for your third album ?
Kelly: I’m really inspired by the 70’s, 80’s, 90’s because there was more meaningful lyrics like Stevie Wonder. Look at Stevie Wonder, he is an inspiration for everybody, Whitney said she was inspired by him and she’s not the only one.
JC: So you want to do a couple of old-school songs ?
Kelly: Not really, I want a mixture, but I don’t want to give too much away. But we’ll do another interview together when the album will be ready, I’ll preview the tracks to you [ ] and I’ll also do blogs when I’ll be in the studio, with the producers”.
JC: When do you think it will be released?
Kelly: Top of next year, yes, top of next year. I wanna make sure I do the right choices, each single being a hit.JC: You’ve said you really like Kanye, Alicia Keys, Will.I.Am, Danja, Timbaland… have you been in contact with any of them ? Possibly for the third album.
Kelly: These people are very busy, I gotta get the right timing. Actually one day Will.I.Am was in a studio, next to mine, and he started playing tracks for me, and there was this one track… I fell in love with it. So we’ll see…
JC: You recently saw Nelly at the Radio 1 Event… Would you like to work with him again, for your next album maybe?
Kelly: Yes, we talked about it, the idea of doing a Dilemma Part II or renaming it. We’ll go to the studio together and see if something magical happens.
A real interesting read, if I must say so myself. A new album due early 2009; Kelly sounds real focused about making sure everything is done right the next go round. Here’s hoping she shines like many know she can.
Any thoughts?
![Extended Trailer: Prime Video's 'Cruel Intentions' Series [Starring Savannah Lee Smith, Sarah Catherine Hook, & Zac Burgess]](https://thatgrapejuice.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/cruel-intentions-prime-trailer-tv-adaptation-thatgrapejuice-2024-464x260.jpg "Extended Trailer: Prime Video's 'Cruel Intentions' Series [Starring Savannah Lee Smith, Sarah Catherine Hook, & Zac Burgess].")
So, lemme mention, before I start the transcript, she was tired since she performed the night before in Monaco, she was also a bit sick (her stomach hurt).
When I asked her “can I videotape it so I can do the full transcript ?” I could see she didn’t dare to say no but I didn’t want to insist on anything so I said “don’t worry, I won’t post the video online, it’s just for the transcript” she said “aawww, thank you” and I replied “but I can try to write down everything if you prefer” and she said “ok, but you don’t have a voice recorder” and unfortunately I didn’t… but the dumbass that I am didn’t think of turning on the camera just to record the voice and not actually film her *SMH @ me*
Sorry for that “mistake” but don’t worry I have everything in mind and I wrote down almost everything, how could I ever forget it ?
But on the other hand, I think it was somehow better cauz you know, there’s always cameras, mics and so on around her so it was more “laid back”, it didn’t look like an “interview” or whatever you wanna call it, it was more of a chat. And actually she answered to some questions before I asked them cauz we kept on talking.
Like I told ya’ll, I was supposed to get “only 10 minutes, it’s short but it should be good”, that was already AMAZING to me, but I got way more…
I arrived at the location at 12:50PM instead of 12:45. The whole crew was eating, they were nice to me, they asked me if I wanted to drink anything, but of course I said no Laughing I kept thanking them and they were like “thanks to you for being patient”. Cauz everything got worked out during the night and the morning, but seriously, I’m the one who has to say thanks !!! They were sooo nice.
They wanted more details on the “interview”… so to show them that I had nothing to “hide”, I showed them the questions, there was no problem.
They opened a lil saloon just, told me to wait a lil and that she would come down in a few minutes.
Then I heard her talking in the corridor, excitement was rising up Laughing
Ms. Kelly the beautiful entered in the room, they closed the door, it was just the two of us !!! First we shook hands (but I had a hug later Embarassed)
I told her my name but since it kinda harsh to pronounce for Americans, I said you can call me JC but she repeated my name perfectly and said “aww it’s beautiful”.
So I explained I was from DC3Forever, she remembered the phone interview.
I said sorry cauz I was 5 minutes late, that I didn’t even eat anything she said “aww you gotta eat something” and she already ordered some French brioche with marmalade (before I arrived I mean). They brought the food to her and she told me “help yourself if you want”, I said “no thank you, that’s ok” but she insisted Laughing “are you sure ?” I replied “yes don’t worry, thanks a lot”.
She had sunglasses on, she didn’t get a lot of sleep but she said “I swear I’m lookin at you right in the eye, really” I said “I know don’t worry I can see it” awww she’s sooo cute !!!
So we started the “interview”, first theme being :
MISS KELLY : DELUXE EDITION
– Daylight being the current single, will there be any new single in Europe ?
“The label is debating, it would be between Broken, Love Again and Unity, but most likely Broken.”
She said that Love Again is a “special song to her”, when she heard it she fell in love with it because she’s been in that zone.
She loves the fact it’s a simple song, just the piano, very few arrangements and her voice.
It’s her favorite and I said it’s one of the fans’ favorite too and she kept saying thank you.
– Some songs (Comeback, Still In Love With My Ex, Ghetto, Flashback) were removed from the re-release. Whose decision was it and why ?
“It was my choice, I wanted to close a chapter and move to the next step, so people asked me why I wouldn’t do a whole new record but the Freemason remix of Work took it to the next level.”
So I said : – By closing a chapter, do you think of songs such as SILWMX ?
She replied “Not really, I just wanted to have another view on the record and close the Ms. Kelly chapter.”
– With Work being a international hit, why wasn’t it released in the US ? At least the original version that could fit better the American market ?
“I don’t know, seriously, I feel like I didn’t have anything to do with the success of Work in Europe. The Freemason remix took the song to the next level, fans kept requesting it on the radio. Look at Say My Name, the fans in the US made it a single, they made it happen, I didn’t have that little extra with Work overthere”.
– It looked like Work (Put It In) was originally supposed to be the first single ? Who decided that Like This would be a better first single and why ?
[I explained that way before the album got released, Work, under the title Put It In, was up for pre-order on different websites]
She was like “woow, really ?”. She said “it was considered as the first single but I wasn’t sure of myself, I didn’t think it could be a hit. And then I read that blog and it made me feel bad, I got confused. So we picked up Like This, it sounded like a new beginning to me. But I wanted Work to be a single just like I wanted SILWMX to be a single.”
So then came my next question :
– Then why was Ghetto released as the 2nd single ?
“It was my decision.” *SILENCE* I could feel she somehow regretted that choice.
She added “I was in that zone, I wanted to release it.”
Then, talking about blogs, we talked about the video blogs and I said that each time there’s a new blog, we try to spread the word via blog, websites and so on. And I added “don’t worry, the good blogs, cauz like you said in some interviews, there’s negative blogs with people having no lives and bringing other persons down.” She thanked me one more time. She said “I have the best fans !!!” And she added “I do visit some sites and DC3Forever” Shocked
– Is anything planned with the Comeback video ?
“Not really, it’s just a bonus for the fans. I love the video, probably one of the best I’ve done” [I said it’s a fans’ favorite too, she thanked me one more time] and she added “but I didn’t feel comfortable with the whole s*** attitude, put your legs here and there, like this, not this way… I know I have young fans that look up to me”. I said “yes, you have that consciousness” she replied “exactly, this I why I’m thinking about writing a book for kids too. I don’t want to sing songs like ‘touch my here’ and so on”. So I started singing touch my body… ROTFL !!! She was like “no no, I looove that record” I said “don’t worry, I know you were not criticizing the song, it’s just the word “touch” that made me think of it”. She laughed.
THE TOUR
– You said previously that you’d like to plan a tour in small venues because it’s more intimate. Is there anything planned for sure so far ?
“Yes, I’d like to, we are talking about it but there’s nothing for sure, right now, I’m thinking a lot about the third album.”
So I said : – A tour for sure around the 3rd album ?
“Oh yeeees, definitely honey” with the sassi attitude Laughing I don’t know if she throw the word “honey” at that exact moment but she said it Laughing
So she introduced herself the next part :
THE THIRD ALBUM
– Do you already have any themes in mind for your third album ?
“I’m really inspired by the 70’s, 80’s, 90’s because there was more meaningful lyrics like Stevie Wonder.
Look at Stevie Wonder, he is an inspiration for everybody, Whitney said she was inspired by him and she’s not the only one.
So I asked :
– So you want to do a couple of old-school songs ?
“Not really, I want a mixture, but I don’t want to give too much away. But we’ll do another interview together when the album will be ready, I’ll preview the tracks to you [ Shocked Shocked Shocked ] and I’ll also do blogs when I’ll be in the studio, with the producers”.
– When do you think it will be released ?
*FAST ANSWER* “Top of next year, yes, top of next year. I wanna make sure I do the right choice, each single being a hit.”
I was like “can’t wait already !!!”.
– You said you really like Kanye, Alicia Keys, Will.I.Am, Danja, Timbaland… have you been in contact with any of them ? Possibly for the third album.
“These people are very busy, I gotta get the right timing”. She talked a lot about Will.I.Am and said “actually one day Will.I.Am was in a studio, next to mine, and he started playing tracks for me, and there was this one track… I fell in love with it. So we’ll see…”.
MISCELLANEOUS
– We heard rumors saying you were supposed to do a Broadway show… is that something you’d like to do ?
“I love Broadway, but right now, no, maybe one day.”
– You recently saw Nelly at the Radio 1 Event… Would you like to work with him again, for your next album maybe ?
“Yes, we talked about it, the idea of doing a Dilemma Part II or renaming it. We’ll go to the studio together and see if something magical happens.”
– What is the one question you wish interviewers wouldn’t ask you anymore ?
“If we really do appreciate each other. I love Beyoncé and Michelle, I would give them my leg if I had too, we support each other and journalists don’t seem to believe it.” I added “well they like to make up stories especially when it’s between girls” and she replied “well, I admit that maybe some past female band had their own problems and it doesn’t make it easy for us.”
– If you were only allowed to keep 1 CD out of your entire music collection which one would you keep ?
“That is a hard question. RIGHT NOW Stevie Wonder’s Songs In The Key Of Life, I loooove that album. And MJ’s Thriller… no I mean Off The Wall, one of the best album ever.”
– If you had the opportunity to be another person for a day who would you want to be and why ?
“Oprah, because I just love her.”
– Yesterday, during an interview, you said you are supposed to see Beyoncé before leaving Europe. Does that mean she’s coming here in Cannes ?
“No I’ll see her after leaving Europe, hopefully we’ll hang out together in NYC.”
So like I said, I never thought I’d have so much time with her, I thought it would really be 10 minutes and I didn’t have any question anymore. So I did a freestyle and tried to come up with a few things :
– Have you heard Michelle’s full record ?
“Yes, I love it, she worked so hard on it. I’m happy that We Break The Dawn in the single.
Then I asked : – We read it’s half Pop/Dance and half R&B, can you confirm that ?
“You gonna have to ask her ! It depends on people’s perceptions. Some persons already came up to me and said that if I would do a Pop record, they would consider it as R&B.”
– Fans love the name Kelendria. Have you ever thought using it for an album title ?
“That’s a great idea actually. But you guys know that because you know me, you followed my career. Imagine if I go to a TV Show and the host is like “Kel…Kelen”. I said “no, it’s easy to pronounce and it’s unique” and she laughed.
– Taling about the blogs, she said : “I won’t ever do a reality TV show, having a camera following you, it’s not for me”. I said “the fans will be happy to read that, I think we all appreciate the fact you don’t expose too much your private life”.
– We talked about France (I had to Laughing), I asked her if she knew any word, she said “enchantée” Laughing
And she actually told me she would love to speak French and she’s gonna take lessons soon !!! She’s gonna start with softwares and so on !
KELLZ REPPIN’ FRANCE Cool
– We talked about her show in Monaco yesterday, she peformed, I said “yes I saw the pics online” and she added “I ate fish and I got sick”.
I GOTTA FIND WHO COOKED THAT ! Evil or Very Mad
Which led to the showcase here in Cannes, I said “I hope you’re coming” and I said “I’ll try but you know here in Cannes the security is very rude, they don’t let a lot of people in”. She said “no you are coming with us, we gonna have fun”. Then she yelled at her crew so they could hear her Laughing she said “make sure JC joins us tonight” Shocked
– Then she signed my album and wrote “To JC, my fan” on the cover then inside, on a double spread image, she wrote “You were a pleasure to talk to !! Look forward to hanging with you tonight !! xoxo”
She took some time to write the message she said “I’m sorry” and laughed.
– We took a pic together and then she wanted to see the photo to make sure it was good. She even said “let’s go there, so the contrast will be good”.
SHE HUGGED ME AND KISSED ME ON THE CHEEK Embarassed Then she said “Oh I forgot, it’s two here in France” Laughing
I thanked her a gazillion times in the name of the whole DC3FOREVER forum for that interview.
I spent like… between 30 and 40 minutes with her Shocked
I hope you guys like the transcript, I tried to do it with all the details I remembered. Sorry if there’s typos, I wrote a lot and sorry for the wait to.
I hope I didn’t forget anything, I’ll edit the post if it’s the case of course.
I know I am lucky for that, but lemme mention that you know… I had to work to make it happen but I’m lucky they accepted it.
Kelly, if you’ll read this, thanks again, I cannot thank you enough, thanks to your whole crew too.
PART II WITH THE SHOWCASE COMING AFTER WITH THE PICS. I wrote too much, lemme have some rest
Kelly sounds lovely, but she needs to realise that she shouldnt be talking about beyonce in nearly every interview she does.
I also think she and her label made bad decisions when it came to which singles should be released off of her album. She should have released still in love with my ex and addicted to you because they are great songs and have universal appeal. Work only did well in Europe because of the Freemasons remix, other than that it sounds like a Beyonce song! She needs to find her own identity and stick to being her (musically), then I think she’d be more successful.
Ohhhh! If kelly n nelly do a collabo again it would be sooo good! I still listen to Dilemma n i really think it’s the best one ever done…Still in luv wit my ex should hav been a single…it’s so unfair that the world won’t even know it exists…DC3 fan forever!!
does anyone know how much the ms. kelly deluxe edition sold in the UK first week???? it came at #23 but does anyone have the sales numbers???
Ok, someone has to say it. Let me preface this comment by saying that I am not hating, I just feel the need to say it.
She doesn’t come across very intelligent in these interviews, she comes across sort of aloof and ditsy. It may have been cute when she was 17 but she is 27 years old and its ashame she is so controlled that she can’t make sense out of any of the management decisions that have been made.
WHO EVER HEARD of an ARTIST REMOVING TWO or THREE OF THE MOST POPULAR TRACKS ON THE ORGINAL ALBUM for these sub-par tracks she added to her re-release? How can she equate the Freemasons remix to Comback and Still In Love With My Ex.
I wanted to close a chapter? Whatever Kelly! I thought the purpose of a re-release was to add new tracks, but moreover HIGHLIGHT the tracks already on the album by re-marketing.
Some bad decision making on this good album. Its a shame but that is life. I got agree with everybody who thinks that SILWME should have been a single.
No offence but thatgrapejuice y’all have promoted the hell out of this girl. Even if SILWMX were to be a single it would harldy do well, she aint a rihanna or beyonce as in cross over appeal.
Upon all the promotions, single sleepless nights in the UK all she could do was to debut at #23 poor.
Sam,
Poin’t Blank! This is a bad investment for thatgrapejuice. The last poster is right, you have promoted the hell out of this girl and nothing she does is sticking. Look, there are many beautiful and talented women who the public doesn’t take to: Tamia, Deborah C**…I could go on.
The truth is that Kelly’s album did not flop because of bad promotion, that was only part of it. It flopped because she is being held to a standard of performance and musicality that she can’t achhieve. She is not as talented as Brandy, Beyonce, Aaliyah, Rihanna etc. There is just that unmentionable thing that is missing.
She has made some poor decisions TWO ALBUMS into her solo career and she is still making horrible decisions. Even when it comes to putting a project together, does it not get more clear that this girl isn’t a priority than to mention that within this interview when asked about working with some of the hottest and most currently notable producers on the scene, she can’t gurantee that she’ll be working with them.
Tank produced two tracks on her album; he did a great job, but tell me WHO IS CHECKING FOR TANK???? Eve hasn’t been relevant to music is HOW LONG? Who is checking for Eve! She has aligned herself with subpar acts and thus she too is sub-par.
Kelly is amazing i can’t believe the album jumped back to the chart after it fell :]
and it debuted higher than the last time
it should hit platium status in a few more months
and
Wendell you sure are f***** up in your head to think rihanna is better than kelly
ha please tell me your joking!!!
kelly is still making bigger money from destiny’s child compared to rihanna wack ass
and after beyonce’s last album then its another destiny’s child record again so shut yo ass up with that untalented b**** rihanna
the real talented ones are kelly, beyonce, alicia keys etc.
but rihanna or ciara dont even touch them 😀
Make no mistake about it, I am not a Rihanna fan, not at all. She’s wack to me, but thats another story.
Rihanna does however have something that kelly lacks, actually a few things, the least of which is better live performance skills and the most of which is — superior budgeting and management.
Kelly may be beautiful, she may be from a successful trio, but she is beyond FAILING at solo success. Beyonce, LaToya Luckett and now Michelle are all embarking on successful careers, but Kelly through her own DUMB ASS decisions is allowing her career to sink.
She isn’t relevant. Its sad to hear someone say it, but its true. No one is checking for her really, and its because she allowed herself to be a sidekick way too long. It was bad enough that she was Beyonce’s second hand, but even worse that Beyonce is LEGITLY more talented than Kelly at DAMN near everything but acting, which Kelly has the upper hand on.
perhaps that is what she should do, act.
@ Wendell
you may have a point but in no way does rihanna have better performaces than kelly
but she does get better budgeting and management than kelly :O
the problem with kelly is she released the wrong singles and didnt promote the right ones :O
as for LaToya Luckett and kelly they had the same success
kelly was an international with simlpy deep selling about 2,000,000+ albums more than letoya 😛
is not that kelly can’t make it she acctually could make it bigger than many artists
but her music is so different from different this new f***** up generation
but anyways her album is HOT!!!
i mean HOTTER THAN HOT 😀 ROFL
sure better than some wack albums i got this year and last year
as for michelle she is my girl
I luv her and my kelly and beyonce
first let me start off by saying i am big kelly rowland fan.. WHAT ALL YOU STUPID IDIOTS ARE FORGETTING IS THAT IT IS A RERELEASE FOR HER TO GET BACK ON THE CHARTS IS A BLESSING!!
Kelly Rowland is by far no failure.. (maybe Domestically) but internationally hell no she is not check your creditials she has had eight consecutive top 20 hits in UK and Europe at general… You know why because the fickle industry over here.. By the Beyonce is not more talented than Kelly can hit all the same notes as Bey and a little more check out some old Destiny’s Child Concerts where Bey was sick and the B**** outsung Bey… She made wrong decisions and had no promo.. Michelle is going down same path she has no promo and
I have failed to hear her song on the radio yet.. At least i heard Like This… in case you didnt know Ms. Kelly has sold more than alot albums that have come recently… check cherish, lil mama, raheem devaughn, keith sweat, amerie.. (those are all flops!!) why noone talks about them and how they all flopped hard as hell still ceases to amaze me.. Leave Ms. Kelendria Rowland alone.. Cause she is far from failure which is why she has yet to be dropped from her label.. like omarion who is on the same label…
~Deuces
sorry needed to add one more thing.. She Will Win!!! Wait til 3rd Discs… And please go buy the album before yo u pass judgment upon it cause it is much better than B day and definition of a true rnb artist.. LOVE AGAIN FOR NEXT SINGLE KELLY PLEASE!! DONT SCREW US AGAIN!!!
I hope Kelly does it big next time around & makes smart choices when choosing singles. “Like This” was a great first single, but “Ghetto” & “Work” not so good. “Still In Love With My Ex” would have been a good choice & i think “The Show” her song with Tank mite have been a good choice too.
Sounds like she is knows she doesn’t have the control she’d like to have. Also sounds like she knows she can’t get the “top” producers because Daddy Matthew ain’t checkin for her. But she clearly isn’t ready to break those ties. I hope she does and gets the career she deserves.
No Love Again! UNITY for the next single!
Unity is a ‘thank you UK’ track, it really deserves, it’s so radio-appeal, her voice on it, i can’t even wait to see the video and see it live. And EVERYBODY that heard to Diva Deluxe tracks told me ‘ow, repeat that one, please?’
UNITY, people! 😀
First of all don’t down Kelly becaue her day is coming and she will get it right. And for the record she does have the chops. Check Wikepedia because as a matter of fact not only does she have the voice,she has the highest octave of the three ladies. And yes she has outperformed B and hit higher notes. cHeck youtube when she sange B’s part on Emotions when they did the concert in Rotterdam. She even held it AND hit it higher. And the reason her album didnt do as good was because the album had the same songs ppl had already downloaded 2years b4 it actually came out and they didnt go in the studio and re-do it. And Michelle is too doin great…so great in fact in her new single We Break The Dawn is curerently #3 in the country on the Dance Charts. So if u gon try and bash,do ya homework first.Kelly needs a texm behind her such as Timbaland,Will-I.Am and Neyo and Danja(I would love for her to do dance songs with him).And she needs 2 singles BEFORE she releases her album. She also needs her fans behind her. So if u just on here to bash,be gone. And stop hatin. DAMN!!!