R&B star Kelly Rowland has been busy carving out a successful solo career for herself outside of the USA since the release of her sophomore effort ‘Ms. Kelly’. The 27 year old singer took to the stage at MTV Africa’s first MTV Africa Awards, performing her smash ‘Like This’ with Nigerian star D’Banj.
Granted it’s good to see Kelly building her ‘International’ base, performances like that aren’t going to do her any favours. Knowing what Kelly is capable of delivering on her own accord (see below), it grates a little to see her serve up such a so-so/sub-par showing with this. I mean if she wasn’t going to dance (which she didn’t – more just walked around the stage), then the vocals should have been on-point – which they weren’t. More of performances like these please Kelly (see below):
What do you think of the performance?
![Aww! Halle Bailey & DDG Sing 'Happy Birthday' to Son Halo / Auntie Chloe Bailey Shares SUPER CUTE Duet with Him [Video]](https://thatgrapejuice.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/halo-thatgrapejuice-ddg-halle-bailey-chloe-2024-birthday-464x260.jpg "Aww! Halle Bailey & DDG Sing 'Happy Birthday' to Son Halo / Auntie Chloe Bailey Shares SUPER CUTE Duet with Him [Video].")
I couldn’t make it through the 1st clip. The second performance was much better. In fact, I loved it. Made me nostalgic. But it was clearly just a DC melody. She needs to learn to recreate that quality in her solo live performances.
She has no star quality! Can just about sing and can’t dance! She was lucky for the Knowles family if you ask me.
I like Kelly, and that remix with the hip-hop artists on the first one was cool. She wasn’t 100%, but that’s OK. What she’s doing is smart.
The first performance was oaky . . . not her best and the quality of the vid was bad . . .
The second performance was a repeat post . . . come on SAM . . . it’s a New Year 2009 STEP YA GAME UP . . . we have already commented on this post and the DC Medley was hot . . . .
Besides . . . she doing her and a damn good job of it . . .
D’banj and Kelly look great together. She should work with him in the future.
OK SO I LOVE KELLY AND I LOVE HER CD MS. KELLY. BUT KELLY HAS SUB-PAR VOCALS, AND WHAT I MEAN BY THAT IS I HEARD KELLY SING AND I MEAN SING ESPECIALLY WHEN SHE WAS IN DC. IDK IF IT WAS BECAUSE SHE REALLY HAD TO STEP HER GAME UP BECAUSE OF BEYONCE OR NOT BUT IT’S LIKE NOW I DON’T REALLY SEE HER GIVE HER ALL IN ANY PERFORMANCE. SHE DOES MORE HYPING UP THE GROUP THEN ANYTHING.
AND I DON’T WANT TO COMPARE BUT WHEN IT COMES TO BEYONCE AND EVEN LETOYA(ESPECAILLY HER LASTEST PERFORNACES LIVE) KELLY IS TERRIBLE. AND I DON’T UNDERSTAND WHY. AND THAT’S WHY I BELIEVE SHE IS ONLY POPULAR OVERSEAS. PEOPLE IN AMERICA ARE NOT GOING TO TAKE HER SEIOUSLY WITH THOSE VOCALS. I FELT SO BAD WHEN SHE WAS SINGING AT THE BET AWARDS 07. SHE WAS SINGING ALL DEEP AND I COULD BARLEY HERE WAHT SHE WAS SAYING. AND I’M THINKING OK YOU DON’T SING THE SONG LIKE THESE ON THE CD SO WHY IS SHE SINGING SO LOW? AND THE ONLY CONCLUSION THAT I COULD COME UP WITH IS THAT I DON’T THINK SHE IS THAT CONFIDENT SINGING THAT HIGH. BECAUSE SHE HAD TO LEARN TO SING IN A SOPRANO VOICE. LETOYA WAS THE SOPRANO WHEN IT WAS DC4 AND WHEN SHE WAS GONE KELLY HAD TO DO IT. I BELIEVE SHE IS AN ALTO. BUT NONE THE LESS, I JUST KELLY WOULD STEP HER GAME UP BECAUSE I DO WANT HER TO BE SUCCESSFUL HERE IN AMERICA.
SORRY I WROTE SO MUCH. I JUST HAD TO SAY SOMEHTING
No artist is perfect. I can't think of any of the popular female artists who are on point with their performances all the time so why do we scrutinize everything Kelly does?
I hope big things are in store for Kelly in 09. After DC, there was really no promotional focus on her music and she didn't really get any acting or advertising gigs either. The major projects (Dark & Lovely,Girlfriends, etc) she did were all during the DC era.
It feels like she is a new artist the way she has to struggle for acceptance and that's all because of poor management/marketing.
1. IMO negative press is not quickly dealt with. By this I mean when there are "damaging" rumours about B or when Solange was acting stupid on TV, Mr Knowles speaks up for his daughters and defends their actions but IMO they just throw Kelly under the bus. Whether it be the Breast story, pregnancy rumours, poor record sales or people saying she can't sing. Her Mgmt has nothing to say.I feel she does more interviews than B where she always has to be defending herself…. and B.. and Michelle… and solonge. They should book more performance gigs for her.
2. When she does something good it doesn't get proper promotion. Hence all the hot songs on Ms. Kelly that were never released or only released to small markets. Plus limited airplay. I mean really if you play the most annoying song enough people start singing to it eg. Single Ladies- If Kelly had done that song people would admit it is a poorly written, annoying song. But after hearing it EVERYday, I like most others get to like it. My point is Kelly's songs don't get the chance because they pull them off the radio/BET once it's not an "instant hit" as opposed to B's (& Rihanna's, etc)songs which they feed us non-stop til they grow on us.
If Kelly is promoted well she can do as well as the Bey/Rihanna/Ciara but failing that I can't see how she is not even as popular as Keyshia Cole or some of tthe new artists. I mean really a lot of people don't even know who Kelly Rowland is. That is poor mgmt and I hope she either gets firm or find new mgmt for real.
Honestly, that performance wasn’t as bad as i thought it was based off of Sam’s comment.. I am a big kelly fan, and she has had a lot of good moments when she sings her ass off. But i have to admit solo wise there seemed like there wasn’t a lot of confidence for a while, but i think she is gonna have that new management, and I heard her new song on youtube, BLAZE. IT is a good song, i don’t understand why Sam didn’t post it up on grape jucie. But i feel like her next project will surprise people, if she is under new and better management. I am hoping the same for Keri Hilson..
SHE COULD HAVE DID WAYYY BETTER…..I LOVE HER 2 DEATH,AND ALL I CAN DO HIS PRAY THAT 09 IS HER YEAR,…SHE DESERVES IT,…..LOVE U KELLY
Yes, no one is perfect! And I guess Kelly just did her best shot, and I like her.. Wish her all the best for this year..
HAPPY NEW YEAR! 🙂
I can’t figure Kelly out. I don’t understand how someone who has been singing professionally for over ten years and who clearly has a great voice seems to have no idea how to use that great voice. I know Kelly spent years as Beyonce’s understudy,but she’s been a solo artist for over six years now and she still can’t consistently deliver live. Why in the hell does she sound like she’s out of breath when she barely moves to this song? It’s not like she’s singing and doing choreography. Why was she pitchy and why was her voice cracking? Kelly has been doing this too long to be giving such an amateur performance. I’ve seen her do much better than this in the past. Even during her ‘Simply Deep’ days when she was just beginning as a solo artist she brought it better than this (most of the time). I feel like Kelly is getting lazy which is the last thing she can afford to be right now. She needs to go back to the drawing board;hire a vocal coach,work on building her voice and learning how to sing properly no matter what the song. Hire a trainer and WORK OUT;Build up her stamina so that she doesn’t sound as though she’s about to have an asthma attack on stage. Lastly, REHEARSE! I’m all about spontanaity on stage but at least make it look like you’ve put some thought and effort into what your doing. I have high expectations of Kelly because I know she’s capable of better than this. I think people are hard on her because they want to see her do better. We’re not being haters we’re being honest. Kelly needs to find out what her problem is and fix it…QUICK! Her third album depends on it.
I dont get kelly….she’s had the same training as bey did almost everything bey has and she gives us this crap…wtf….she has the talent to become beyonce’s biggest threat….when she’s with dc she goes all out and beyond…so i dont get her….as well as bey’s doing live…kelly has the training and skills to be as good as her if not better…come on kelly u gotta do better then this…im sorry after dc3 called it quits i thought you and bey would be killing the game and stomping on these other females…u gotta get it together baby
agree w/ kelly please.
i don’t get how she keeps churning out so-so performance. she’s been performing for years, for god’s sake.. heck, some newbie artists can deliver better than that. i like kelly a lot, and i do want to see her succeed, but i’m getting tired of giving her “second chances”
Couldn’t agree less with some of you guys.
I’ve been a kelly fan since the Destiny Fulfilled era.
She was amazing in the Destiny fulfilled era, her voice and dances were on point but now that she goes solo it looks like she doesn’t even care anymore.
the performance wasn’t bad, it was pretty good but I know she could do better and by the way Ms.kelly wasn’t even a flop
so kelly how about giving your fans something like this…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZbPFa7uDZI
I understand what Sam is saying, and I have to agree. She has potential to be much better, but her problem is consistency. Someone mentioned her performance at the BET Awards in ’07 and I remember that as well. I think that was one of her worst performances. However a week later when she performed on Carson Daly’s show and Good Morning America she performed “Like This” so well and she ‘s performed well live when DC was together especially during Destiny Fufilled tour. She killed her solo joint “Bad Habit” live. However, when she does sing bad, there is a shake in voice and I think it’s due to nervousness and lack of confidence. Maybe she isn’t comfortable at some venues, I don’t know. But anyway, the two main things I think she needs to do in order to have better live performances is to hire a vocal coach to train her to eliminate the trembling in her vocals no matter how nervous she might get and most importantly gain more confidence!
She has lot to learn. She has to work on her dancing and singing, but that can be learned…
Ms. Kelly was a hot album, I hope her next album will be even better
love ya kelly
and sam stop being so negative about everything :p
It's not being negative ! He simply say the truth! I think Kelly is not underrated she and Beyoncé were the lead singer of DC . She has an international carreer. So why the hell everyone say dat she is underrated ?
If there's one artist who is actually underrated is Teedra Moses Complex Simplicity is one of the best r&b album i've heard, but in europe she's almost unknown .
Everyone support Kelly because she does not have the same success than Beyoncé . So what ? There's a lot of singer who actually wish to have her recognition.
WORLD WIDE SALES CHARTS! FIRST WEEK NUMBERS DON’T MEAN ANYTHING!!!!!
BEYONCE I AM SASHA FW: 480K-505K TOT: 2.25 RELEASED 11/08
MJB GROWING PAINS FW: 600+ TOT: 1.9 RELEASED 12/07
KANYEWEST GRADUATION FW: 957K TOT: 3.2 RELEASED 9/07
KANYEWEST 808’S FW: 450K TOT: 1.3 RELEASED 11/08
LIL WAYNE CARTER3 FW: 1MILLI TOT: 3.1 RELEASED 5/08
TAYLOR SWIFT FEARLESS FW 600K TOT: 2.24 RELEASED 11/08
THIS PROVES THAT BEYONCE WILL SELL MORE THAN MARY, KANYE,AND LIL WAYNE WHO ALL SOLD SIGNIFICANLTY MORE THAN HER IN THE FIRST WEEK. SO ONCE AGAIN THE FIRST WEEK DOES NOT MEAN MUCH. HI HATERS!!
Why r u all being so harsh. I watched this on tv and it wasn’t bad at all. She first performed Work where she danced her ass off and then like this; normal she got tired. Also she was getting hot. it’s very hot in Nigeria. You can see in the video that at one point she tried to remove her suit but failed. I think she did great REALLY. I watched the whole performance. Work and Like this and she did great.
I don’t think people are being too harsh it’s just like what Kelly Please said she has been in the game too long for these mediocre performances.. yes I too remember the 07 BET awards and saying to myself, hmmm maybe Matthew isn’t all the blame for her not having more solo success maybe she just doesn’t have “it” ..
@ ANON 8:49 WHAT THE F*** DOES BEYONCE HAVE TO DO WITH WHAT WE ARE TALKING ABOUT IN REGUARDS TO KELLY? NOT A DAMN THING. TAKE THAT S*** SOMEWHERE ELSE. AS FAR AS KELLY GOES I AGREE WITH ANON 11:24 SHE HAS BEEN IN THE GAME TO LONG TO HAVE THESE MEDIOCRE PERFORMANCES. IT SEEMS LIKE THE ONLY TIME SHE TRIED WAS WHEN SHE WAS IN DC3, AND THAT’S A SAD THING TO SAY. KELLY SHOULD WANT TO BRING IT EVERYTIME SHE HITS THAT STAGE AND SHOW PPL THAT SHE IS HERE TO STAY AND SHE AIN’T GOING NOWHERE BUT SHE DOESN’T AND THAT’S THE SAD PART ABOUT IT. SHE HAS GOT TO DO BETTER COME THIS 3RD ALBUM OR SHE IS GONE LOSE A LOT OF FANS. NOT BECAUSE SHE DOESN’T HAVE TO THE POTIENTAL BUT BECAUSE PPL KNOW SHE IS GOOD AND SHE ISN’T SHOWING US THAT SHE CAN REALLY BRING IT.
@ 11:24 AM Anonymous
I still blame matthew but not only does he take blame but kelly does too for not making her own decisions in her own career.
She could have been a big threat to beyonce but it’s to late now for anything…
she has been giving so many movie roles but she turns them down, how about getting into movies kelly, your not a bad actor and how about getting some hot producers with a good promo team kelly?
if rihanna could make it with her alien looking ass im pretty sure you could do twice as good kelly.
I hope she comes on thatgrapejuice and reads are comments.
i agree with some of the comments but not all…first of all if you had been watching the whole thing on tv you,ll see that she had just finished performing work and she danced a lot in there..secondly the performance was way better on tv and seriously nigeria is hot…as far as confidence goes she has gained confidence in leaps and bounds but the vocal thing might not be such a bad idea. i think she has a lot planned this yr including appearing on a dancing reality show..so it,s alright she appears to know what she is doing atleast i expect her to kill it with this third album and i,m sure she knows it….keep your eye on this chick y,all she,s got plans
Srry but I don't blama Kelly for this but I blame that song because it's such an ass song to perform Live!! Don't get me wrong it's a great song but such a b**** to perform live! I mean seriously what Like This performance is actually good? Right non! And loook to het Work & Daylight performancese her they are great! Though Something where she sings a lot of adlibs are her highlights like all her Dilemma performances!
Thats the reason we kicked her non consistent ass out of NA
u know wat sam…ur site sucks…u stay waiting days before each post…then the stuff u get is either dumb or old…u were in my favorites but im finna take ur ass out nd stop coming to dis site… ur ass has gotten so damn lazy…FIX IT OR LOSE UR FANS!!!
@8:49, STFU!
Kelly, all the best for ’09
I agree with New Line. Some of you are being too hard on Kelly. I think with new management Kelly will do big things in 09.
i like kelly but this performance in africa will not pass, why aint she killing it singing the same songs off that tired cd?
I don’t think were being hard
i think we are just telling it like it is
cause if kelly don’t read no ones comments she will never be nothing big as a solo artist.
I agree with a recent comment many other artist would love to be were kelly is at
kelly is a good solo artist. she has to change management. kelly should not be heart broken that people talk like this about her. if she gets so many chances to perform she would do much better. if she changes management they should see to it that kelly does a lot of rehearsal and choreography. kelly is my girl. just change management
Kelly Rowland is an amazing singer. THAT is why people are so critical of her. We know the girl has talent. We also know that the girl is not using her talent to it’s fullest potential and though that’s not all her fault, that is frustrating to those of us who want to see Kelly do well. The fact is the MTV Africa performance was weak. This is not her worst performance but it doesn’t even come close to her best. Those of us who have been following Kelly throughout her career (with DC as well as solo) have seen what she can do. We expect the best from her because she is one of the best. She can actually sing unlike alot of todays pop acts and she releases quality albums,unlike alot of todays pop acts. However,Kelly has yet to show the world what she’s really about as a performer. What would it be like to see Kelly live (as a solo artist)? How would we know,she’s never had a high profile solo tour;but if the above performances are the extent of what Kelly can do I wont be going to see her in concert. I love Kelly but if I’m going to pay money to see you I’d better get my money’s worth. Sound needs to be right. Vocals need to be on point. Costumes need to be sensible for the location (why would you wear a three piece suit in 350 degree weather?). The right choices need to be made. I’ve heard Kelly say that she doesn’t visit blogs or read the comments that are posted,but I’m sure she has hired hands that do. Kelly knows what people are saying. She may not always like it but she’s going to have to accept it and deal with it. We are entitled to our opinions;ESPECIALLY if we support you and I have always supported Kelly. I can’t keep supporting someone who doesn’t appear to want to get better at her craft or take responsibility for her lackluster career. It’s time for change Kelly. “Go hard” or go home. I hope you choose to go hard because I want to see more of you but not under these circumstances.
As far as Kelly’s dancing goes,I always thought she was the best dancer in DC but for some reason she chooses not to focus on that as a solo artist. She’s a natural on stage and when she moves you can tell she has rhythm for days,but she’d rather not do choreography. She prefers to show off her swagger and vibe with her audience. I APPRECIATE THAT ABOUT HER. Kelly is different from other live performers. As far as her singing goes, I think Kelly’s is one of the best voices of the new millenium. The girl’s tone alone is unparralleled,but she does at times act as though she’s scared of a high note and she doesn’t always seem to know what to do with her voice. She’s inconsistent. That’s true. But I would say she’s had more good performances than bad. I think if Kelly looks at her own performances and honestly critiques herself she’ll know what changes need to be made for 09. I also hope the new management rumor is true. I think this is the year of change for Kelly. Change management,change promotional tactics,change live showcases,CHANGE YOUR CAREER. I’m still rooting for you Kelly. I think we all are some of us are just a little upset right now.
i just got finished watching some dc3 performeces and kelly should be slapped for this s***….when they sang the national anthem together kelly was holding her own and she sounded great also….a performeces of lose my breath at the pespi billion she str8 killed it while sounded great and another one she did over seas she str8 stole the show from bey im sorry kelly but u need to get it together….u have the voice and the talent to be BIG BIG BIG….hell u the only one that can give bey any challenges…u need to get it together quick…work with the dream and neyo and some producers and writers that worked on the dc3 records and hell if u have to get the dam ppl that did dc3 stage shows just do something to get it together…you and beyonce should be str8 out battlen for the number one spot!!!! yall should be number 1 and 2 on everything going back and forth…u need to step it up…u are a DIVA/QUEEN AMOUNG THESE NO TALENT OTHER ARTIST…U AND BEY BOTH SO GET THAT NUMBER 1 SPOT NEXT TO UR SISTER….’09 SHOULD BE URS!!!
Kelly may be talented but she doesn’t seem all that driven. She’s been talking about all this stuff that she wants to do for years (more films,her own tv show,a children’s book) but none of it has come about;and it may never come about because Kelly doesn’t appear to be ambitious. She hasn’t been making things happen for herself. She’s been accepting whatever people are willing to give her instead of going after what she really wants. As long as Kelly settles for second best she will always be second rate.
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D O N ‘ T G I V E U P! (Check out origdjeh1 on youtube)
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@ ANON 11:16 WHEN YOU SAY SHE HAS MORE GOOD SHOWS THEN BAD. IN THIS DAY IN AGE IT DOESN’T MATTER HOW MANY GOOD PERFORMANCES SHE PUTS ON THE BAD ONES WILL ALWAYS OUT WAY THOSE BECAUSE SHE ISN’T GIVING HER ALL, PERIOD. AND SO FAR THERE HASN’T BEEN ANY OTHER NEWS OF HER GETTING NEW MANAGEMENT. AND IF SHE DOESN’T THEN WHATEVER HAPPENS TO HER CAREER WILL BE ON HER. NOT THAT IT HASN’T BEEN BUT I DON’T THINK A LOT OF PPL WILL CARE. THAT’S HONEST.
@You Already Know,
I think it’s a good thing that we haven’t heard anything more about Kelly’s change in management. You know that if this was just some odd rumor,Kelly’s publicist would have refuted it by now. The fact that they haven’t released any statements means this may actually be legit and in a few weeks we may very well have confirmation that Kelly has indeed changed lanes(management) which would have me jumping up and down screaming YAY!! I think Kelly is alot more resilient than people think. She’s not just going to roll over and let her career go up in smoke. She’s worked too hard for it and she’s too talented to just give up because a few people are saying not so nice things about her. I do believe Kelly has some things up her sleeve for 2009. I can’t wait for her album. I know it’s going to be FIRE.