Kelly Rowland‘s August/September VIBE cover may have had tongues wagging, but the accompanying feature story may do just the same. Unveiled today by the Urban magazine, the ‘Stole’ singer spoke candidly on the commercial failure of her sophomore release ‘Miss Kelly’, split from former manager Matthew Knowles, and being dropped by record label home Columbia Records.
Catch a few excerpts and find out what she had to say about these topics and more after the jump:
Via VIBE:
VIBE: One of your first solo looks was “Dilemma” with Nelly. That song was huge. Were you prepared for that level of success without the group?
KELLY ROWLAND: No, I really wasn’t. And I was the first one from the group to have that level of success outside of the group. That bugged me out. I was very… I wasn’t ready.The song blew up and Columbia decided to rush out your solo record.Yeah. The plan was for Beyoncé to drop a solo record fi rst. But with the success of the song, they decided to put my album out first. They gave me 90 days to do an entire record.
The album didn’t do well in the States. It did better overseas, particularly in Europe. Do you feel more appreciated in Europe?
No, not really. People still compare me to B over there. I said in an interview recently, “You know, if you guys would be a little bit more intelligent and ask me about myself we’ll have a much better interview.” You can’t want a story from me and keep asking me about the past.The main reason why people don’t believe that is because of Mathew Knowles. He was your manager. And he was a father figure to you. And you got rid of him as your manager. There had to be some tension there.
No. It was just a feeling of growing and wanting to call my own shots. That was it. I thank Mathew for everything he’s done for me. He made me a millionaire at 18 years old. And then I felt like, “Well, I’m an adult now and I want to do things this way.”
Was it more difficult because you lived with him since you were a kid?
Yeah, it was more diffi cult. But I needed to be selfish for a minute. I had to reclaim my power.
Did he try to talk you out of it?
Well… He just wanted me to be certain of my decision.
Do you think what happened with Columbia was connected? You left Mathew and a few months later you were dropped by Columbia Records.
I can’t speak on what I don’t know. I will say that it all worked out in the end. I have nothing to complain about.
When you walked away from that last meeting with Mathew, did you feel an “exhale” moment?
I did, but I also felt like, Oh my God, what have I done?! I stayed in the house for two days. I was sad. It was like a funeral. I had to deaden that situation in order to start fresh. That’s a very long time to have the same manager and the same label.
What about your personal relationship with Mathew Knowles. Do you still talk to him?
Mathew sent me flowers for my birthday!
But do you talk to him?
It’s… I respect him above anything.
Hmmm… So things are cool?
Like I said, this man made me a millionaire at the age of 18. Taught us how to make money in the industry. I can never, ever forget that.
Read the interview in its entirety here.
SHE HAS TIMEEEEE … instead of PROMOTING THE F*** outta her album! she is still talking about the same old topics! carry on kelly rowland cuz u dont learn from ur past which is the reason y u stay flopping. CONGRATS on motivation but motivation cant SAVE U. one song cannot SAVE U like that… n shade cuz i love u own all the cds gurl but come on
Kelly is a beautiful woman but a , MEGA HUGE FLOP!!!!
interesting Kelly
Its always interesting to see who the first people will be to respondl.. Always a hater. sad!! Well at least we know she getting paper she is relevant other wise yall wack asses would not even be posting.
hahah I love Kelly but it doesnt seem like she learned much. . .I mean s*** I’m bout done with Kelly ass
I am sure there is so much shady s*** that happened behind closed doors we will never know. Oh well I still love Kelly Rowland regardless. Was always & will always be my favorite DC member. I love her even more as a solo artist. Her albums always had great lyrical content and had a message other than shaking your ass. Go ahead Miss Kelly…keep getting that International Paper!
@Radio call me a hater all u like. IM STATING MY OPINION just because im being BLUNT does not make me a hater. do u want me to lie ???? wud that make me a bad b**** if i lied?? hmm?? well sorry im only serving truth if u dont like it go sit in a corner
can someone please explain why my post always get flagged??? #shadygrapejuice.net!
Kelly Rowland all the way!!! I dont see the reason for this post Sam you know this is very old why still post it, somestimes I wonder if you really stan for Kelly like you said.
@MalibuBarbie umm, what do u? ur sitting behind your computer while Kelly is living her dream out. She travels the world come and goes as she pleases, and she is doing things you probably will never do or see in your life. that in itself is enough success for anyone. she is on the cover of magazines her single motivation is about to be platinum, her second single is already taking off on radio, she is on xfactor expanding her brand, she grinding, about to tour a little bit with cbreezy. she is gonna have a tv show coming to a major cable network. Its not all about charts now a days although she is having success with that also. I mean come on check the facts before u start writing bull
KELS JUST MOVE ON AND CONCENTRATE ON THE NEW PROJECT, GURL.
K.
KELLY GET OVER IT!!! YOU WERE NOT THE FIRST ONE TO TO BE RISE IN FAME!!! BEYONCE’S NAME CARRIED AS A SUCCESS OF ITS OWN WHEN THEY WERE ALL TOGETHER!
KELLY IS A WEAK ARTIST WHO FLOPPED HARD TWO TIMES AND THATS WHY THEY DROPPED HER AND DONT BE SURPRISED IF THEY DONT DROP HER AGAIN CAUSE HER ALBUM COMPLETELY FLOPPED!!!
BUT TGJ WONT ADMIT THAT!!!
@Malibu Barbie…..Kelly didnt choose the questions…..so of course shes talking about what they ask…..i agree with her, im tired of hearing about the past…..ask about her and her new CD.
I also think Kelly should move on, and stop discussing Matthew K and the same ole people for a change. It’s a negative past that has not helped her career since becoming a solo artist.
Her pal Bey also fired Matt as her manager, and I doubt Bey is in every interview discussing her father.
Follow me @music_me84. I follow back!
Hmmm…Interesting…Didn’t know all of this about the “Simply Deep” album…very interesting.
It all worked out…I seriously cannot wait for the “Lay It On Me” video…yay 🙂
Why is kelly not promoting instead she is doing z-list shows like speaking of….!
she still USING THE SAME FORMULAE to get ppl talk about her ! 🙄 !
she keep blaming mathew and his management since 2007 , but why she’s not this successful now in 2011 ?!
she’s free now as she want us to believe ! why she still a hot mess ?! WHY ?!
she has a hit in her hand and she will keep MILKING it till IT’S DRY !
she KEEP ON USING THE SAME OLD TRICKS ! AND IT WON’T WORK ! CUZ THEY NEVER WORKED !
what about talking about your new album instead of bringing past and make us feel like you were a s**** for the knowles family 🙄 ! this is getting boring ! her interviews are very boring !
i liked her and bought her albu ! but now ! I’ M OFFICIALLY OVER HER !
BORRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRING !
➡ !
Why does this look so FAMILIAR:
NEXT ==>> http://i52.tinypic.com/5wfcw1.gif
*GETS READY FOR THE PARTY VIDEO SO BEY CAN GIVE THIS B**** SOME MORE SHINE!*
I think she will ALWAYS be compared to Bey! that’s just how it is. Bey was just the most successful out of the group and they will always try to compare them.
queen s*** beautiful kelly rowland all the way…keep doing you maam.she is my everything,and it makes me wonder why some of you donkeys hating on her.i guess she now a threat in the industry..i cant wait for lay it on me video coz that song is gonna be huge..@Muni,where have u bn?i miss u so much.
@s***…queen kelly rowland is the one who is going to make beyankaflopp shine when that video comes out,not the other way round..she is simply queen kelly rowland..
Y’all are some dumb haters. Were you the interviewer? She only answered what was asked of her. She couldn’t he’ll that. Besides, she didn’t even show any hard feelings. You hatred are the ones who need to move on.smh
I aint never heard kelly once blame beyoncez daddy they keep askin her about it…but im glad kelly can finally give b a run 4 her money! Motivation already did better than run tha word…im pretty sure lay it on me will do great 2! Haterz bow down lol
@Sam/TGJ Staff —
The current “Here I Am”/30-something-year-old Kelly Rowland pedigree..
77-K First Week; 22-K Second Week; 16-K Third Week; 11-K Fourth Week..
(Sigh..)That’ll be an approx 126K U.S. OTC Retail Sales after 4-weeks..
Kelly, not to worry, you’ll soon revisit that unemployment line!!! After A-L-L the “anti-Beyonce/Matthew Knowles/dark-skin sista-gurl solidarity”; after that STAGED Wardrobe Malfunction; after “Motivation” being atop the charts for months-on-end…126K..??!!!! Like WTF..??!!
But wait, let’s compose ourselves and…regain some perspective..
2002 “Simply Deep” came upon the break-up/demise of DC. The Public’s sentiment of regret and longing “filled her sails” and “sales” rang-up: 2-Million Worldwide Units moved. “Simply Deep” was THEN “GOLD Certified” by RIAA. (it’s NOT reached beyond that since its almost 10-year-ago release)
2007 “Ms. Kelly” came 5-LONG-years later. It moved 1.3 Worldwide Units.
(Comes) 2011 and “Here I Am” which has currently U.S. OTC Retail (the aforementioned hapless and embarrassing): 126K Units..??!!!
With each then-release, she’s moved increasingly-LESS units. So now, she’s placing her all on her being a sitting judge/mentor on X-Factor. So her U.K./Europe sales are supposed to be bolstered by said TV appearance, as her “outside U.S. “Here I Am” release” will coincide with that X-Factor’s Worldwide debut.
Her U.S. profile is supposed to be ALSO remanufactured/reinvented by a “supposed” U.S. TV show. I say “supposed” because there is NO MENTION of such a show on the Industry-Insider blogs! Long-before Affion Crockett (sp) was to launch his show, there was much foretold about its preproduction and such. There has been NONE SUCH mentioned about this U.S. Kelly Rowland TV enterprise!
(It’s worth repeating..) The U.S. has…kindly, softly dismissed 30-something-year-old Kelly Rowland. But the harder she forces herself down our collective throats, the more curt and acerbic said U.S. discretionary spending public will become! Matthew Knowles had long-ago saw/computed what we, the U.S. music-buying public are now realizing: Kelly Rowland is NOT an…”upfront/lead/headline” talent. She IS what she WAS during her membership/time in DC: supportive, back-ground noise!!
Her “talent”, more to the point: lack-thereof, is exactly why Latoya Luckett and Farrah Franklyn had to be removed/excused/dismissed from DC: they were both legitimate threats to Beyonce. Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams were nothing more than…”bookends” that perfectly framed Beyonce.
Kelly Rowland CANNOT sing! Kelly Rowland CANNOT dance! Kelly Rowland, as performer, is as dulling, mulling and nulling a…”performer” as Rihanna is.
Kelly Rowland will bring NOTHING but a Buzz-Kill to Chris’ “F.A.M.E” tour – just YOU mark my words! I’ve been T-H-E most-vocal and tireless of “Team-Breezy”. Before there even was a “Team-Breezy” there was a “Team-Chris” WHICH I HAD FOUNDED! I’ve spent hundreds on “Graffiti”, “F.A.M.E” “Takers” and even more ‘man-hours’ fighting “the good fight” in these Cyber-alleyways/streets/back-roads!
..That said, I now say this with the heaviest of hearts: “If Kelly Rowland is NOT removed from “Tour F.A.M.E” I will NOT be in attendance!
@Christopher Maurice Brown – Drop Kelly Rowland from your tour. She’s killing any buzz/excitement that your tour now DEMANDS! I saw “demands” because your “F.A.M.E” CD sales have slipped BELOW 8-K/week – NOT A GOOD THING..!!
BREEZY, PLEASE LISTEN TO T-H-E MOST-LOYAL OF YOUR SUPPORTERS: “DROP HER BEFORE SHE ALSO KILLS “F.A.M.E” CONCERT/TOUR TICKET SALES..!!!”
X,Y,”and Z”
@beyonfakefanzmakemesick .. Yeahh that one song did better than beyonce but beyonces album is still in the top 10 of billboard after two months stop bringing up beyonce and comparing her to kelly cuz I actually like kelly but u jus make urself look stupid beys good believe me kelly still has quite a way to go ..
Yikes, no proof-reading and blazing along at over 60wpm: ” I say demands = I saw demands”
X,Y,”and Z” — Out..!! (off to see the wizard..)
Beyonce >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Kelly
Beyonce is on a whole planet by herself…while kelly is sharing a planet with michelle !
OHHH She didn’t answer the Matthew question 😮 LOL
@JAMIR21 :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O00xvxtqKvs 😉 !
@ Pop Royalty I know !
Gosh, X,Y,”and Z” really layed out the facts.
“Do you feel more appreciated in Europe?
No, not really. People still compare me to B over there. I said in an interview recently, “You know, if you guys would be a little bit more intelligent and ask me about myself we’ll have a much better interview.” You can’t want a story from me and keep asking me about the past.”
________________________________________________________________________
Kelly must be a really strong person to deal with all the comparisons and questions so gracefully, at least on the outside. Hopefully for her sake she is dealing with it equally as well privately.
Beyonce is in her own lane while kelly is in the flop lane !
@X,Y,”and Z”
I agree with Everything you said EXCEPT Letoya/Latavia being some THREAT to Bey 😕
REALLY?? 😐
*SCRATCHES-HEAD*
@XYZ
No lol. Girl has chops. She’s proven that many times. Now the rest of your rant I can agree with I guess.
@x,y,z or whatever you call yourself,you are an idiot,stupid and useless..you need to find something doing with your ugly low life..its not kellys fault that your whole family are ugly,broke and unlucky.shes living her life the way she wants and your hating p****/d*** cant stop her..jst go and save that your ugly king kong mother that is dying of hunger at home coz what you are doing here is of no use.Bitterness,tears and sorrow shall follow you for the rest of your life.you haters should keep it up coz the more you hate on her,the more i fall in love with this beauty queen…
so annoying. Giving those fake ass answers about Papa Knowles, scurred she’s gonna rub someone the wrong way
http://29.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lpbewm1fju1qzclrjo1_r2_500.gif
I love Kelly but I wish that her management team would tell these interviewers to stop asking these tired ass questions. Those of us who support her are REALLY getting tired of these questions like seriously. Like when will the new video come out?
This interview was from a while ago. I hate the comparisons of Bey and Kelly. They do totally different music and they were in the same group years ago now.
Its Quite interesting how everybody gets so worked up over this issue. Honestly the argument is all B.S. Kelly is no where near starving and neither is beyonce! 🙂 SO NEXT!!!!!!! :* 🙂
Love you Kelly! I’m picking up a copy!! Go Girl!
All you haters should shut up coz she never flopped! right? Her new album sold 150K in 3 weeks and she is still selling. (that means she moved 1.5 million dollars in just few days!!! ) Motivation is due to become Platinum in the US (that’s A 1 million copies sold). Besides she is an X factor judge in the UK, therefore her album is basically a garanteed success over there too. She also had international success with David Guetta sold millions of singles around Europe and the rest of the world. What the hell are you haters talking about???
The album didn’t do well in the States. It did better overseas, particularly in Europe. Do you feel more appreciated in Europe?
No, not really
DON’T LIE Kelly, u know you cater to us in Europe more lol.
Diplomatic answer I suspect so the US fan don’t go in.
I love me some KELLY but the interest level in the album has almost vanished now after the one video.
I usually cuss my girl Monica for taking forever to release singles and videos BUT wow TeamKelly are NOT being productive enough on the music side of things for this ALBUM.
You can’t have 4-5 videos in Europe but yet only one in US and expect the american fan base to be happy.
Oh well i’ll just have to enjoy her on X-Factor UK
Be interesting to see what Euro version of Here I AM will be like.
I do not understand how someone who is seemingly one of the most intelligent (or is he/she simply the most well-spoken?) out of all the people that have ever commented on TGJ spends so much of his/her time ranting about Kelly Rowland and her ‘supposed’ non-existent star power?
at X,Yand Z….please, no more two page book report posts…..we read the first 3 sentences and then scroll down….its a waste of time.
@Greg re: 6:42 am —
“no more two page book reports..” “It’s a waste of time.” “We read the first 3-lines and then scrolled down.”
Not that it matters, but maybe you should speak for yourself; YOU hadn’t read the several-other comments which-then followed.
You’re condescending, reactionary, “full-of-yourself” and ignorant as you talk BEFORE you think/”press enter” LONG-BEFORE you “comprehend and process” – you’re just a “hot heaping insect-magnet of a mess”, aren’t you..?? But OF COURSE you are!
Greg, so YOU (singular) “read the first three lines” and got ‘just-so turned-off’, you could read..NO MORE..?!! Those “first three lines” were taken directly from hitsdailydouble.com. Those are (unedited) 30-something-year-old Kelly Rowland’s “Here I Am” current U.S. OTC Retail Sales.. Utterly-Depressing, aren’t they?
(More to the point… Sigh..)Greg, “Bomb disposal” is a timely, precise and heavily-procedural exercise.. One wrong/false move..
X,Y,”and Z”
It’s so weird to me that people who can’t stand this woman spends so much time talking & hating on her. Ppl keep talking about why she haven’t released her next video but there’s a reason why…. her single Motivation was sent to pop radio & it is reaching another audience outside of Urban so it still haven’t reached it’s full success as of yet. Her record label is smart by milking every little dime from Motivation with Here I Am and then release a new video of Lay It on Me. Then her sales will pick back up from there and she will also be touring with Chris Brown so that would help as well. They are going for longevity…. ppl just trust Kelly & her team on what they are doing. Geeeshhh…. 1 thing I must say that really ignores the hell outta me is that she needs to take control of her interviews & make sure the attention is on her at all times… who wants 2 hear her talk about Bey & Matthew all the time in her interviews! Who the f** cares!!! She needs to have her publicist know when she go on interviews this is what they can & can’t ask me about! The attention should be on her at all times! Not on Beyonce not on Michelle! It is not selfish or wrong to tell interviewers to not ask u about something you don’t really care to talk about at that moment bcuz they WILL NOT STOP!!!! It’s up to KELLY ROWLAND to put a stop on it! I know Beyonce would never allow interviewers to constantly ask her over and over and over about kelly & Michelle or DC in interviews why she is trying to promote her current project bcuz no on cares to know! We are only interested in the project!!! As a fan Kelly plz get a backbone!!!!
@#TeamKelly re: 8:30 am —
“It’s so weird to me that people who can’t stand this woman spends so much time talking & hating on her.”
“We’re” now spending AS MUCH TIME, as we have/are, because we’ve presented, in pains-taken detail, easily-verifiable and factually data to catalog the reasons why Chris should NOT have Kelly Rowland on “Tour-F.A.M.E”!!
Those comments weren’t emotional, fact-less scribble. NO! “We’ve” presented cogent-facts to now base our arguments upon.
But I NOW see where your “going”/were your “coming from”; what you’re rationalizing.. This all-now explains her “swirl comments”: she’s now pandering to the white crowd… Interesting! “Here I am” has been an absolute disaster among the Urban demo, so she’s now – HOPEFULLY – courting the “Mainstream” crowds.
K, so I’ll ask: Younger, more-camera-worthy, far-more talented Ciara ALSO tried to court that said “Mainstream Demo”. She was even-THEN seen with Justin Timberlake in her then-hopeful/supposed “breakout mainstream” video, then-pictured, “leashed and pandering” at his feet, then begging for HIS attention. If Ciara had THEN failed, and failed MISERABLY, what makes you think 30-something-year-old Kelly Rowland will now find success?
Didn’t you read the comments on the Urban Blogs regarding her…”Wardrobe Malfunction”? ..”STAGED” was the term/word then-banded about, followed by torrents of ridicule, and heaps of shade!
What can 30-something-year-old Kelly Rowland offer Mainstream audiences except “black p****”? Which’ll then FURTHER embarrass and erode what little urban support she’s managed to hold.
I mean, let’s be honest: She CAN’T dance! She CAN’T sing! She does NOT have the slightest notion of showmanship/command-of-stage! What-else can she offer but…”black p****”?
If you hadn’t noticed, Rihanna has that “on lock”; and her CD sales are…”woeful” (her 360-contract with Def Jam stands as testament).
So far CBreezy has been moving from “strength-to-strength”, having her on his coming “Tour-F.A.M.E” will greatly reduce the momentum needed to propel him BACK to ‘pre Feb 8th, 09’ Super-stardom!
..Kelly Rowland? (Meh..) Well, 30-something-year-old Kelly Rowland is NOW seen as DESPERATE, and a LOSER who cannot move units; and will resort to, and stoop to WHATEVER depths in THOSE efforts/attempts..!!! Those who are about to purchase a “F.A.M.E Tour” concert ticket will have this image of her…”gnawing away” at their “discretionary-spending subconscious” as long before they “click” the “BUY” BUTTON/(enter key).
X,Y,”and Z” — OUT..!! (Lightsaber and Old Testament at the ready..)
LOL…@ X,Y,”and Z”…forget Barack Obama, you should be president. LOL 🙂
Kelly singer spoke candidly on the commercial failure of her sophomore release ‘Miss Kelly’….. What about the commercial failure/flop of the current cd ‘Where Am I’ ?
Haters Sucks.
At this point I just feel bad for her.
She is an underdog and I was rooting for her but frankly she’s starting to come off as lazy to me. It’s clear that just as with Dillema, Kelly wasn’t ready for Motivation to pop off like it did.
Signing up for a reality show, in the UK no less, with an album dropping. Only releasing 1 musIc video and doing 4 (last I checked) performances months after the single (the ONLY single in the US) has dropped. A dozen sit down and mag interviews but not performing and dropping new singles.
Come on now…clearly Beyonce was the star of Destiny’s Child but I was rooting for Kelly and Michelle because I felt they were probably secondary to Beyonce’s career and promotion but they HAVE to come as hard as B if they hope to succeed.
Kelly said it herself MATTHEW made her a millionaire. We’ve seen how even abeyance is stumbling without him let alone Kelly’s screwed up promotion machine. She needs to step her game up, I want the best for her but right now she’s content with being mediocre.
Love Kelly! She is always a LADY FIRST and very talented!
SHES DA BEST JUGDE OF THE X-FACTOR!!! FEARLESS B****…>>>GO KELLY