Kelly Rowland’s Top 5 Solo Performances

Published: Monday 7th Apr 2014 by Sam
Kelly-Rowland-54

During Destiny’s Child‘s ground-breaking reign, the ladies firmly established themselves as a “supergroup”.

By no means editorial rhetoric, each member brought a brand and strand of unique that, when fused together, delivered dynamite results.

Yet often under-valued is the fact that each of Destiny’s divas are also solo forces in their own right.

Of course the blockbuster success of a certain mononymously named member has cemented this in some regard, however the abilities of the trio’s remaining pillars are rarely spotlighted or celebrated.

As such, in kicking off our new Top 5 series, That Grape Juice present…Kelly Rowland’s Top 5 Solo Performances

5) Gotsta Go (Live At MTV Japan Awards 2006)

Initially prepped as the lead single from Rowland’s sophomore album, ‘Gotsta Go’ was paired with this sass-filled performance that oozed all sorts of diva.

With its edgy barbie theme (which we’d love to see her re-visit),  army of dancers, and a swagged-out dance-break, the performance reminds us of the hit that this could have been. Indeed, as some may remember, ‘Gotsta’ was scrapped, as was its parent album ‘My Story’. Rowland was re-appear a year later with new “lead” single ‘Like This’ and a renamed LP, ‘Ms. Kelly’. Still, we’ll have the memories…

4) Medley (X Factor UK, 2011)

Kelly’s run as a judge on The X Factor UK  generated headlines aplenty back in 2011. From show-stopping outfits, to witty charm, to a rift with fellow judge Tulisa, the singer’s tenure on the ITV hit was anything but dull.

While the casting of some panelists on the show was “questionable”, Kelly proved her worth with this show-stopping performance in support of then-new album ‘Here I Am’.

3) Commander (BBC Radio Live Lounge, 2010)

Like a lot of artists, Kelly’s more recent releases have pandered more to radio in terms of their sing-along-song ability. While a smart move given the competitive climate of today’s chart, it has arguably seen the power in her vocal delivery diluted so as to appeal to the masses.

This acoustic rendition of dance-floor classic ‘Commander’ helps remind what the 33-year-old is working with!

2) ‘Gone’ (BET Black Girls Rock 2013)

Though ‘Gone’ was never given the video treatment, the ‘Talk A Good Game’ number was tattooed into the minds of the masses when Rowland, co-writer Sevyn Streeter, and Eve delivered this delicious rendition at BET’s Black Girls Rock 2013.

 

Watch the trio thrill with the titillating showing…

1) ‘Motivation’ (BET Awards 2011)

Too grand a comparison, perhaps, yet Kelly’s electrifying performance of ‘Motivation’ at the BET Awards 2011 easily serves as her Motown 25 moment.

Whereas her 2007 solo BET effort was respectable, it was this showing that saw all the stars align in the best of ways.

The diva-dom, the choreography, the vocals, and the all-round energy were on a max, resulting in her most action-packed performance yet.

 

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Do you agree with our picks? As ever, sound off below!

Your thoughts?

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  1. Tootie April 7, 2014

    Slow news day…

    • Kill a “LOVEBIRD” April 7, 2014

      Indeed! Who cares!?

  2. Yanny April 7, 2014

    She f****** sucks

    • Lucretia Stansfield April 7, 2014

      You f****** suck loads of c***!

  3. JillBilly April 7, 2014

    I love that you always focus on the performances instead of the messiness.

  4. Yc18 April 7, 2014

    Bad habit live should be on here

  5. Molly April 7, 2014

    Tbh shes just as basic as Rihanna and Katy Perry as a singer and performer.

      • Sarah April 7, 2014

        LMAOOOOOOOOOOOO..I’ve never seen this before…After watching this..ANYTHING else a Ciara fan says is an ABSOLUTE JOKE!!

  6. CiciFinnaBeABride April 7, 2014

    Awww, y’all are so sweet for this.

  7. BeySting April 7, 2014

    Good performances but she definitely needs to work harder with everything else. Where is her world tour? Where is her national tour?

  8. Skyfall April 7, 2014

    I thin one of her performances of When Love Takes Over should of made the list but whatever shes still basic as far as vocals

    • Lucretia Stansfield April 7, 2014

      You stan for one note Adele….

      • Molly April 7, 2014

        B**** don’t try Adele

      • Kii April 7, 2014

        Dead @ one note Adele. Its true though. She is as basic of a singer as they come. No range at all. I think even Ciara has more range than her.

    • JOHNVIDAL April 7, 2014

      Retarded people. Adele´s voice is extremely beautiful. Range doesn´t mean s*** if it doesn´t come with a whole package. Not to mention the music itself. Kelly Rowland is a f****** joke compared to Adele. Be serious.

      • Dirty Laundry April 7, 2014

        Adeles voice is overrated just like her music.

  9. Mimi Carey April 7, 2014

    Very basic singer

    • Lucretia Stansfield April 7, 2014

      Looks at Mariah’s performances from 2000-now

  10. FutureCIARA April 7, 2014

    WHO?

    • Molly April 7, 2014

      A non factor with very little stage presences.

    • Lucretia Stansfield April 7, 2014

      Someone more relevant and coined down than Cierror

      • Molly April 7, 2014

        Lmao relevant my asss

      • Lucretia Stansfield April 7, 2014

        Where are Zzzz-ara’s endorsements?

      • Nessa1226 April 7, 2014

        This b**** was the real grinch that year.

  11. Lucretia Stansfield April 7, 2014

    Yaaaaasssssssss Kelly keep the b****** pressed. You are a FORCE and the haters and stans of lessors are seething! Lmao

  12. Nessa1226 April 7, 2014

    Y’all hate this girl for no apparent reason. Her tone and vocal ability is unmatched. I’ve witnessed her live, and her presence alone is mesmerizing.

    • Lucretia Stansfield April 7, 2014

      Look who these strange f*** stan for? Ciara of all people is the biggest lessor in the music industry right now. Only her pregnancy is keeping her afloat haha

      • Nessa1226 April 7, 2014

        It’s really sad. Like, there’s absolutely no comparison. Smh

  13. S****** Blonde April 7, 2014

    What!!!….Is this post real or i’m just having a nightmare?

    • JOHNVIDAL April 7, 2014

      Why? Respect the icon, the legendary performer and musical genious that is Kelly Rowland.

  14. Motivation April 7, 2014

    I love Kelly

  15. Motivation April 7, 2014

    Ciara fans are the biggest joke. I guess they don’t get to drag very much, so they hate on Kelly for no reason. lmao

  16. Yan April 7, 2014

    I love Jay Leno performance of “Motivation”.

  17. rowlandstones April 7, 2014

    there is a better live performances for WLTO and COMMANDER also she killed this is love on Katie show. Anyway Kelly is just amazing in every way it’s possible.

    • Sarah April 7, 2014

      Ciara would never see this size audience in lifetime

    • rowlandstones April 7, 2014

      she slaaaaaaaaaaaaayed such a diva. Europe loves her.

  18. Mark111 April 7, 2014

    I wish people would give Williams half of the attention they give this lazy b****. MW music is pretty good.

    Should’ve did a Ciara top 5, now say what you want about her current sales, but 9 times out of 10, Cici kills the stage. For SOME reason, she tries to sit and sing ballads Vs doing what only a few could do, dance.

    • Adeles Superior April 7, 2014

      Kelly has always been the weakest vocalist in DC3 Michelles vocals are everything shes underrated.

    • Sarah April 7, 2014

      Your mad that Ciara isnt getting any attention? …aww poor baby

  19. Adeles Superior April 7, 2014

    Wow that X factor medley was a disaster.

  20. Kemar (@S_C_Jr on Twitter) April 7, 2014

    I love Kelly. This was good. Bad Habit Live in Atlanta should’ve definitely made the list. The only thing I have to say is I would like more choreography from Kelly in her live performances.

    Side note: Why do y’all hate Kelly so much? Are you really that bored? Why not spend the extra time you have to hate on Kelly and use that time to support whoever is your favorite artist? Go call/tweet a radio station to have their song played or something. I never understand why y’all spend time clicking on posts of someone you “hate”. Shut the f**k up and have a seat.

  21. Mizuki April 7, 2014

    This post needs some corrections. Sam definitely needs an editor because I see some grammatical errors.

  22. Navy Nick April 7, 2014

    I agree; BAD HABIT from ATL should have made the cut, tho. SHES SO BEAUTIFUL!

  23. Superfan April 7, 2014

    Greatest love of all tribute to whitney? This top 5 sucks only thing belong is motivation. You’re missing white Christmas, her and Lionel Richie endless love, fantasy tribute, and even when love takes over at star floor

    • Matthew Charlery-Smith April 7, 2014

      I was scrolling down to say the exact same thing. Thank you for sparing my time. At least someone on this blog knows how to discuss music and knows an artists good performances!

  24. lovebird April 7, 2014

    She’s very basic as a performer and a HUGE FLOP as an artist.

  25. Realest April 7, 2014

    This is Kelly’s best performance…. Period! Energy and FLAWLESS vocals of an EXTREMELY vocally challenging song for anyone to perform. Especially most of the girls today. And why are the Ciara fans- NEVERMIND.. Ciara (drag in itself) .

    http://youtu.be/KafcQLdkQ7U

  26. lovebird April 7, 2014

    Stop it, Kelly is a s*** performer.

    If you put Kelly and Katy Perry on the same stage, there’s no difference.

  27. Sarah April 7, 2014

    LMAO i see lovebird is PRESSED today…hey boo! How many times have you posted here..10 and counting? Keep it up!!

  28. lovebird April 7, 2014

    Anyway I’m glad Sam is discretely shading Kelly by posting her top 5 struggle performances.

    Really if this is the best Kelly can do, I can see why she’s LABEL-LESS.

    • Sarah April 7, 2014

      Keep the comments rolling

  29. JOHNVIDAL April 7, 2014

    Yeah Yeah Sam, Kelly Rowland is an icon and musical genious and Mariah Carey is a flop… 🙂 No shade to Kelly though.

    • Touché April 7, 2014

      What? Who is this trolling under JOHNVIDAL account? John would never say something like this.

      • Touché April 7, 2014

        Oh wait, never mind. I re-read it and saw what you did there. Forget what I said before.

  30. lovebird April 7, 2014

    I’m screaming at that X Factor medley though, and she was a “judge” on that show.

    I now see why she was fired.

    • Sarah April 7, 2014

      Anything else?

  31. lovebird April 7, 2014

    Sarah honey,

    You clock more hours on me than you do listening to Kelly’s boring discography.

    • Sarah April 7, 2014

      Yesssssssss..thats a good one!! Keep em coming sweetie

  32. Dirty Laundry April 7, 2014

    You go kelly.  The irony thay Ciara fans are hating on her vocals and Rihanna fans are hating on her performances.

    • lmaoooo April 7, 2014

      death

    • rowlandstones April 7, 2014

      lol that’s true.I like rhianna , just not live.

  33. lovebird April 7, 2014

    Until Kelly can slay the stage like this, Kelly fans cannot come for Ciara. Hell Kelly fans can struggle to even come for Katy Perry since they are on the same level performance wise.

    http://youtu.be/Ozja2js4MBA

    • Sarah April 7, 2014

      Rihanna said it best..when Ciara can book a stage..then we can talk.

      • lovebird April 7, 2014

        But Kelly also can’t book a stage. The self drag though.

      • Sarah April 7, 2014

        So your admitting Ciara can’t even book a stage other than 106 & park..Kiiii

    • Realest April 7, 2014

      This is lipsynched though. Kelly doesn’t usually rely on faux vocals to push dancig, Ciara and Chris brown usually do. Almost 100% of the time. I’ve seen drag queens do the same

  34. Woman To Woman April 7, 2014

    How can you be judging aspiring singers when you giving s***** performances on X factor. smh

    • rowlandstones April 7, 2014

      she was singing and dancing live baby she killed it.

  35. The Queen of R&B April 7, 2014

    When will y’all understand that Kelly Rowland is The Queen of R&B Ciara could never do what Kelly does she can’t sing she just makes up for it by dancing okay so stop it y’all know , People hear Kelly Rowland they think icon when people hear Ciara they so who’s that ? When any of the R&B girls Net worth is 45 Million and has sold over 90 million records and
    has a star on the walk of fame then and only then can y’all talk s*** The Queen is Winning

    • Antonio April 7, 2014

      Icon? So is that why Kelly was fired from 2 different versions of X-Factor, dropped from like 2-3 different labels, has never had a platinum album and still has to rely on DC medley’s at her concerts to get the audience hyped. A true icon would never be a embarrassment like Kelly. She even let Letoya’s debut and Michelle’s Broadway plays receive more acclaim and recognition than all 4 of her solo albums, who’s WW sales only total 4 mil while Ciara’s debut album alone is pushing 6 mil WW. DC has a Star on the Walk of Fame, NOT Kelly. Kelly’s biggest hits are being featured on other artists’ songs (see Dilemma, WLTO, Here We Go)… Ciara has earned praise from the likes of Diana Ross, Patti Labelle, Prince, Mariah Carey and Michael Jackson. Ciara was Billboard Woman of the Year in 2008, has won 4 ASCAP Awards and is still a staple at awards shows and on the red carpet even with 3 flop albums in a row while the most Kelly can so is host red carpets. When Kelly can headline concert outside of the US and UK (which is NOT Europe, but a part of Europe) then talk. P.S., Kelly’s net worth solo is only 15-20 mil, the same as Ciara, that extra $20-30 mil is from DC. Kelly had to rely on a song about Beyoncé to sell her last album.
      To the person who said Ciara will never see venues that big… Ciara headlined 40k seat stadiums in Africa in 2011…

      • Sarah April 7, 2014

        LMAOOOOOOOO the DELUSION of these Ciara fans..now they are referring to Kelly’s SOLO net worth to make Ciara look relevant..CHILD CHEESE!! LMAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO..That is the FUNNIEST comment i’ve seen all day..Kelly’s Networth is $45 million my dear..solo or not..its in her bank account…the STRUGGLE is REAL!!!!

      • BLOW April 7, 2014

        Bunches of lies over here^^^^
        The one that stand out the most is this b*******: «Kelly’s net worth solo is only 15-20 mil, the same as Ciara, that extra $20-30 mil is from DC».
        Then why Michelle Williams doesnt have those $20-30 mil you are talking about illiterate, yet not even $10 mil (No shade intended to the greatest that is Michelle)

        I understand that you trying to defend your fan for the shame your others Ci stans brought to her by comparing her to Kelly. But while doing so try to sound a lil smart…NOW SIT

  36. UrbanMusicGenius April 7, 2014

    I really liked her performance on Wendy Williams.I think that performance showed her personality and her vocals were on point

    Please check out my new blog urbanmusicgenius.b*******.com

  37. Nessa1226 April 7, 2014

    People (fans and celebs alike) love and care more about Kelly than Ciara thirsty dumb ass. #FACT Kelly has more longevity and respect than Ciara. I mean, look at her collab list. Ain’t nobody checking for no scarce/non-existant vocal Heara.

  38. n April 7, 2014

    I beg to differ with this list, but then again what do you classify as best when Kelly lip-syn some of those performances. Kelly has much better performance than these. Another thing, Kelly has one of the most versitile voice in the industry but as a vocalist she is tooooooooo lazy! She can do better with her live performances by 1. Getting a serious vocal coach so as to execute flawlessly, its not that she cannot do it but she is too comfort and satisfy with medicore-smh!!!! Also, Kelly talks too much when performing live and uses the crowd as her back up singer. If Kelly starts to challenge herself more than john public will appreciate her more. GRAPE JUICE GIVE KELLY TOO MUCH SLACK BUT BE REAL WITH KELLY FOR HER OWN GOOD!!!!! Not because she has an awesome personality she can get away with murder!!!!

    • Sarah April 7, 2014

      I do agree with you on certain parts..I would love to see her use her vocal abilities more..like u said she has one of the most versatile voices in the industry..I have been saying for years that she needs a better vocal coach..HOWEVER i must admit that during this TAGG era her vocals/live performances have improved TREMENDOUSLY!! Also in reference to “talking too much” I think that’s just her nature..she was doing it from DC days..perhaps that is a habit she just cant let go..

      • n April 7, 2014

        That is so so try. I cannot argue with you on that.

  39. Sarah April 7, 2014

    PS When(IF) Sam makes a post about Ciara’s best Vocal Performances (If there are any)..I hope to see all of you Ciara fans there..instead of lurking on a Kelly Rowland post…Ciara’s career is done…thank God for the life within her..She will be happy…

  40. Touché April 7, 2014

    I’m sorry but I still don’t like her. I tried to get into her music and performances but she just leaves me empty to be honest. Her vocals are average, her music is basic, and she is a mediocre performer. I still respect her though, I just can’t take her as an artist seriously. Sorry.

  41. annie April 7, 2014

    Love kelly! The only complaint i have about her performances is she wants audience participation to soon some times and to often at times! She is so beautiful and mezmerizing to watch its like she could just stand there and sing moving only a little bit and that’d be just fine! Go kelly!

  42. The Queen of R&B April 8, 2014

    Y’all people are lying so hard for Ciara right now and y’all need to use Google Ciara net worth is not no damn 20-30 million the s*** is 15 million honey and Kelly’s first and second solo album simply deep and miss Kelly are platinum simply deep sold 1.2 million worldwide in this Kelly so 2.5 million worldwide
    that’s Platnum you dumb ass

  43. The Queen of R&B April 8, 2014

    Kelly was never fired from Xfator she lift one to work on
    an album here I am to be exact and then the other
    one got canceled so she never got fired
    get your facts straight in the UK Kelly is like the
    Beyoncé over in the UK and in the US Ciara is on the same level basic

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