As reported here, knockout beauty Kelly Rowland was one of many tapped to attend and perform at the Keep Memory Alive foundation’s Power of Love Gala last night, celebrating the 70th birthday of boxing legend Muhammad Ali. While singer John Legend and others also hit the stage, Rowland sought to honor her fallen idol Whitney Houston and Ali by lending a stirring rendition of ‘The Greatest Love of All’.
Accompanied by R&B legend Stevie Wonder, fans may remember that Rowland’s choice of song was that of Whitney’s just 20 years earlier at Ali’s 50th birthday celebration. We’ve shown you pictures from the star-studded event, now catch Rowland singing ‘The Greatest’ for the greatest after the jump:
Simply magical. From the instrumental accompaniment to Rowland’s stirring vocal, Miss Kelly’s performance was certainly a knockout. The tribute follows air of Rowland’s tribute to another pop vocal icon Mariah Carey. See that here.
Tidbit: See Whitney Houston’s 1992 performance in honor of Ali:
Fantastic job Kelly! this girl is ready to slay!!! recently shes really come into her own. This next album is gonna be a problem.
Kelly sang that ish. I was sitting here hoping she didn’t over-sing it & thankfully she didn’t… Good performance!
Killed it!
Wow!!!! I have wanted to see KELLY ROWLAND work with clive for a minute. Who ever she is working with (vocal coach) is slaying her life right now, I have so much belief in her right now.
Simon can F right off trying to drag her name in the UK.
Kelly Kelly! They need to give you ballads like this for your next album, because you vocal talents where wasted on the last…You keep proviing yourself Kelly and i am sure the success will just be rolling in!
Whitney did the deed on that performance! Wow
arrg nice dress but horible colour for her skin tone
I’ve talked alot of trash about Kelly but even I can admit that this was a good performance.
I am such a proud fan!! Kelly i know you had it in you..MAGNIFICENT
yessssssssssssssssss kelly you gave me ghoose bumps
Good Evening
Kelly did her thing. yes Kelly is going far . I have to say Yes! Good Job.
great job! i like how she put in some of her own style into the song
GOOOOO KELLY, LOVE KELLY IF U GO ON YOUTUBE AND LISTEN TO DESTINY CHILDS NATIONAL ATHEM SHE KILLED THAT AS WELL SUCH A STRONG VOICE I GOTTA MEET HER ONE DAY IAM FAN
Umm..perfectly honest, but this particular voice was half-horrible!! STRICTLY from a technical standpoint it was pitchy, quite a bit actually, and was terribly offf-key at points
>>>>>>>>>Now with that being said: I am still tremendously impressed!! Lol
Impressed with her voice, and where she’s going with it, in terms of range, and power!! She really REALLY has the potential to be a ‘vocal beast’ as many here say. With this, and her great vocal of Mariah’s tribute, it shows that she is not just a pop-singer’ with a half-decent voice, but still in Bey’s shadow, to one who actually is..dare I say better than the former!! which all the more is bittetly frustrating due to the lack of time, attention, and development put forth for the sake of her group mate!!
@TR Lol funny statement (especially the way you set it up). But It’s interesting that you would prefer Mariah’s tribute over this one though. I’ll take this vocal anyday. But everyone has their own opinion. Techniqually Kelly needs lots of work but as far as tone, range and vibrato she’s head on to becoming that vocal beast you were speaking of.
@Edwardponton…Yesshe sang more, and I guess wasn’t ‘hiding behind the choreography, but in general, it was a much better vocal because it allowed her the freedom to ‘choose her spots’, sort of speak!! With his vocal the this, the one thing that hinders Kelly is her tendency to veer off-key, and get pitchy if she’s not careful. Nonetheless, notwithstanding the alterations, and hitches she needs to correct, the actual ‘voice’ is there. And it’s beginning to get out lol. Like a diamond in the rough..
@Edwardponton…Yes she sang more, and I guess wasn’t ‘hiding behind the choreography, but in general, it was a much better vocal because it allowed her the freedom to ‘choose her spots’, sort of speak!! With his vocal the this, the one thing that hinders Kelly is her tendency to veer off-key, and get pitchy if she’s not careful. Nonetheless, notwithstanding the alterations, and hitches she needs to correct, the actual ‘voice’ is there. And it’s beginning to get out lol. Like a diamond in the rough..
Good job Kellz
She nailed it
Rushed and out of breath. You Kelly stabs are really reaching. Her voice was very thin too. Especially compared to whitney. Keep these ‘tributes’ to the shower kelly
She did great. Now I’m curious as to what Simon has been saying about her in the UK lately?
She was doing a bit too much at certain parts but overall not a bad effort…most people wouldn’t have been able to pull it off.
Kelly Rowland slayed that performance and gave a wonderful to her Idol in every way , this is the Kelly i have been waiting for…finally girl where have you been??
? – thats the best i’ve heard her sound live in a while but i still think she should’ve left the song alone.
I like Kelly for what she does, but i’m tired of her stan’s up here talking about how her vocals have improved, and the use of a vocal coach. This chick was in one of the worlds biggest girl groups, was one of the main singers from the start and has been in the game for a long while and people are still talking as if she is a new artist in concerns to her vocals
I really didnt think kelly could pull a song off like this but must say better than I expected. Thats a hard song to sing.
Kelly is getting better and better, for sure.
I love her voice- her runs can be a bit excessive and rushed/ bit I agree with the most of y’all/ the voice is there/ and she is flexing it, finally
Im very proud of her
DEV, I totally agree with you, some people on here constantly talk like Kelly has no talent what so ever, she gets more comments about improving her vocals then madam Rihanna.
Hello news flash, Kelly can sing, she may not be the typical powerhouse singer like some but she can dam sing and sing in tune.
She was 1 third of Destiny’s Child, one of the most successful girl bands of our time, there Is no way, she would of been in that group, if she couldn’t sing or hold a note or to sing along with Beyonce, she’s been singing for years, I would suggest some of you to check out Kelly singing vids on YouTube, to refresh your memories.
Kelly did a great job here, that is a hard song to sing and she pulled it off in her own way and style, congrats Kelly.
Haters just give credit when it’s due, none of you are vocal teachers, so stop acting like you are.
@Why you mad —–> http://www.musicrooms.net/tv/45669-simon-cowell-looking-for-kelly-rowland-s-x-factor-replacement.html
and many more that suggest shes been going on US TV practically begging for the US job when actually all she said when asked about the possibility was “Wouldn’t that be awesome”. Bess believe Simon these statements come from Simons people. They disliked Kelly and feel that he would not get the same backlash he got from sacking Cheryl Cole with Kelly so his press office got reckless with the way they have and are treating her.
I want to see her status rise just to see everyone at X Factor squire.
Oh my! This was strained and off-key mess!!! 15yrs later Kelly is still having issues controlling her voice, she still needs more work with her vocals. She not ready for Whitney’s vocally challenging songs yet.
DEV, I totally agree with you, some of you on here act like Kelly has no talent at all, she gets more comments about improving her vocals then madam Rihanna, who needs too.
Kelly can sing, she may not be the typical powerhouse singer like some but she can dam sing and hold a note. She’s been singing for years, she was 1 third of Destiny’s Child one of the most successful girl bands of our time. She would not of been in that group if she couldn’t sing in tune, couldn’t hold a note or even sing along side Beyonce doing harmonies. I suggest some of you check out vids of Kelly singing on YouTube to refresh your memories.
Haters give credit when it’s due, none of you are vocal teachers, so stop acting like you are, Kelly did a great job here and that is a hard song to sing, congrats Kelly.
@Dev
You got to look at it like this. Kelly, for the 1st time in her career, has a team who priority is making her a solo star, not holding her back and keeping her at a level below their daughter. She started out pitch perfect with destiny’s child with a voice many would say should have been lead but ask yourself why did her voice get weaker during her time under Matthew and did not improve through the stratosphere like Beyonce? I look at Kelly like a newly signed artist because she is “A newly signed artist to Motown” and there is a whole new dynamic and confidence that (if stories are true) was chastised out of her by her former mentor and manager. Excuse our excitement, but this confidence to stand without her group members and command a stage is extremely new for Kelly, and, for her long time fans. She is just now finding her voice, and is slowly learning to control it. With control comes better technique and confidence and if you are a real fan of Kelly you’d admit her vocal performances in the latter end of DC and most of her solo career have been below average, pitchy and amateur until very recent.
I’d be glad to get a mixtape from Kelly next, that’s how new to the game I’m treating Kelly. I just want her to spend time further developing her voice and finding the sound that sets her apart and makes her an artist and not just a singer. So when it comes time to launch a new project she’ll have passionate and STANS eagerly waiting to support her and confident that when she hits a stage she will sell herself and her work effortlessly.
Well said @Love Kelly.
What I admire about Kelly is that she didn’t stop although she wasn’t given the same development. Her vocal strength will come as she continues to grow as an artist. It’s her fight that people admire.
@LOVEKELLY
We are not talking about LaToya, Latavia or even Farrah, we are talking about Kelly. She maybe new to Motown but she has had 3 solo albums as well as being in a successful girl group who was still making albums in between them. Kelly maybe should’ve been lead but she shared lead vocals with Beyonce on all of Destiny’s Child albums where some of the other girls were there for decoration….. decoration that got changed on a few so she did good out of the situation.
As far as i’m concerned she should still be doing better than this, she has given numerous chances with various record labels due to her connection with DC. LaToya had to start from scratch as no one even knew much about her apart from the drama or that she could sing . Kelly needs to step it up and quick. A pretty face and nice outfits only get you so far
“No matter what they take from me, they can’t take away my dignity!”
*Meh…* Oh Kelly..
Kelly. Kelly. Kelly.. No truer words were ever written, nor were EVER as so off-key/flat/pitchy sung . Because, as we were A-L-L witness, we saw “10/12-Million discretionary spending U.K./Europeans” decided to reclaim THEIR “dignity” when they revoked your access to THEIR “consumer discretionary dollars”: “Here I am” debuted #46 on the U.K. Top-100, and in only a brief 9-weeks, fell completely off and into oblivion.
“The greatest love of all”..?!
Well, “it’s happening” to/for those (though faceless) certainly noble, intrepid “10/12-Million U.K./European X-Factor discretionary-spending consumers”: Simon heard your cries and now delivered you from Pharaoh’s bondage.. But, as quickly as “10/12-Million discretionary spending Europeans” have NOW ruled, yet quicker is TGJ favorite daughter, and “preeminent upwards failure”, the almost-40-something-year-old Kelly Rowland, is yet-again repackaged and forced-fed down U.S. consumer discretionary spending consumers throats.
Pop-quiz time! *enter the stuffed polyester suit and que the cheesy 1970’s game show music* What does Janet Jackson and the almost-40-something-year-old Kelly Rowland BOTH have in common..?? (Hint? Think graves, cameras and dancing)
X,Y,”and Z” — OUT..!! (Bark, Rowdogs, bark)
@Love Kelly re: Feby 20, 2012 at 4:51 am —
Are you on drugs? Is “angel-winged Whitney” now floating above you stoking your crack pipe?
..So it’s NOW back to “blame Matthew” again, again, now is it? I take it you’re one of her staff members and that’ll be the “new” angle you’ll AGAIN repackage and re-brand her with, and yet-AGAIN try to resell her to ALREADY “Kelly weary” U.S. consumers.
Real Talk: it’s 7:00 am EST, an I JUST busted out laughing after reading some of your mess – I mean some of your s*** is just pure comedy:
“Kelly, for the 1st time in her career, has a team who priority is making her a solo star, not holding her back and keeping her at a level below their daughter.”
So Matthew, and then Colombia records, with Millions invested in 2002’s ‘Simply Deep’, had formed a cabal and plotted against the “fair, lovely, and disenfranchised” Kelly?!
“She started out pitch perfect with destiny’s child with a voice many would say should have been lead but ask yourself why did her voice get weaker during her time under Matthew and did not improve through the stratosphere like Beyonce?”
Huh..?! Show us! Prove to us that Kelly Rowland “started out ‘pitch perfect'”! That’d be “proving a negative” – something that’s impossible to do. The almost-40-something-year-old Kelly Rowland has now been in THIS game for OVER 20-years. How much longer are we to wait? How much more excuses are we to hear? How much more blame are you, her staff, to insinuate?
“I look at Kelly like a newly signed artist because she is “A newly signed artist to Motown” and there is a whole new dynamic and confidence that (if stories are true) was chastised out of her by her former mentor and manager.”
“If stories are true”..?! <–O~o Bwahahahahaha… More "woe is me, Matthew-done-tryna-kill me" drivel.
"Excuse our excitement, but this confidence to stand without her group members and command a stage is extremely new for Kelly"
You're right, because she's "only" now been in the game for now "only" OVER TWO DECADES..!!
"She is just now finding her voice, and is slowly learning to control it."
After being in the game for now OVER TWENTY YEARS?!
"With control comes better technique and confidence and if you are a real fan of Kelly you’d admit her vocal performances in the latter end of DC and most of her solo career have been below average, pitchy and amateur until very recent."
I had to get out my handy "almost-40-year-old Kelly Rowland secret decoder book" for this one. Here's how it translates:
With Whitney now dead; with 'Here I am' being the disaster that it was, and with Kelly now getting fired from X-Factor U.K. – after all that hype – you can expect us, her management team, to try to "elbow our way in" and secure – and build upon, some of that "we miss Whitney we need/ we her replacement" sentiment.
X,Y, "and Z" — OUT..!!
If you have nothing good to say about any artist-
GO KILL YOURSELF
Kelly is making her $, you are each nobodys
Nobody reads them long ass essays you post. That s*** is soo funny that you have that much time and energy to invest in hate.
People say X,Y, and Z should kill themselves. I agree. Negativity is the act of the devil. Kelly is blessed to be famous and keeping gigs constantly.
X,Y, and Z is why we lost Whitney- people and their negativity
X,Y, and Z hates gays- which could only mean- your real identity is indeed gay, and judging by how much time X,Y, and Z puts into Kelly posts- I promise you, it stands for an ugly person hiding behind a keyboard- spreading negativity to compensate for unattractiveness
I personally can’t wait to never see another post by X,Y, and Z again. I’m joining the “GO KILL YOURSELF” anti-negativity campaign
after all the overly analyzed negative comments by you NOBODIES….It was still a GOOD performance.
Great job Kelly! I have been with Kelly from the very beginning & I have seen the progress made. Simply put: EXCELLENT!
Kelly did great. Of course, nobody does it better or even comparable to Whitney…but considering that, she did quite well 🙂
This was a good performance. Kelly has her own vocal styling and I wish you f*** stop comparing. No one is ever gonna sound like Whitney. That’s why Kelly sounded like her self and did it justice in her own way.
People sitting on here typing paragraph after paragraph isn’t gonna change nobodies opinion. The performance was great and you will deal.
Yeeeeessssss Kelly!!!
Yesssss she ate this ciara , rahianna , Keri , none of them other b****** could have ate this like she did work !!!!! Ms kelly
To the few of yall who says there were some flat notes. Point them out for me. Because this is a vocal from Kelly where I can’t pin point any stray notes.
This is a good performance. Kelly brought her own style and made it her own. Kelly, continue with those vocal training.
Hello,
MY NAME IS KELENDRIA TRENE ROWLAND.
..But you can call me “Kelly”, and within the industry, they call me the “human baskeball”, you see no matter how many times I’ve failed, no matter how many times audiences have thrown/slammed me down (as witnessed by/with my CD sales), I just keep bouncing back: getting chance-after-chance-after-failure-after-failure.
Does one “bad” album get you dropped by a record label? NO! Absolutely not – particularly if you have as recognizable a name as mine. I say that to illustrate the failure of my prior two albums: 2002’s ‘Simply Deep’ and 2007’s ‘Ms. Kelly’. Now there’s some debate as to the “success” of ‘Simply Deep’, but make no mistake, on a ROI (return on investment) basis, and given the time, circumstances of its release: the break-up (temporary) of DC, and then the flood of “want to see anything/anyone” regarding DC – 2002’s ‘Simply Deep’ was an unmitigated FAIL! Yes, it sold WW 2-Million, but, again, for the amount of money spent in its production and final “getting-to-market/store” cost, it failed.. Like fart-stunk up the joint!
The CRUSHING FAIL that was 2002’s “Simply Deep” was as stunning; as defeating; as it was perplexing. It took all of 5-years-later (2007) for Colombia to find the courage to release ‘Ms. Kelly’. You see, by THAT time, I’d gotten rid of my black boyfriend/fiance, Roy Williams, because, truth be told – a truth I’ve long since let the world know – I consider “Orlando Bloom, and men who look like him are THE best looking, most attractive men.” And I was…”ready”.
So comes 2007’s ‘Ms. Kelly’: I had my “Diva black p**** b**** flag” at ‘full mast’ (black gay men just ADORE me for that) and I’d again reloaded and was ready. But my old friends “disaster and disappointment” caught up and ‘Ms Kelly’ only moved 1-Million WW. After the numbers were finally in, Colombia had no choice in the matter – they dropped me!
So some time had to pass. I’d, in the mean time, gone off to Europe in pursuit of my “Orlando Bloom look-a-like” and to see if I could “entrance and ensnare” the “Gays Of Europe” as I had the black gay men of The U.S.. It worked! It’d all gave me enough of a buzz to approach Universal/Motown to make my pitch to them – much to my surprise – they bought my BS: 2011’s ‘Here I am’. But my oldest, dearest friends again revisited and “here I failed” – AGAIN. I’m now heart-broken, you see, I was given weekly access to 10/12-Million U.K./European discretionary spending consumers as a sitting judge/mentor on U.K. X-Factor and I couldn’t even more 355-K WW ‘Here I am’ units.
..But, as the “jaws of the inevitable” were about to close, there again appeared a ray of sunshine – a much-needed lifeline: Whitney Houston’s death. Now, if I can only elbow my way to the head of the line, past all of the other “no-talent-black-female-hacks-looking-for-their-come-up” I could possibly, in all the mass grief and mourning, manage to get MY share of “The Voice/Mother Whitney is gone, who will fill her shoes”.
So, to close, and my lesson to you all: It makes NO difference if you have little discernible talent. It makes NO difference however large a stage you were given – only to then fail. It makes NO difference however many times you’ve failed and lost money for all fiduciary parties who invested in you – if you surround yourself with a good PR/Spin Team, and if you are lucky enough to be in the game for now OVER 20-YEARS, they’ll always be a grave to dance on, and best of all, no one will care because they’ll be too deep in their grief for them to even notice where you’ve planted your feet!!!
x,y, ‘and z’
xyz shut the f*** writting three paragraphs aint gone change the fact that kelly is killing it and you cant take.
All I can say
GOOO GOOO GOOO GOOO !!!
MOTIVATION !!!
AHAHAHAHAAA!!!
SHE JUST DOING HER THING KEEP PROGRESSING !!!
AND SHAKE THEM HATERS OFF!!!
AHAHAHAAA!!!
SHINE BABY SHINE!!!!!
ms.kelly did her damn thing..im so happy that my fav kelly sings my favorite song of all time by my favorite artist of all time..whitney houston..damn im so proud of kelly
@RADIO – Feb 2012:34 pm and SIMPLY DEEP re: Feb 20, 2012 at 12:55 pm —
After given weekly-access to 10/12-Million U.K./European discretionary spending consumers and you can’t move more than 350K- World Wide…?!?!?!!!!
..Of course Simon fired her: Unmitigated FAILURE..!!!
X,Y,”and Z”
Kelly sang real well. Well-done Kelly! Kelly was the best XFactor judge last year. Her crime was to stand with her act who was bullied on live TV. Kelly stood by her act which annoyed some viewers who did not realise then that Tulisa (the other judge) was not telling the truth about Kelly’s act. She gave good advise to all acts including the winning act. Their best performance was actually suggested by Kelly. Long before Kelly joined XFactor, there was hate campaign about a foreign judge from America considering that the nation’s sweetheart (Cheryl Cole) was fired from the American show. Kelly was the best judge ever, nobody can take that from her!
Go Kelly! Go kelly
NO MATTER WHAT THEY SAY
JUST KEEP PROGRESSING LIKE YOU DID
I THINK THE GONNA BE MAD FOR REAL
I THINK YOU ARE SO CONFIDENT RIGHT NOW
ITS JUST BEAUTIFUL TO SEE IT
I FEEL YOU!!!!
AHAHAHAHA!!!!
KELLY DID THAT !!!!!!
@TRUTH TELLER re: Feb 20,1:53 pm —
“Kelly was the best XFactor judge last year. Her crime was to stand with her act who was bullied on live TV. Kelly stood by her act which annoyed some viewers who did not realise then that Tulisa (the other judge) was not telling the truth about Kelly’s act.”
K, so with THAT said; so what about the OTHER “not-annoyed viewers”. They’ve must’ve totaled more than 100,000 of the 10/12-Million who weekly watched X-Factor U.K., yes? And that said 100K is about what “Here I am” did in the U.K./Europe. (Again..) The almost-40-year-old Kelly Rowland was given weekly-access to 10/12-Million cash-able and..(yes: annoying, but wait for it….) “MOTIVATED” U.K./European discretionary spending consumers. And what did SHE do with the keys to heaven – FAIL: less-than 350-K WW ‘Here I am’ (not) units moved.
“Long before Kelly joined XFactor, there was hate campaign about a foreign judge from America considering that the nation’s sweetheart (Cheryl Cole) was fired from the American show.”
I can’t, at the moment, find the site/link, but I did see where the almost-40-something-year-old Kelly Rowland WAS voted one of T-H-E most-liked of the X-Factor U.K. judges/mentors. So the facts thwarts your excuses!!
“Kelly was the best judge ever, nobody can take that from her”
Which explains her NOT moving more than 350-K WW units, and her NOW being unemployed, right?
“Rowdogs”, repeat after me, sing (in the “key of G”) *clears throat*:
Our ‘beloved fave’ is a fail! Our ‘beloved fave’ is a fraud! Our much-loved fave now sings and dances on freshly dug graves.
Our beloved fave is forever-young and will eventually get it right — for OUR beloved fave we’ll wait till hell freezes-over, and time turns dust.
‘Black gay men’ absolutely adores our fave – for she: their King. Blame Matthew. Blame Beyonce. Blame angry clandestine forces. Blame “tin-eared”, surely bitter,10/12-Million U.K./European consumers – we, and our beloved fave, will surely best them all, and maybe one day, all the way to a win…
X,Y,”and Z” — “..this year, Halloween fell on a weekend, me and ghetto boys go trick-a-treat’n…”
She sounded so good! go Kelly!!!!!!
Wow some people who comment on here really have a lot of time on their hands… a whole essay about Kelly’s failures though? LMAO unbelievable
Beautiful Job Kelly!!! One of her best live vocal performances.
@X,Y,and Z
Go back in time and let your mother swallow you. That would do us ALL a favir. Thanks… 🙂
@X,Y,”and Z” 😯
Wow…I feel so sorry for you. Life must suck being you. To have that much hate in your heart and time on your hands. It’s got to be an AWFUL feeling waking up everyday, looking in the mirror, and seeing yourself. You spew nothing but negativity. That’s got to be a horrible way to live. I feel so sorry for you 🙁
If there is a post of The Greatest (In my book) Kelly Rowland and I dont see one of X, Y and Z comments, I feel disappointed. Make no mistake, I NEVER READ ANY OF HIS COMMENTS THAT ARE LONGER THAN 3 LINES (which are hard to find) but I truly believe he is kelly biggest fan and supporter. Kelly you killed it chica… love you to death @KellyRow_Go
still watching this 2 months later……….. SLAYED
How is honest critique negative?? Overly sensitive people you all are. Singers critique each other PERIOD. NOW, for my personal opinion. I was surprised she even pulled it off decently. I love to look at her and see her dance. But admittedly she is in the process of getting better vocally. She has a very powerful voice but it lacks some control.