NEW YORK, March 31 /PRNewswire/ — The Grammy-winning R&B/pop superstar Kelly Rowland will no longer be recording with Columbia Records as a solo artist, it was officially announced today by the label.

Rowland, a founding member of Destiny’s Child, the world’s top-selling female group, will continue her relationship with Columbia Records in her ongoing role in the iconic ensemble.

“Because Columbia Records has been my home base as an artist for more than a decade, the decision to move out on my own required a lot of soul-searching,” said Kelly Rowland. “As a solo artist, I felt the need to explore new directions, new challenges, and new freedoms outside my comfort zone and my friends and family at Columbia have been incredibly understanding about my evolution. I want to thank everyone at Columbia for the love and support they’ve shown and I will never forget how many good times we’ve had over the years.”

“Kelly Rowland is one of our finest contemporary artists and a musical force to be reckoned with,” said Rob Stringer, CEO, Columbia/Epic Label Music Group. “It has been a privilege and a pleasure to work with Kelly and we will continue our working relationship with her under the Destiny’s Child moniker. The decision for Kelly to seek other opportunities for her solo career was agreed upon mutually, and any reports to the contrary are false.” {Source}

Former Destiny’S Child star Kelly Rowland has reportedly been dropped by her record label, just two months after firing her manager, former bandmate Beyonce Knowles’ dad.

Despite the fact her first two solo albums sold more than four million copies, British tabloid News of The World reports the Dilemma singer has been dumped by bosses at Columbia (applies to the US and all other countries), because they fear she is “no longer commercially viable”. 

Rowland shot to fame in Destiny’s Child in 1997 and released her first solo album, Simply Deep, in 2002. The album sold over three million copies worldwide.

The 28 year old started 2009 by splitting from longtime manager Mathew Knowles. {Source}

Madonna has reportedly filed adoption papers for a second child ahead of a new visit to Malawi.

An official at the welfare department has confirmed that the pop superstar has formally applied to adopt another child from the country, The AP reports.

A second anonymous source claimed that Madonna would travel to Malawi this weekend and have an adoption case heard by a court as soon as Monday.

Madonna adopted David Banda from Malawi in 2006 and has long been rumoured to want another child from the country to be his brother or sister. {Source}