Kelly Rowland's New Destiny
Houston native Kelly Rowland isn't used to the freezing temperatures in Vancouver, British Columbia, where she's filming her first movie, Freddy vs. Jason. But while the Canadian air is a bit chilly, everything else about the Destiny's Child star is heating up.
After years of being in the background of the multi-platinum, Grammy Award-winning trio that features the luminescent Beyonce Knowles, Rowland is ready for her close-up. Her solo debut album, "Simply Deep," hit stores this week with high expectations fueled by "Dilemma," her duet with rapper Nelly and long-running No. 1 single, and top 40 follow-up "Stole."
"Dilemma," which appeared first on Nelly's smash album "Nellyville" this summer, created a happy one for the Destiny's Child camp when radio began playing the song constantly, despite the fact that Nelly's single "Hot in Herre" already was the most ubiquitous song on the air. Rowland was rushed into the studio to capitalize on Dilemma's sizzling success.
"'Dilemma' was its own time bomb waiting to happen," says Rowland, 21. "Radio just started playing the song (on which she tells Nelly, 'Even when I'm with my boo, you know I'm crazy over you') and the next thing we know, we had to make a video and I was recording my album. It's like I'm on a roller coaster and I'm having so many incredible things happening to me right now."
That includes getting cooking tips and a nod of approval from Patti LaBelle, who appears as Rowland's mom in the "Dilemma" video.
Rowland says it's strange to be working without bandmates Knowles and Michelle Williams, whose debut "Heart to Yours" topped the gospel charts earlier this year. Even though the two don't appear on "Simply Deep," they have supported her with daily calls and words of encouragement.
Rowland says that while she's now able to go it alone in the studio and during interviews and video shoots, it took time for her to build confidence. She credits Knowles for taking charge when the group went through much-publicized lineup changes after two successful albums. The controversial shake-up led to two original members splitting and Williams being brought on board. They have grown bigger ever since.
"I have not always been at the level where I am now," Rowland says. "When everything was going on with Destiny's Child, Beyonce had enough courage to step up and carry the group. I couldn't do it. She was definitely a hero and gave me a chance to sit back and work on what I needed to work on."
Matthew Knowles, the group's manager and Beyonce's father, has watched Rowland mature since she came to live with his family when she was nine. He says Rowland's emergence has always been part of a plan for members to do solo projects while keeping Destiny's Child as a group.
"I've been saying this, and people weren't really listening," Knowles says. "I know how talented they really are individually and collectively. You have to have talent first, and Kelly definitely has it, and the drive and determination you need, as well."
Knowles recently opened a large music complex in downtown Houston to house his Sony-affiliated Music World Entertainment label, which employs 26 people and also released Williams' gospel album and Destiny's Child's "This Is the Remix," and last year's "8 Days of Christmas."
Beyonce's album is now due just before Valentine's Day, and an album from her 16-year-old sister, Solange, who wrote four songs on Rowland's album, is due Dec. 17.
Knowles says he also has a gospel compilation coming in January and a female gospel quartet called Ramiah in the wings.
As for Rowland's album, more than 700,000 copies were shipped to stores this week. It could wind up as the week's best seller if demand matches that optimism.
Rowland says fans shouldn't expect just another Destiny's Child album. She sings several songs in a higher register than normal and takes other risks with her voice. With "Stole" as an example, she deals with a different range of topics, including peer pressure, self-esteem and innocence lost.
As for her movie career, she'll see how that goes. She says she was a little surprised that she even got the part in the horror film, which pits two of the genre's icons.
"I'm usually scared of horror movies, but I have to scream a lot and run a lot," Rowland says with a laugh. She is looking forward to going home for Christmas to decorate and actually stay in her recently purchased home in Houston.
"I actually went to the audition knowing that I was not going to get it, because it's hard to act scared, and I have the worst scream. It sounds like a little punk scream, but I guess when you do it from the gut, you can make all kinds of noises."
