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Kelly Rowland

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Kelly Rowland (born Kelendria Trene Rowland February 11, 1981 in Atlanta, Georgia) is an African-American R&B, pop singer, actress, and one of the founding members of the successful musical group Destiny's Child. Rowland has won four Grammy Awards, three with Destiny's Child and one as a solo artist.

Early life

Rowland lived with the family of fellow group member Beyoncé Knowles starting at age 10 and was mistakenly (and helped by the media and A&R hype) referred to as her cousin. Rowland and Knowles met LaTavia Roberson and Letoya Luckett and they formed a quartet that would perform in their backyards and in Tina Knowles' beauty shop. After performing at local events, they got their break when they entered Star Search. The group, then named Girl's Tyme, were heartbroken when they received only three stars, losing the competition.

Matthew Knowles, Beyoncé's father and Rowland's legal guardian, decided to help the girls reach their dreams of becoming singers. He quit his six figure salary at Xerox to manage the group.

Destiny's Child

Main article: Destiny's Child
File:Dc1s.jpg
Cover of the Greatest Hits album, Number 1's(2005). Kelly Rowland (right of the three).

Rowland rose to fame with the then quartet Destiny's Child in 1998 with the Billboard Top 10 hit, "No, No, No (Part 2)". Even after much publicized turmoil involving new and exiting group members, Destiny's Child (eventually a trio consisting of original members Rowland and Knowles, with Michelle Williams) managed to become one of the most successful pop/R&B acts in the late 90s/early 00's, earning four #1 Billboard 100 singles, several Top 10's,and two #1 albums. The group also earned No. 1's on various other Billboard and non Billboard charts.

Kelly and Destiny's Child toured as an opening act for both Christina Aguilera and TLC after their 1998 platinum-selling self-titled debut album Destiny's Child was released. Their debut album was produced by Wyclef Jean and Jermaine Dupri and featured the platinum-selling, number one Hot 100 single "No, No, No". Destiny Child's second album The Writing's On The Wall, released in 1999, featured two number-one hits in "Bills, Bills, Bills" and "Say My Name". "Bug-A-Boo" and "Jumpin' Jumpin'" were also popular singles from the album. "Say My Name" won two awards at the 2001 Grammy Awards for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal and Best R&B Song, the latter of which was awarded to the songwriters, which included Kelly herself.

Their next album, Survivor, proved to be another smash, going to number one on both the American Billboard 200 and R&B Albums charts, as well as the Canadian album chart. Two singles from the album went to the top of the Hot 100: "Independent Women" (Part 1) and "Bootylicious", with the album's title track reaching number two. "Independent Women" (Part 1) had been the theme song for Charlie's Angels in late 2000, before the album's 2001 release. The title track "Survivor" would win the group their third Grammy for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal. The album's fourth single, "Emotions", was a cover of the Bee Gees hit of the same name; it continued the group's impressive string of top ten hits.

After the three year hiatus that involved concentration on individual solo projects, Rowland rejoined Beyoncé Knowles and Michelle Williams for Destiny's Child's fourth (and final) studio album, Destiny Fulfilled, released November 2004. The album hit #2 on the Billboard 200 and spawned the hits Lose My Breath, Soldier, Girl and Cater 2 U. The album title itself was a hint that Destiny Fulfilled may in fact be the last Destiny's Child album and indeed that was to be the case.

Rowland and the other two-thirds of Destiny's Child embarked on a World Tour sponsored by McDonald's titled, Destiny Fulfilled and Lovin' It, in 2005, visiting over 70 cities throughout Australia, Asia, Europe and North America from April to September. Shortly before the end of the European leg of the tour, at a concert in Barcelona, Spain on June 13 2005, Kelly announced that the group was to go their separate ways the following September. In October 2005 the group released their final album, entitled #1's, including all of Destiny's Child's #1 hits and most well-known songs. The Greatest Hits collection also includes 3 new tracks, one of which is the final single Stand Up For Love. It debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200 album chart and #6 on the UK Top 75 chart.

In 2005 at the World Music Awards, Destiny's Child were given the award for the biggest selling girl group of all time with record sales of over 50 million.

Solo career

Music

File:Simply deep (album).jpg
Rowland's debut solo album Simply Deep

Rowland released her first solo album, the two million selling Simply Deep in October 2002 domestically and in February 2003 internationally. The album, which went Gold in the U.S. and debuted at #1 on the UK album chart, included the smash hit "Dilemma", a duet with Nelly which spent ten weeks at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 (making Rowland the first Destiny's Child member to top the charts outside of the group) and won Rowland her first Grammy Award in 2003 for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration, she shared this award with Nelly.

Voice

Kelly Rowland can be (arguably) classfied as a Dramatic Mezzo-Soprano (Many classify her as a spinto soprano which may be more accurate) because of the rich dark tone of her voice like her bandmate Beyonce. The two have been singing together since childhood and have very similar voices. Some people have said that, if they didn't already know who was singing, it is hard to tell the two voices apart. This is an advantage when creating tight harmonies in the typical Destiny's Child song such as Lose My Breath. Kelly has been heard hitting high notes and low notes although it has not been stated if she can sing as high as Beyonce (Dramatic Mezzo-Soprano or Wagnerian Soprano or even Full Soprano) or as low as Michelle (Alto/Mezzo-Soprano) even though it is assumed. It has been estimated that she has a 3 octave range. She is capable of employing high and fast melismas.

Acting

Rowland branched into acting with her roles in the 2003 summer blockbuster Freddy vs. Jason and in the 2004 independent film The Seat Filler released on DVD and VHS on February 21, 2006 [1]. She has also appeared on UPN sitcoms, The Hughleys and Eve. Rowland also has a three-episode role in another UPN sitcom, Girlfriends, starting on February 202006. On the show she plays the character of Tammy Hamilton, an ambitious 21 year old who convinces real estate queen Toni Childs (played by actress Jill Marie Jones) to take her on as an intern [2].

Current projects

File:Wno Kelly-Rowland.jpg
Rowland on the red carpet of MTV series Wild'n' Out.

As well her upcoming acting stint on U.S. sitcom Girlfriends, Rowland has several other projects lined up. She is featured on the upcoming new album Illumination by soul greats Earth, Wind & Fire. Kelly's singing can be heard on their song "This Is How I Feel" also featuring singer Sleepy Brown. She is also a featured artist on Trina's song called "Here We Go Again", which impacted radio in September 2005 and peaked at #8 and #17 on Billboard's R&B and Pop charts respectively. This was the second single from rapper Trina's new album Glamorest Life, which was released in October 2005. Kelly has been working on her second album on and off since 2004 and it was reported that her second album will be self-titled due for release on June 13, 2006[3] [4]. However, Rowland's second album is now entitled "My Story", its release has been delayed for four weeks and it will now be released on July 11 [5] [6]. A teaser single has leaked to the Internet entitled 'Flashback'. This song is on the 'Live In Atlanta' Destiny's Child DVD and is supposedly going to be on Kelly's second album. Her first single is entitled "Still In Love With My X" due around April 12th on radio. A clip of the song as leaked to the Internet and can be heard on any Kelly Rowland fan site.

Solo career achievements

  • Became the first member of Destiny’s Child to have a no.1 hit in the U.S. and UK outside of the group
  • Rowland is currently signed to endorse ‘Dark & Lovely’ hair products of the Soft Sheen Carson product company.
  • Dilemma was no.1 for 10 weeks in U.S., it also went to no.1 in the UK, Australia and most of Europe
  • Rowland won an ebel ‘women of achievement for her work on the charity ‘a new bread’
  • Rowland won best ‘Rap/Sung Collaboration’ award for the ‘Grammy Awards’ alongside Nelly

Awards

  • Grammy Awards (2002): Best Rap/Sung Collaboration, "Dilemma" (with Nelly)
  • Ebel Award (2003): Women of Achievement "(Charity) - A new bread"
  • Capital FM Awards (2003): London's Favorite International Single ("Dilemma") (Kelly with Nelly)
  • TMF Awards (Holland) (2003): Best R&B International (Kelly)
  • TMF Awards (Holland) (2003): Best Video International ("Dilemma") (Kelly with Nelly)
  • Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Awards (2003): Hot Rap Track of The Year ("Dilemma") (Kelly with Nelly)
  • Kelly Rowland is the first african american woman to perform at the Grammy awards for three consecutive years.

Rowland has won numerous awards with Destiny's Child. For a detailed list of the supergroup's awards see Destiny's Child Awards

Solo discography

Albums

Album information
Simply Deep
  • Released: October 22, 2002 U.S., 2003 Internationally
  • Chart Positions: #12 U.S., #1 UK, #5 Australia
  • Certifications: Gold (U.S.) (U.S. Sales: 600,000), Platinum (UK) (UK sales: 300,000 units),

(Australia sales: 35,000 units)

  • Worldwide sales: 2.5 million copies
My Story
  • Release: July 11, 2006
  • Chart Positions:
  • Certifications:
  • Worldwide sales:
  • Singles: TBA

Singles & videos

Year Title Chart Positions Album
U.S. Hot 100 OCC (UK) ARIA (AUS)
2002 "Dilemma" (Nelly featuring Kelly Rowland) #1 [10 weeks] #1 #1 [4 weeks] Nellyville / Simply Deep
2002 "Stole" #27 #2 #2 Simply Deep
2003 "Can't Nobody" #97 #5 #13 Simply Deep
2003 "Train On A Track" - #20 #10 Simply Deep
2005 "Here We Go" (Trina featuring Kelly Rowland) #17 #10 (mid-week) - Glamorest Life

Guest vocals

Album appeareances

Soundtrack appeareances


Besides her discography during her solo performing years, Kelly Rowland also has singles and albums released with Destiny's Child. For her discography and her music video information with the group, see Destiny's Child Discography.

Solo tours

  • 2003: Simply Deeper European Tour [7]

Date location venue

Filmography

TV

File:Tammitoni.jpg
Picture of Kelly on Girlfriends.

Philanthropy

  • Songwriting legend David Foster, his daugther Amy Foster-Gillies and Beyonce Knowles wrote Destiny's Child's last single Stand Up For Love for World Children's Day, an event which takes place annually around the world on November 20 to raise awareness and funds for children's causes worldwide. Over the past three years, more than $50 million
  • Beyonce Knowles and Kelly Rowland, along with Mathew Knowles, Tina Knowles and Solange Knowles-Smith recently announced the formation of the Survivor Foundation, a charitable entity set up for the purpose of providing transitional housing for Hurricane Katrina victims and storm evacuees in the Houston, Texas area. The Survivor Foundation extends the philanthropic mission of the Knowles-Rowland Center For Youth, a multi-purpose community outreach facility in downtown Houston.

See also

External links

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