Kelly Rowland
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Her capacity to stun men with her powerful voice and sexy grooves, Kelly Rowland rose to fame as the one-third of the best-selling female musical group, Destiny's Child. And as she goes solo, making a name for herself with her unique R&B style, she will undoubtedly equal the success of her former group.
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[edit] About
With a birth name Kelendria Trene Rowland born on February 11, 1981 in Atlanta, Georgia, Kelly Rowland's interest in music started when she was four after hearing the astounding voice of Whitney Houston. She joined the choir at the church they attended every Sunday. Kelly was raised primarily by her mother, Doris Garrison when they relocated in Houston, Texas. There, she befriended another aspiring singer (and future bandmate), Beyonce Knowles.
At the age of 11, Rowland lived with Beyonce, where they were mistakenly identified as cousins. Rowland met LaTavia Robertson in elementary then the girls met LeToya Luckett and immediately became friends. When they were old enough to join auditions, they formed a quartet known as Girls Tyme and competed at the Star Search in 1992. They lost the competition and they were heart broken. Beyonce's father and Rowland's legal guardian, Matthew Knowles quit his job to help the girls in making their dreams come true.
In 1995, they signed a record deal with Elektra Recods but they were dropped even before they could release their debut album. The following year, they signed with Columbia Records and that same year, their self-titled debut album was released as Destiny's Child. Their single, No, No, No Part 2 became a hit, making its way to the top ten in the Billboard Hot 100. Their second album, Writings On The Wall (1999) is another smash hit with 2 Grammy awards for their single, Say My Name.
Though turmoil involving the group members LeToya Luckett and LaTavia Robertson forced them out of Destiny's Child, the group remained strong. With new members, Farrah Franklin and Michelle Williams, they continued to be successful. However, Farrah Franklin left the group after five months thus, making DC a trio. Despite the trials the group has faced, they still managed to top the charts and continue to break records with their albums, Survivor (2001), Destiny Fulfilled (2004) and #1's (2005).
The group rested for three years to give time to try and pursue their own solo careers. After three years, they reformed for their final studio album Destiny Fulfilled where the singles released off the album added to their string of top ten hits. They toured for the last time from April to September 2005. During their concert in Spain on June 13, 2005, Rowland announced that they are to go their separate ways on September. And in October 2005, they released #1's where all of their number 1 hits including other well-known songs and 3 new tracks (Stand Up For Love is one of them) are compiled. The album debuted at number 1 in the Billboard 200 charts. Also, in that same year, the World Music Awards awarded them for being the biggest selling girl group of all time.
[edit] Going Solo
Kelly Rowland began writing materials for her debut solo album during their three-year break. Simply Deep was recorded in a month but the world seemed like it took them years to finish. Released in October 2002, it featured the Grammy award winning single Dilemma, a duet with rapper and hip-hop superstar, Nelly. Stole and Can't Nobody followed the single though it did not match Dilemma's success in terms of radio play it impressed in their lengthy stays on the US and UK charts. Her album went gold in different parts of the world including Ireland, Australia, Hon Kong, and New Zealand. It was also a certified gold in the US with 500,000 units sold and three million copied worldwide. Now, she working on her sophomore effort, originally entitled My Story: Kelly Rowland and later changed to Miss Kelly. It was due early 2007 but was pushed back to the end of 2007 or early 2008.
Aside from being a Grammy award winning singer, Rowland also went into acting. She appeared in the episodes of 3 UPN sitcoms: The Hugley's, Eve and Girlfriends and starred as Kia in the 2003 summer blockbuster Freddy vs. Jason. In February 21, 2006, she also starred in an independent film, The Seat Filler only released on DVD and VHS. In between acting and singing, she also had guest appearances and guest hosted in some talkshows in the US.
[edit] Awards & Certifications
| Year | Award | Category | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Grammy Award | Best Rap/Sung Collaboration for "Dilemma" shared with Nelly | Won |
| 2003 | Grammy Award | Record of the Year for "Dilemma" shared with Nelly | Nominated |
| 2003 | Soul Train Music Award | Music Video for "Dilemma" shared with Nelly | Nominated |
| Year | Certification |
|---|---|
| 2003 | Gold |
[edit] Chart Toppers
| Year | Title | US | UK | AUS | WOR | Album |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Dilemma (Nelly ft. Kelly Rowland) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | Nellyville / Simply Deep |
| Stole | 27 | 2 | 2 | 9 | Simply Deep | |
| 2003 | Can't Nobody | 97 | 5 | 13 | 40 | Simply Deep |
| Train on a Track | ~ | 20 | 61 | ~ | Simply Deep | |
| 2005 | Here We Go (Trina ft. Kelly Rowland) | 17 | 15 | ~ | ~ | Glamorest Life |
[edit] Tours & Concerts
No tours to date
[edit] Discography
[edit] Albums
 October 2002 Sony |
 To Be Released Sony |
[edit] Singles
| Date | Title | Label | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Dilemma | Sony | Simply Deep |
| Stole | Sony | Simply Deep | |
| 2003 | Can't Nobody | Sony | Simply Deep |
| Train on a Track | Sony | Simply Deep |
[edit] Other artists
[edit] Similar artists
[edit] Influences
[edit] Contemporaries
[edit] Trivia
- During the Bush/Cheney campaign in 2000, she was, along with all of Destiny's Child, a supporter of Bush.
- Her favorite flavor of ice cream is chocolate
- Attended Lamar High School in Houston, Texas.
