Kelly Rowland
SEXES THINGS UP ON HER NEW ALBUM
By WHITNEY SPANER
Photographed by DAN MONICK
Sin City is the perfect place for the new sexier,
saucier Kelly Rowland to come out and play. The
night before our interview, she did just that hitting
up the Billboard Awards' after-parties in Las
Vegas with her former Destiny's Child bandmates,
Beyoncé Knowles and Michelle Williams. "I got a
chance to hang with my sisters B and Michelle,"
Rowland says. "And we had a good time," she adds
with a hint of mischief in her voice.
Rowland's still busy putting the finishing touches on Here I Am, but assures us it won't be all R. Kelly-remix-ready, R&B jams. She's developed a thing for club music in recent years thanks in part to a brief spell living in Europe, and her new hometown, Miami. One track that made the cut is "Commander," a collaboration with super-DJ David Guetta that was pumped out across many a sweaty dance floor last summer. "I want people to experience everything that I've experienced the past couple years of my life."
According to Rowland, her third solo album,
Here I Am, out this fall, runs high on "sensuality and
sass." We'd have to agree judging from the video for
the first single, "Motivation," a sultry slow jam featuring
Lil' Wayne, in which an oiled-up Rowland,
in threads of clothing and knee-high boots, writhes
alongside a cast of chiseled male dancers in a damp
underground club. "I actually showed it to my
mom and she was like, 'Lord have mercy!'" laughs
Rowland. "She said, 'I have to keep remembering
that you're 30-years-old because whatever was happening
on that set, was way too much.'"
It's certainly a change from the spunky, boyish
part she played alongside the sex-bomb Beyoncé
throughout Destiny's Child's reign. Remember
those closely-shorn, highlighted hairdos? Well,
we're happy to report they've now been replaced
by long, shaggy, ultra-feminine locks. "I've always
been so happy and playful," she says, "but there's
nothing wrong with being a vixen either." She credits
this newfound sexuality to recently turning 30
and having 15 years in the business behind her. "I
think it's the confidence of knowing where I want
to be. I'm just celebrating being a woman and my
sexuality has come out... just a little bit."
Rowland's still busy putting the finishing touches on Here I Am, but assures us it won't be all R. Kelly-remix-ready, R&B jams. She's developed a thing for club music in recent years thanks in part to a brief spell living in Europe, and her new hometown, Miami. One track that made the cut is "Commander," a collaboration with super-DJ David Guetta that was pumped out across many a sweaty dance floor last summer. "I want people to experience everything that I've experienced the past couple years of my life."
As a solo artist Rowland has dabbled in everything
from Nelly collabs to standards to Euro-
DJ mixes to reality TV -- but the most difficult
part about leaving the pack to become a lone wolf,
she says, are the inevitable comparisons: "I definitely
wanted to set myself apart from my bandmates."
With "Motivation" at number one on the
Billboard R&B charts, she's doing just that. "It's
just about adapting and putting out great music."
Now that's sexy.
WHAT'S ON HER SUMMER PLAYLIST
"Beautiful People," Chris Brown
"Man Down," Rihanna
"Roman's Revenge," Nicki Minaj
"Sweet Thing," Chaka Khan
MORE FROM PAPER'S SUMMER MIXTAPE
WHAT'S ON HER SUMMER PLAYLIST
"Beautiful People," Chris Brown
"Man Down," Rihanna
"Roman's Revenge," Nicki Minaj
"Sweet Thing," Chaka Khan
MORE FROM PAPER'S SUMMER MIXTAPE
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