Are you ready to Work with

Kelly Rowland?

With Kelly Rowland’s hot new single “Work” now soaring up the charts, Xcel’s Editor, Emma Salt, caught up with the Destiny’s Child star to discuss the highs and lows of her long-term career and to grab some top tips on making it in the music industry.

How old where you when Destiny’s Child all started to take off?
We were just fifteen!

How did you fit your schooling in with that?
We had tutors for our high school education. When we were on tour we just went to school amongst each other.

Did you always want to be a singer when you grew up?
Definitely and it was great how supportive our parents were of us, especially around that time. They were really focussed on our schooling so they made sure we had tutors on the road so they felt secure about us out there.

How did it feel having the tutor experience? Do you feel you have missed out in any way?
I loved it way better. For me I couldn’t pick anything up when I was in a class full of other students. That one-on-one time enabled me to pass even quicker!

Any subject outside of music that you liked?
I loved English and I loved anything that had to do with Science. If we were dissecting something or wondering about atoms or whatever it was, I was completely intrigued!

Right! So if the music career hadn’t worked out then?
I would NOT be a scientist (laughs)

The album Ms Kelly was re-recorded. Do you feel you had a lot to prove to your critics?
For me I just felt it deserved a re-release because the first time there wasn’t any awareness of records like 'Work'. With 'Work' out now as a single it draws more attention to the album. It just feels bigger this time round and much better.

Do you feel it’s a refection of where you are as a person as well as an artist?
Yes, definetly. The re-release of the album is really intimate and really personal and that’s who I am. I am a personable person. I share intimate stories when I’m getting to know people, I like that,  that’s just me!

With 'Work' there's been a lot of interest in some of the lyrics
Oh yeah (laughs)

There are a lot of suggestive lyrics in the song, I’m sure that’s not intentional, right?
(laughs)
So, time to the put the record straight. What is 'Work' actually about?
I was in the studio with Scott and Pooh Bear who are the writers involved and we basically went out to party before we started the song.  Scot had started a bit of the song but said “lets go out, we need some inspiration” so we were out until 2am and then we came back to the studio and finished writing the record. I was tired so I went back home to get some rest and came back and recorded the song the next day and it was better. 'Work' is about the little banter that goes back and forth between someone that you are digging in a club and you telling them you can’t just get me easy, you can’t just buy me a drink and sit up there and tell me how great I look, you have to pull up my chair and make me feel like a lady - you’ve got to work!”

With Destiny’s Child you had a really strong message for women. Are you conscious as Kelly Rowland to continue that?
(smiles) Definitely! I feel like I helped to start that so I have to keep doing it.

When you are not recording or promoting, how do you unwind?
I just spend time with my family and friends. The other night I went to a bar with my friends and we just sat there and talked the whole time until the place closed.

So when you’re not working, how do you deal with the press invasion in your life?
They never get us out of work. It’s important to have boundaries of what you talk about and what you share cos it’s important that at the end of the day you take something with you.

Surely you must find it difficult?
No it's not difficult. Personally, I think that it's as difficult as you make it because some people share too much or they do things that perhaps they should be doing somewhere else. I like to hang out with my family at home. With the fans, if I’m out for dinner sometimes you get someone who just wants that moment with you. The way I look at it is what if that were me. If this was the first time I met someone like Whiteny and I wanted her autograph I’d want her to be nice to me so when I’m in moments like that and I always put myself in that person's shoes.

You mentioned Whitney. Was she your idol growing up?
I love Whitney and also Sade. They are defintely my top two!

Now you are in the industry and are of that status, do you see them differently now?
I honestly still admire them but now I see how hard they work as women. How much stress they have and how you have to be able to balance it all out.

Do you think it’s easier for male artists then?
Oh no, why should it be easier for them? They get caught in their own tough situations too. It’s all about being smart. Decision making is key.

How do you feel fame changes people and how do you think it has changed you?
I feel smarter. There are so many things that you learn. You grow up faster than a lot of people I know. Like my friends back home, they talk about stuff with me that my mum would have talked to me about. That is the amazing part of it - sometimes you get wise beyond your years which can also bug you out a bit!

You are over here with the Brits. Are there any UK artists that grab your attention?
Amy Winehouse. She is absolutely phenomenal. It is all so effortless. She doesn’t even try to sing it just comes out.

Would you like to do a collaboration with Amy?
I would love to do a collaboration with her. There are so many artists out there though that I’d love to do a collaboration with but  Amy is definitely up there.

If a student wanted to follow in your footsteps, what advice would you offer to anyone who is up and coming?
I’d tell them to make sure that it’s exactly what they want to do. With the reality TV period right now people think that it’s easy to get into the music industry. You can have some phenomenal success in a day with these things and people think it's all about microwave successes in order to get there but in reality, it's just not like that.

So what can we expect from Kelly Rowland this year? Any directions you want to go in?
I’m ready to tour. I’m ready to get a band over and put together a phenomenal show and have fun with my fans over here and the rest of Europe. Yeah I look forward to that!

Kelly on work:

“You can’t just buy me a drink and sit up there and tell me how great I look, you have to pull up my chair and make me feel like a lady, you’ve got to work!”

Kelly on fame:

“Sometimes you get wise beyond your years, which can also bug you out a bit!”

Kelly on Amy Winehouse:

“She is absolutely phenomenal. It’s all so effortless!”

Kelly on the music industry:

“People think its all about it’s about microwave successes in order to get there but in reality it’s just not like that.”