Kelly Rowland
Kelly Rowland
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14:04
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2Kelly Rowland, Lil Playy4:10
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3Kelly Rowland, Lil Wayne4:03
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4Kelly Rowland, Big Sean4:03
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5Kelly Rowland3:57
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6Kelly Rowland3:36
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7Kelly Rowland, Rico Love3:51
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8Kelly Rowland4:10
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9Kelly Rowland, David Guetta3:38
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10Kelly Rowland, The WAV.s3:54
10 songs
Conceived as a study in continuity as well as contrasts, HERE I AM, Rowland’s third solo album, is the culmination of the Houston-bred, Miami-based singer’s profound personal and creative evolution as a solo artist. She first stepped out on her own in 2002 with the release of her RIAA gold-certified debut album, Simply Deep, which reached No. 12 on the Billboard 200 chart. That same year, she teamed up with Universal Motown hip-hop sensation Nelly for a duet called “Dilemma,” which appeared on his 2002 album, Nellyville. “Dilemma” topped Billboard’s Hot 100 chart and earned two Grammy nominations, including a win for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration. In 2007, Rowland’s second solo album, Ms. Kelly, hit No. 6 on the Billboard 200 chart and sold more than 1.2 million copies worldwide, propelled by the infectious Top 40 favorite “Like This,” featuring Eve.
A year later, Rowland discovered newfound inspiration while vacationing in Europe, where she found herself immersed in different sounds and musical genres, particularly dance and electro. It was then, while performing at a club in Ibiza, that she met French dance producer David Guetta, who played her one of his unfinished tracks, which Kelly took with her to London, where she hooked up with Australian producers Mim and Liv from the Nervo Twins to finish writing what became 2009’s international smash hit “When Love Takes Over.” Released as the first single from Guetta’s 2009 album, One Love, “When Love Takes Over” skyrocketed to No. 1 in several countries around the world—including the U.K., Italy, Switzerland, Belgium, and Hungary—and won Rowland her fifth Grammy Award in 2010 for Best Remixed Recording.
Months later, during a recording session in Miami, Rowland caught the attention of Universal Motown President Sylvia Rhone, who signed her to a solo deal in 2010. “I feel a great sense of empowerment being at Universal Motown,” says Rowland. “I was in the studio working with Rico Love when I met Sylvia Rhone. She instantly picked up on the sound of what we were doing and it felt great to be respected as an artist.”
Collaborating with HERE I AM’s impressive roster of A-list producers and songwriters was equally rewarding for Rowland, who launched her I Heart My Girlfriends foundation in 2010. Soon after inking her deal with Universal Motown, she reunited with David Guetta for their second colossal collaboration, 2010’s futuristic club hit “Commander,” which quickly shot to No. 1 on Billboard’s Dance/Club Play Songs chart. With “Commander” ruling the club circuit, Rowland continued to explore new sounds in the studio while laying the foundation for HERE I AM. One of the album’s many highlights is a scorching groove called “Turn It Up,” produced by Rodney Jerkins. “It’s a happy sad song,” says Rowland. “It’s definitely a raise-your-glass party song, but it’s also about putting something behind you, something that you know needed to go.”
Rowland greatly enjoyed working with Ne-Yo as well. She laughs when thinking back to the process of recording a ballad he wrote for HERE I AM called “Heaven and Earth.” “I’d always wanted to work with Ne-Yo,” she says, “but I was taken aback by how quickly he understood what I wanted. That song came out of a three-minute conversation. We hung up and then he called back with the lyrics and I screamed, ‘Are you serious?!?’ The vulnerability—everything was there. You have no idea how good it feels to have that kind of collaborator.” Ne-Yo also wrote the self-empowerment anthem “Grown Ass Woman,” which Rowland says “came out of my talking to him about how signing with Universal Motown made me feel like a ‘grown woman’ both creatively and business-wise, like I was stepping into my ‘big-girl shoes.’ Being a true artist, Ne-Yo took that and molded it into something special that I didn’t foresee.”
Songwriter Rico Love also worked closely with Rowland throughout the making of HERE I AM. He penned “Commander” and the sensual slow jam “Motivation,” produced by Jim Jonsin and featuring a seductive cameo by Lil Wayne that helped the track soar to No. 6 on Billboard’s R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart with more than 123,000 units sold in just three weeks. In addition to climbing Billboard’s Hot 100 chart, its Digital Songs chart, and its Ringtones chart, “Motivation” also captured the No. 4 spot on iTunes’ Top R&B/Soul Songs chart while the seductive music video topped iTunes’ Top R&B/Soul Videos chart, ranked in the Top 10 of iTunes’ overall Top Music Videos Chart, and surpassed 10 million views on VEVO. “‘Commander’ and ‘Motivation’ are both very soulful, just flipped in different ways,” says Rowland. “That’s what I really like about Rico—his diversity.” Love’s many contributions to HERE I AM include the soaring ballad “Your Love Is the Greatest” and the rock-influenced subtlety of “All of The Night.” “I feel that R&B is my foundation,” says Rowland, “but Rico is a writer who can go in any direction. He can write me a dance record, an urban record, anything.”
Indeed, one measure of Rowland’s newfound resolve is her ability to remain firmly planted in her R&B roots while forging ahead with fresh new sounds on HERE I AM. “It all had to fit just right,” she says of the album’s diverse array of songs. But it’s Kelly’s bold new attitude and striking vocals that make the album a cohesive success. “I’m very confident in everything that’s going on around me now,” she says. “I’ve been in this business long enough to have a track record that says I have something to contribute, but the key difference now is that I feel more in control. It’s a great feeling.”