Grammy Award-winning artist Kelly Rowland first gained recognition as a member of Destiny’s Child in the late 90’s. Born in Atlanta, Georgia, singing had always been one of her passions growing up. After moving to Houston with her mother at the age of eight, she joined a girl group known as Girl’s Tyme, becoming their sixth member. Together, they later took part in Star Search, one of the biggest talent show competitions on television at the time, but ultimately lost. Following a few lineup changes, Rowland and the rest of the group began opening for various R&B groups such as Immature and Dru Hill. Eventually renaming themselves as Destiny’s Child, they were able to secure a recording contract with Elektra Records in the early 90’s; however, they were later dropped from the label prior to releasing their debut. With the help of Mathew Knowles, they subsequently signed with Columbia Records. From there, Rowland and the rest of the girls began working on their debut album.
In February of 1998, Destiny’s Child came out with their eponymous studio album, Destiny’s Child. Successful upon its release, it eventually went Platinum in the United States, all while propelling the girls to celebrity status. The following year, the group released their best-selling album to date, The Writing’s on the Wall (1999), which went on to receive 8x Platinum certification from the RIAA. Since then, they’ve gone on to release a total of four full-length albums, three video albums, four compilation albums, twenty music videos and twenty three singlesーsome of their hottest hits from the early 2000’s include Say My Name, Jumpin’ Jumpin’, Independent Women Part I, Survivor, Lose My Breath, and Nasty Girth. Over the years, Destiny’s Child has won countless awards including five American Music Awards, two BET Awards, two Billboard R&B/Hip Hop Awards, two Blockbuster Entertainment Awards and three Grammy Awards, among several others.
After many years of singing with the group, Rowland embarked on a solo music career in 2002. Upon signing with Columbia Records, the dark skinned beauty released her debut studio album entitled, Simply Deep on October 22, 2002. Well received by fans, it eventually went Gold after finding its way onto the US Billboard 200. Following that, Rowland released her second studio album, Ms. Kelly in 2007ーfive years after her initial release. Since then, she’s also come out with Here I Am and Talk a Good Game in 2011 and 2013 respectively. In addition to singing, Rowland has also appeared in several films and TV shows throughout her career in the show biz including that of The Hughleys (2002), American Dreams (2003), Girlfriends (2006), Think Like a Man (2012), and Empire (2015), to name a few.
So what has the vocalist of Destiny Child’s fame been up to recently? Has she been focusing on her music or acting career as of late? What happened to Kelly Rowland? Where is he now in 2018?
Kelly Rowland’s Early Life and Music Beginnings
Born on February 11, 1981 in Atlanta, Georgia, Kelly Rowland (Birth Name: Kelendra Trene Rowland) is the daughter of Christopher Lovett and Doris Rowland; she has an older brother named Orlando. Due to the fact that her father was an abusive alcoholic, Rowland was mostly raised by her mother. When she was eight years old, they relocated to Houston, Texas to start a new life. Despite the struggles that her family faced during her young childhood, singing was something that she had always enjoyed. At the age of eleven, Rowland became the sixth member of an all-girl music group called Girl’s Thyme. With the help of Arne Frager, an R&B producer from the West Coast, they debuted  on Star Searchーone of the most popular talent shows on television at the time, however they ultimately lost.
From there, they were cut from six members down to four; the group’s new lineup consisted of LaTavia Roberson, Beyonce Knowles, LeToya Luckett, and Rowland. Taking both voice and dance lessons, the girls eventually performed various opening acts for groups such as Dru Hill, Immature, and SWV. After many years of singing together, they changed their name from Girl’s Thyme to Destiny’s Child in 1996. Soon after, they signed a recording contract with Elektra Records however it ultimately fell through prior to them releasing their debut. With the help of Beyonce’s father, Matthew Knowles however, they were eventually successful in negotiating a deal with Columbia Records. With that, they headed off to the studio to work on their debut album.
Kelly Rowland’s Music Career with Destiny’s Child
A moderate success on the charts upon its release, it peaked at sixty seven on the Billboard 200 and at number fourteen on the Billboard Top R&B and Hip Hop Albums Chart in the United States. Slightly more successful outside of the country, it peaked at number sixteen in Canada and nineteen in Netherland; it also charted in the United Kingdom. Despite being a lukewarm hit on the American charts, Destiny’s Child garnered many positive reviews from critics; for instance, Josh Bush writing for Allmusic described their voices to be “beautiful together”, giving it a four out of five star rating. Supported by two singles, the last of which was released in January of 1998, the album eventually went on to sell over a million copies in the country. As of July 2000, it has been given Platinum accreditation from the RIAA.
A year after their debut, Rowland and the group released their biggest album yetーThe Writing’s on the Wall on July 27, 1999. Produced by Rodney Jerkins, Missy Ellliot, Kevin Briggs, and Eric Philips, among others, it also saw the girls taking greater creative control over its writing and contents. Consisting mainly of R&B and pop, it boasted sixteen tracks including Now That She’s Gone, Where’d You Go, She Can’t Love You, If You Leave, Sweet Sixteen, Confessions, and Temptations. Various other editions of the album, such as those released in Japan and Australia also came with a couple of bonus tracks such as Can’t Help Myself and Get On the Bus (Feat. Timbaland).
A major success, The Writing’s on the Wall entered the US Billboard 200 at number six, and sold more than 132,000 copies during the first week. Although it dropped to number ten in the subsequent drop, it went on to sell an additional 100,000 units. On the Top R&B and Hip Hop Albums Chart, it eventually peaked at number one, making it Destiny’s Child’s first chart topper. Met with comparable , if not greater success overseas, the album charted in over a dozen different countries including Canada, Australia, Germany, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, Scotland, and Finland, among others. Lauded by contemporary music critics, it received four out of five stars from both the Rolling Stone Magazine and AllMusic; comparably, Entertainment Weekly also graded it a “B”. Since then, the album has gone Platinum eight times in the US and have sold over 17,000,000 copies across the globe.
Another successful release for Destiny’s Child, Survivor debuted at the top of the US Billboard 200 just two weeks after it was made available in stores. By the end of the first week, it had sold approximately 663,000 copies. Critically acclaimed, it garnered the group three separate Grammy Award nominations for “Best R&B Song”, “Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals” and “Best R&B Album”. Showered with glowing reviews, the album eventually also peaked at number one on the Top R&B and Hip Hop Albums in the United States. Overseas, it also proved to be a chart topper in Austria, Belgium, Canada, Germany, Netherland, Poland, and Scotland. Hailed as one of the “Top Albums of the Decade (2000’s)” by The Guardian, Survivor was later certified quadruple Platinum in January 2002. According to reports, the album has since sold over 4,700,000 copies in the US alone and 10,000,000 copies worldwide.
Three years later, they released their final full-length album, Destiny Fulfilled. In contrast to their preceding works, each member contributed equally to its production and songwriting. Consisting mostly of ballads and mid-tempo beats, it boasted eleven tracks; a few titles from the album include Is She the Reason, Through with Love, Bad Habit, Girl, Cater 2 U, Lose My Breath, and Free. The second number, Soldier was also noteworthy in that it featured Lil Wayne and T.I. in the vocals.
Upon its debut, Destiny Fulfilled entered the US Billboard 200 at number eight, selling approximately 497,000 copies within the first week. From there, it also became the group’s second number one album, having later topped the Top R&B and Hip Hop Albums Chart. Nominated for a Grammy Award at the 48th annual ceremony, it also charted across the world in Canada, Germany, Japan, Ireland, Norway, Spain, Australia, and Belgium, among other countries. Following its release, Destiny’s Child announced before an audience of 16,000 that it would be their last album and that the group would be going their separate ways. Having said that, Beyonce has since hinted at the possibility of a reunion.
What’s Kelly Rowland Doing Now in 2018 – Recent Updates
Besides that, she’s also appeared in a few TV talk shows this past month including Today, Access Hollywood Live, Harry, and The Dr. Oz Show. Rowland also appeared in an episode of the biopic documentary, SMV on January 4, 2017.
If you’d like to stay up-to-date and connected with the singer-actress, you can do so by following her on social mediaーyou can find her on Instagram or Twitter at @Kellyrowland. Alternatively, you can also find Kelly Rowland on her official Facebook page.
