Source: AP

Every award show we know there are going to be some hits, some misses, and some WTF were they thinkings when it comes to red carpet fashion (that was our nice way of saying bold in the headline). This year’s 2013 Billboard Music Awards were no different. Check out the best and the most interesting outfits we saw.

Earlier today, we posted Kelly Rowland’s new song, “Dirty Laundry.” In the lyrics she details the abusive relationship she endured. Naturally, we were wondering who this man is/was. After her engagement to former football player Roy Williams, we didn’t hear about who she was dating. Which is a good thing. But in the digital age, word travels fast.

Because Roy is the only man we know about, folks incorrectly assumed that he was the man she was talking about.

But Williams took to Twitter to clear his name:

Source: Twitter

And then the Twitter gods blessed us with this gem. One of Roy’s followers figured out who the man was.

Source: Twitter

And Roy confirmed it. Cudda or Cudda Love, was Nelly’s manager/body guard back in the day…or maybe still today. (There’s not too much info on him right now.) But we suspect all that to change. This would make the most sense. Kelly mentioned that this relationship took place a decade ago. Which would have been around 2003, when she and Nelly recorded “Dilemma” and was subsequently spending a lot of time around Nelly and his crew.

There are very few pictures of him. But a while ago, Cam’ron posted a picture of Cudda Love on Instagram.

Click on the next page to see him.

Kelly Rowland is going there for her latest single, “Dirty Laundry.” In a heartfelt, slow tempo-ed ballad Rowland opens up about her bittersweet feelings about  Beyonce’s success and enduring an abusive relationship.

In the first verse she explains how the Destiny’s Child split caused her to feel conflicted:

While my sister was on stage killin’ like a motherf–ker
I was enraged feelin’ it like a motherf–ker
Bird in the cage, you would never know what I was dealin’ with
Went our separate ways but I was happy she was killin’ it
Bitter sweet, she was up I was down
No lie I feel good for her, but what do I do now?

Wow! While we all could have guessed that Kelly was feeling a bit jealous, (It’s only a natural reaction to watching someone you grow up with reach the heights you’re trying to achieve in your own career.), we’d guess she’s had a conversation with Beyonce about all of this. Still, to put this out for public consumption took some real big lady balls. Then, as if that weren’t enough, she goes on to explain her psychologically and physically abusive relationship.

Meanwhile this N***a putting his hands on  me
Swear ya’ll don’t know the half of this industry.
And it’s almost been a decade…

Kinda lucky I was in her shadow.
Phone call from my sister, what’s the matter?
She said “oh no baby, you gotta leave.”
I was mad at everybody. Yeah her… everybody.

Started to call them people on me. I was battered
He hitting the window like it was me, until it was shattered.
He pulled me out and said ‘Don’t nobody love you but me.’
Not yo mama, not ya daddy and especially not Bey.
He turned me against my sister, I missed her.

So intense. Now, you know we’re trying to figure out who was this man Kelly’s talking about. There are a couple of clues. When she says industry, does she mean music industry or just famous? Is she speaking about her ex fiancee? Somebody else she kept under wraps? She says it was almost a decade ago. Either way, he was one sick dude, attempting to mess with her head like that.

We could play this guessing game for weeks; but whoever this man is, we respect the fact that the 32 year old singer is lending her voice and image to the pervasive issue that is domestic violence. This song and her admissions just further prove that domestic violence is an issue women in all tax brackets and stature have the potential to experience this type of violence.

Check out the song in its entirety on the next page.

It’s hard to stay relevant in the music industry. Every day there is a new face ready to drop their clothing and sing with auto-tune that can easily catch the attention of the masses and take it away from true talent. Nobody knows that more than these artists, who’ve had major highs in the industry, and quite a few lows as well. They’ve managed to bounce back and forth over the years, some finally getting positive shine, but their talents are so worthy, we just want to see them win in the long run. How about you?

Brandy

Source: WENN

Currently, Brandy is doing big things. She’s got a regular casting role as Chardonnay on The Game, recently put out a critically acclaimed album, Two Eleven, and she got engaged to music exec Ryan Press during the holidays late last year. But as we all know (and you can watch the Behind The Music) episode for further confirmation, things haven’t always been a winning situation for the singer. There was the fatal car accident, the fake marriage scandal, the reality show that didn’t paint her or her brother in the best light, and a fickle listening audience who stopped checking for her. Now that she’s regained a good amount of relevance, we’d love for her to keep it. B Rocka’s voice has always been one of our favorites!

Oh the wonders a great stylist can work in one’s career. But don’t we all know what the lack of one can do for one’s style. Some of our favorite trendsetters didn’t necessarily start off the freshest, while ones who started off age appropriate and chic somehow ended up dressing like they picked their ensembles out in the dark. Check out a few celebrities whose style improved big time over the years, and a few who even with a bunch of money, downgraded, and still can’t seem to get it right.

Solange

WENN.com

It’s actually Solange’s style that has helped her create her own lane and identity outside of her very well-known big sister (that and her drastically different music). But she didn’t get to African-inspired prints, fab fros and chic pantsuits overnight. She had to wear a lot of satin, bountiful weaves and things that I’m sure she would probably cringe at now on the way up. Is that a feather purse above? Girl, no.

But luckily for her, her unique change in style has made her one of the best dressed people out there (it’s true, even Vogue said so) and is just one of many things that has helped her finally garner the respect she deserves.

WENN.com

How can you not like Kelly Rowland? She’s just so charming and humble, right?

Well, in a behind-the-scenes video of her photoshoot, the singer showed off that humble side when she was picked as one of People magazine’s “Most Beautiful” individuals in the world and asked to get undressed (makeup wise) for the magazine:

“The first thing that popped in my head when I was asked to be a part of People magazine with no makeup was, “Oh My Gosh. Oh My God, I’m honored. Oh My God, what’s going to happen? [laughs] But I’m feeling very comfortable with my skin and very comfortable to share it with you guys.”

Dressed down in a sweater, a bra, and some light jewelry, Kells showcases her flawless face for the cameras. But like most women, there is a little something something about said face that she’s not always a fan of:

“What I don’t love about my face that gets covered when I wear makeup…is my bags [under my eyes] when I’m really, really tired. But I love that makeup does the trick. [laughs]“

But the stunning singer definitely is comfortable in her skin, something that wasn’t so easy for her to be as a young girl and that she talked about with CNikky.com. But with time (and the help of Tina Knowles), she learned to embrace her looks.

“You just embrace it. You embrace everything that you are as a woman, even your flaws too. And those things that you want to fix too and you work at making them better.”

Source: WENN

It’s like deja vu all over again in the entertainment industry right now as reports suggest Kelly Rowland may be heading to the “X Factor.” But wait, didn’t she already do that? Technically, yes. But this time, the former Destiny’s Child singer is slated to join the panel of the singing competition in the U.S., taking over Britney Spears’ current spot, despite being cut from the UK show last year.

The Daily Mail is reporting the news, saying:

Former Destiny’s Child star Kelly Rowland is set to join Simon Cowell on the X Factor USA – despite being booted off the UK show.

Cowell, 53, remains a ‘big fan’ of the singer even though she was replaced by Nicole Scherzinger on the X Factor UK last year, a source told MailOnline.

And Kelly, 32, is now ‘most definitely in the mix’ to replace Britney Spears on the third season of the Fox talent show, which airs later this year.

It’s not yet known whether Cowell will appear with three women on the judging panel – or hire another man to replace L.A. Reid.

I wouldn’t be surprised if there were a lot of truth to this rumor. For one, these singing competition shows are running out of female talent to go through. Almost, everybody and their mama has at least been a guest judge on “American Idol,” “The Voice, ” or “X Factor” — except poor Aretha Franklin (why do they keep playing her like that?). And let’s be honest, networks are thirsty for black entertainers right now, with Nicki Minaj and Mariah Carey on “Idol,” this show is going to need someone who’s popping right now if they want to up their ratings, and though everyone is talking about this being the year of the Bey (again), Kelly isn’t doing so bad herself.

We’ve seen Kelly kill red carpet after red carpet this year, work as an E! correspondent for the Oscars, host BET’s Rip the Runway, and let’s not forget tearing up the stage at SuperBowl alongside Beyonce and Michelle. If there was a right time for this new gig to happen, it would be now. The question is, will Kelly joining the team make you watch?

Source: WENN

Beyoncé Knowles-Carter may be basking in the joys of motherhood, but sister-friend Kelly Rowland says she’s not quite ready to be about that mommy life and seeing Bey with baby Blue is not giving her baby fever. The “Kisses Down Low” singer recently chatted it up with E! News on the red carpet at the Elle Women of Music event in New York. She honestly revealed to Alicia Quarles that she’s not ready to be a mother just yet and has no shame in admitting it.

“I’m not ready, I’m not ready to have a child. I can be very honest,” she revealed.

“Because right now, I’m a bit selfish, a lot—I was gonna say a little—but I’m still selfish,” 32-year-old Rowland added.

She went on to say that she really enjoys having her time to herself and that she isn’t exactly ready to share it with another person.

“I like my time, I like to wake up whenever I want to and I like to come and go as I please. I don’t know if I’m ready to share that time with another person, I don’t wanna mess them up,” Kelly confessed.

She did, however, reveal that she’s down to babysit baby Blue if ever Bey needed her to. We certainly can’t blame Ms. Kelly for wanting to do her thing before settling down and having babies. It seems that there is a lot more she hopes to accomplish, not to mention her forthcoming Talk a Good Game album, which is slated to drop later this year. It’s hard not to respect her honesty.

Click here to watch Kelly’s interview.

Source: WENN

Well, this is a bit of an unexpected collaboration.

On Friday, Fantasia released her second single, “Without You,” featuring Missy Elliott and Kelly Rowland from her upcoming album Side Effects of You.  Co-written and co-produced by Kyle Stewart, Harmony Samuels, Al Sherrod and Missy, “Without You” is a ladies’ anthem of sorts, reminding their men that they’re lucky to have women like them in their lives.

Tasia Mae, as we affectionately call her, dropped the first verse and she is calling a spade a spade:

Really gon make me expose you for exactly what you are/And I’m feeling a little wavy so right now I don’t mind pulling your card/And as hard as you try to hide reality why, we know the truth/ so act brand new if you want to/But what you be without me, what would you be without me/ so what you blowing up just a little they knowing you a little don’t get a finger in the middle cuz my **** you would never be

Further in the song, Missy Elliott gives it to us a little “x-rated” in a way only Missy can:

“Your d**k is useless/Dude, I don’t need your sex, I’m moving to the next/ You frontin man, you stunting man, you worser than my ex/Ha ha ha ha ha, you think that Shyte funny/We know the truth boy, keep it one hunnit”

Well, if this isn’t a “talk that talk” song, I don’t know what is.  Side Effects of You is being presented as an album that shows Fantasia going through a heartbreak and getting back to who she is as a woman. This track definitely sounds like she is getting her confidence back.

“Without Me” could be  a big summer banger as the beat definitely knocks! Check the song out below and let us know what you think!

Brian To/WENN.com

Kelly Rowland should be really excited: she’s been busy hosting red carpet shows for major awards shows and she’s prepping for a new album.

Rowland’s new album, Talk A Good Game, is due out in June and much like her last album, she has some heavy hitters putting their stamps on songs with hopes of her cranking out hits.  Her first single, “Kiss Down Below” was produced by Mile WiLL Made It (or just Mike Will) and is slowly picking up steam.  Also confirmed on the album? Tracks produced by Boy Wonder, The Dream and Pharrell, who, as usual, also lends his voice in vocals.  Kelly says the album will be very soulful and straight up R&B music.

But that’s not all. Kelly told Billboard that one of the songs on the album produced by Pharrell will feature her Destiny’s Child sisters, Beyoncé and Michelle. But don’t get it twisted: this is not a reunion.  As Kelly simply put it:

“It’s not a Destiny’s Child track, it’s me featuring Beyoncé and Michelle.”

Kelly told not only Billboard but Power 105.1′s The Breakfast Club that the album is really about her getting to a very honest place. She has no problem “going there” in order to reveal her feelings about a lot of subjects, whether it be life, relationships or sex.

Hopefully, Talk A Good Game will give Kelly the musical boost in the United States she seems to be seeking.  While her 2011 single “Motivation” was a hit, the album it was featured on, Here I Am, has still only sold about 270,000 copies.

Good luck to the gorgeous Kelly Rowland!

Are you a fan? Why do you think she isn’t a bigger artist at this point?