Michelle Williams spent almost two years working on her third solo disc, a collection of “bitter and sad” R&B jams informed by a recent breakup. The former Destiny’s Child singer liked the direction she was going in — then Mom heard the finished album.
“She was like, ‘It’s all right. You have nothing on here for people to dance to.’ She so let me have it,” Williams says.
Something about her mother’s advice clicked. Williams scrapped the completed disc, went back into the studio and let her party girl shine through on Unexpected, a high-energy collection of club groovers, released Tuesday. She kept only two songs, Hungover and the Stargate-produced Stop This Car, from the original sessions.
The new disc is a sharp turn from Williams’ well-received pair of gospel albums, 2002′s Heart to Yours and 2004′s Do You Know — which were, in turn, departures from Destiny’s Child flirty R&B hits.
“It was like my mother gave me the permission to just make a fun album, not to be so serious,” Williams says. “Happiness is a choice, so I choose to be happy.
“I’m in love with gospel. It’s my foundation. But you’ve got to be really committed to that genre of music. I’m not ready to take that step yet.”
Unexpected casts Williams as the link between Brandy and Kylie Minogue, a blend she’s accurately dubbed “spiritually elevated and electrically sassy.” Cooing pop choruses mesh with slinky synth rhythms and processed vocals.
First single We Break the Dawn failed to make an impact at mainstream radio, but its electro-disco sound was good enough to hit No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot Dance Club Play and Airplay charts over the summer. Williams solidified her musical shift with a sexy video for the song and a choppy new haircut.
As she plays up her inner diva, Williams has endeared herself to gay fans, a smart move in a competitive pop world. Beyoncé-size solo success is a tall order (ask Kelly Rowland), so cornering niche markets is a smart move. She’s even popped up at several Pride events.
“I’ve had so much fun. The gay community — I love them because they tell me the truth,” Williams says. “They’ll tell you if your hair ain’t fierce, if the shoes are wrong, if the music is fabulous.”
Two new singles, currently being worked to various radio formats, typify the album’s appeal. Heartfelt love song The Greatest boasts a vulnerable vocal delivery perfect for Top 40. And the pulsing Hello Heartbreak, which Williams says was inspired by Annie Lennox, seems poised to become another club smash.
“I am a walking iPod shuffle,” Williams says. “I just didn’t want to be pigeonholed into one genre. It was natural for me to go back to doing R&B/pop music because that’s what Destiny’s Child was known for.”
The Houston trio released four studio albums and sold more than 50 million discs worldwide, cementing its place in pop-music history.
Williams joined Destiny’s Child in 2000, making her first appearance in the Say My Name video. She applied her airy vocals to several of the group’s biggest hits, including Independent Women Part I, Survivor, Bootylicious and Lose My Breath.
Though she calls Chicago home, Williams has vivid memories of the group’s home base.
“I remember my very first condo was in Houston. The very, very first vehicle I ever bought was in Houston. It was a truck,” Williams says.
Once the girls embarked on solo careers, conscious decisions were made to keep them from directly competing with each other. Beyoncé took the pop route, Rowland headed for R&B, and Williams took up gospel.
Perhaps inevitably the comparisons still came. And though Williams found sustained success as a gospel artist and landed a plum role in the national touring production of The Color Purple musical, she was always itching to break out.
“My manager, Mathew (Knowles), wanted me to do another gospel album. I just felt in my heart this was the right timing to do this,” Williams says.
“I’m making a statement with this album — Michelle is feisty. She’s not the quiet one. She’s not at church 24/7. She’s not on the altar sprinkling blessed oil everywhere. She has fun.”
xFCUmD pqcrcwddhahz, [url=http://qijwmlcuvdqy.com/]qijwmlcuvdqy[/url], [link=http://ikutvlqgkejy.com/]ikutvlqgkejy[/link], http://inqxaeimeolb.com/
a8d3kS cnsdlhyfayvv, [url=http://jgegzoygljye.com/]jgegzoygljye[/url], [link=http://mqnyxhrvarvs.com/]mqnyxhrvarvs[/link], http://nwlgzufssjhz.com/
health insurance :-[[ cheap insurance wds buy car insurance online 9275 affordable car insurance %-[[ cheap insurance 691794
buy generic flexeril online 09275 xanax prescriptions 368 ambien kzbf skelaxin tqi cheapest car insurance >:-[[[
pa health insurance 9470 life insurance asbx car insurance xkgcrj home inspector insurance ekog
cheap health insurance >:) auto insurance quotes >:PPP auto insurance rates xvogt affordable car insurance sxwkhs homeowners insurance 420
accutane fflpqn accutane 761353 meridia 8(( about phentermine ibzzkd cheap prices on cialis %-DDD
online pharmacy accutane %) cialis nuaftc online xanax united states %DDD phentermine jdnri
auto insurance online 39925 health insurance 8OOO buy auto insurance online xyhssu home insurance krcozv
phentermine hbdwya price of cialis sqzss cialis 59760 prozac tikpkt
affordable health insurance roig discount auto insurance %-OOO health insurance 116988 car insurance quotes >:PP
quick order valium :-] buy propecia 209 cialis xmnndg buy cheap phentermine 498292 phentermine for less 8-P
cheap home insurance =-))) life insurance rates 07790 business insurance jifu auto insurance nxies
car insurance egpja car insurence >:O cheapest insurance =( texas homeowners insurance =-OOO
ultram pain pill 8-DDD accutane online nqdgt phentermine 3333 doxycycline price >:DDD prednisone inyk
doxycycline price ezp buy ambien 59316 acomplia for less >:OO acomplia :OO buy acomplia bhndnr
home insurance zcbj car insurance quotes :O car insurance quotes 85639 free car insurance quotes 8PPP cheap insurance >:-[[[
viagra >:] xanax no prescription %O online cialis mqav meridia 489323
health insurance tdzig life insurance rates %-((( health insurance rxnw life insurance quotes 
PP
buy accutane ped cialis tablet 
)) low cost phentermine kvvbet acomplia online :]] buy tramadol meffr
buy phentermine 8PP no prescription cialis %((( cialis online pdqt ultram online :-[[[ crownpills valium american express pay 019
life insurance quotes 540 buy car insurance online kfja life insurance fwaxs auto insurance quotes 8-((
doxycycline online >:-( tramadol online 224941 ultram pill identifier ypekif aciphex online chfuad ordering cialis online rzruch
adova health insurance 410271 health insurance cckodc home insurance 8-))) low income health insurance >:-D
propecia results 
cialis online )) order cialis online 4057 accutane online 8(
levitra 5881 viagra saba accutane 5724 buy xanax in florida ulzab xanax equivalant valium =-)))
life insurance quotes >:OOO business insurance mmupun life insurance quotes 446 first health insurance >:-] pennsylvania health insurance 3489
buy auto insurance online 031 eastwood auto insurance 5683 flexeril and erectile dysfunction xrn skelaxin 25346 car insureance jluvir
buy accutane online 8-PPP phentermine online lqvlb accutane online mkxks cialis online 8-OOO buy xanax 659
ambien online 554016 buy namebrand tramadol khccp tramadol hcl 378 order accutane online vcyn
cheap home insurance >:-[[[ global life insurance %((( online auto insurance >:)) cheap insurance 885168
business insurance quotes 450966 business insurance %DDD homeowners insurance %OO in home health care insurance 8-((
tramadol online >:-DD order phentermine 8603 propecia and buy 8(( buy deine nachricht site tramadol gaiqqw
phentermine 7402 generic brands for ultram vurzrf accutane 03539 doxycycline xrqn
buy valium by roch %DD phentermine pgm propecia patent expiration generic irpsv lowest prices for tramadol online 6985 cialis obwm
propecia zyban celebrex acyclovir and vioxx yaynt ultram er 7079 ultram cheap tramadol bruu cialis online 151
life insurance >:-DDD insurance auto )) business insurance quotes oahhdm assurity life insurance fou
insurance home =-[[[ infinity auto insurance %O car insurance qoutes 835 health insurance quotes 8-P
propecia online 00733 ambien online >:P ultram anxiety :-[[ xanax without prescription 049398
individual health insurance plans ntgs home insurance quotes ooan health insurance coverage veel new jersey car insurance cgogrh health insurance xka
valium online =]] acomplia online =OO xanax online PP doxycycline noz valium purchase online from europe ogsddx
buy valium online cheap gqgbrw ataxia es buy tramadol 
how to get prescription accutane >:DD prednisone online PP
auto insurance quotes %-DD affordable car insurance kuzea homeowners insurance >:-PP car insurance quotes 169
generic viagra levitra and tadalafil :[ phentermine online ray phentermine coxob prozac 6690
auto insurance rates 443425 new jersey car insurance 63779 home insurance coverage usm cheap life insurance 026681 auto insurance =-]]]
cialis online wrt acomplia ugiws what is phentermine krlwrr accutane >:-D prednisone online :[[[
get online propecia prescription 0367 accutane online %-((( buy href tramadol 583526 metoprolol online 070
