MICHELLE Williams celebrated her 29th birthday in proper bling style but sadly best pal Beyonce missed out.

The former Destiny’s Child diva, 28, splashed the cash with pal Jay Z, 39, and an entourage of 40 hangers-on at swanky club Ayoush in Mayfair.

They spent over £10,000 on Dom Perignon champagne, a giant birthday cake and enlisted the DJ to play only remixes of their own songs.

The multi-talented Michelle Williams will be one of the celebrity judges this season for Gospel Dream, the popular American Idol®- style talent show on the Gospel Music Channel.

Williams may be best known as a former member of the Grammy-award winning Destiny’s Child with Beyonce’ Knowles and Kelly Rowland. Since then she has made a name for herself in the Gospel genre winning awards as a solo artist with the success of her first CD ‘Heart To Yours,’ the best selling Gospel album of 2002. She also is preparing for her debut in London in a run as Roxie Hart in a West End run of Chicago.

Williams joins Stellar Award winner J. Moss, and one of the music industry’s most respected executives, Mitchell Solarek. The show is co-hosted by Mike Kasem and Kimberly Locke, the first American Idol alumna to debut at No. 1 on the Billboard charts with a non-Idol single.

Thirty-seven contestants have been selected from thousands of people, 16-40 years old, from all genres of gospel/Christian musical styles, who auditioned. From that group 10 finalists will be chosen to vie for the grand prize, which includes record and music video exposure.

The fourth season of Gospel Dream can be seen Wednesday nights this summer at 10 p.m. Eastern and Pacific times.

Former DESTINY’S CHILD star MICHELLE WILLIAMS knew she wasn’t cut out for a career in criminal justice – when she had to sleep with the lights on after seeing a dead body.
The singer was pursuing a degree in criminal justice at Illinois State University in the 1990s, and was required to watch autopsies as part of her course.
However, just days before she was set to have the grisly lesson, Williams joined the Independent Women hitmakers and went on the road.
But a morbid curiosity prompted the star to visit an undertaker pal at a funeral home – and Williams was left petrified by what she saw.
She says, “A couple of days before I left to play my first Destiny’s Child show, I was supposed to go see an autopsy. It had to be rescheduled but I never got to see it.
“A few years ago, a friend of mine who works in a funeral home let me in to see how they prepare a body for burial. I had to go home and sleep with the lights on, but it was just curiosity. I wanted to see it for all for myself.”

Michelle wrote:

Wellllllllllllllll tonight’s the big night!!! I make my West End stage debut in the musical CHICAGO as the leading lady Roxie Hart.

I am wayyyyyyyy to geeked!! I thank God for these opportunities. I want you guys to know that all things are possible!!! I’ve always wanted to do theatre here in London and my dream has come true!!! Now look…..it ain’t as easy as it sounds becuz you gotta put in the work!!! When God blesses, you still have work to do…u can’t sit back and get comfortable!!

I’ll keep u guys posted!!!!

Lots of love,
Michelle

Michelle Williams achieved instant success when she became part of Destiny’s Child in 2000.

She replaced LaTavia Roberson and LeToya Luckett to join Beyonce Knowles and Kelly Rowland in the girl group, which disbanded four years ago.

As well as being part of an act that sold more than 50 million albums worldwide, she has recorded two successful gospel albums.

But her return to pop last year, with an album called Unexpected, failed to set the charts alight, only reaching number 42 in the US.

After appearing in musicals Aida and The Color Purple in the US, she is heading to London’s West End for a six-week stint as Roxie Hart in Chicago.

Are you nervous about your West End debut?

For my third show, for it to be here on the West End, I cannot complain.

It’s such a legendary musical with legendary choreography so I’m a little nervous about that. But not in a bad way. I just wanna do my best. I hope people like it.

Tell us about the character of Roxie Hart in Chicago

I love Roxie Hart. She reminds me of me. You know, she’s very witty, very smart, people aren’t expecting her to come up with things the way she does. I just like the sassiness of the role.

When you joined Destiny’s Child they were already a success. Was it hard trying to fit in with an established team?

They were going to pursue their career as a duo, actually, so they had already been doing shows as a duo that seemed to work but they wanted to try it again as a group.

So it was like, I had to come in with my game face on, ready to work with them, and then at the same time, I just kinda knew my place.

What was it like to be that successful all over the world?

It was shocking. I remember the very first time we came to London, people had already made these signs, ‘we love you Michelle’.

The fans appreciate and really love Destiny’s Child. In America, they do too. But over here, we would do concerts and people would pass out. I only saw Michael Jackson do that.

What are the downsides?

I was Twittering about that a month ago.

I’m over here alone, missing my friends and family, and they don’t know why celebrities moan because they have the money and whatever.

I’m still a human. I don’t care about money in the bank when my Mom is thousands and thousands of miles away.

Of course, when the cheque comes, I get a little happier. But it is lonely, I’m here by myself. Meeting new people, a new assistant, going through all this, I don’t have to be in an entourage, it’s literally just me.

Do you get bored with people asking if Destiny’s Child are going to reform?

I’m happy to see that five years after we released our last album, people are still talking about us.

To me, I can’t be mad at that. I’m excited about that, you know? Maybe one day we will get back together. We’d be crazy not to. Even if it’s just to do a tour. I think that’d be crazy, if we didn’t do it.

The singles We Break the Dawn and The Greatest from your last album, Unexpected, sounded like hits…

The whole album was a hit.

Were you disappointed it didn’t do well in the charts?

Very disappointed because I don’t go in the studio for my health.

I felt like I was ready to go, it seemed like it was doing well at first. So I understand you cannot depend on your label and your management for 100% backing.

I know there were things that I had to do, or could have done, that maybe I didn’t do as well – maybe I didn’t have a good enough internet presence. Sometimes artists have to market themselves now.

I’m still disappointed, but I was like, ‘if God can give me an ounce of what you give others then I would be okay’. I don’t ask for much. I gave out good music – that’s enough.

Are you envious of the level of success that Beyonce has achieved?

I wouldn’t say I’m envious but I know that I can have number one songs.

We all can. Myself, Kelly [Rowland] – she’s got a number one song now with David Guetta [When Love Takes Over]. It’s possible.

Destiny’s Child, we’re all solo. There’s no reason why A, B and C can’t have their own levels of success in lanes A, B and C. I might get in trouble for saying that but, oh well.

And what I hate people to do is, they don’t think because I’m not visible over here with the number ones, they think I’m not doing anything or they think I’m not as successful.

But I’m in the freaking West End! I’m the first African-American woman to play his role in the West End!

But it’s okay. The other day I was walking around London, nobody made a fuss – I like that. I wanna be respected for what I do but I don’t wanna be bombarded and can’t go anywhere.

So that’s what I have over Beyonce. I can go anywhere I want.

Michelle Williams is appearing in Chicago, at London’s Cambridge Theatre, from 13 July to 22 August. She talked to BBC News entertainment reporter Liam Allen.

Singer/actress Michelle Williams is no stranger to the theatre. The former Destiny’s Child member played the lead role in the Elton John and Tim Rice Broadway production of Aida and she shimmied and shook her way to fantastic reviews as Shug Avery in the touring production of The Color Purple. She’s now ready to take on London’s West End when she takes over the role as Roxie Hart in Chicago.

Michelle popped in at Loose Women (the UK version of The View) to talk about her exciting new role, whether politicians are sexy and touching someone’s baby bump.

“I ask permission! You just don’t know the spirit of that person that’s touching your baby,” Michelle joked with the show’s hosts. “I don’t want my child to come out and act like the last person that touched them! Then I’d give my child over to you!”

Take a look at the vid and if you’re in town, check Michelle out when she begins her role on July 13th.

Michelle Williams was “disappointed” with her single ‘We Break the Dawn’.

The former Destiny’s Child singer admits she was stunned by the poor response to the track – which failed to make the top 40 in the UK singles chart – and her debut solo LP ‘Unexpected’, which was released last autumn.

She said: “I was disappointed. I worked with some great producers on that song, as I did with all the songs on the album. I really feel my album was able to stand with all the other pop albums that came out in 2008. This was my first one and I just have to keep going to prove I can do this kind of music.”

However, the 28-year-old singer says she was pleased with her efforts despite the heavy criticism.

She added to DigitalSpy: “Of course I wanted better sales and to be able to tour, but I was pleased with the reception it got considering it was my very first mainstream pop album. I’m kinda known as a gospel girl, so I think I have to push a little harder to make people believe I can also do pop music. I think the album did well at getting that message across.”

While she wants to push her solo career further, Michelle admits she would love to regroup with her former bandmates Beyonce Knowles and Kelly Rowland.

She said: “Would I be up for a reunion? Oh definitely, but one day in the future when everybody’s ready to do the group thing again.”

I have finally made a new layout for Michelle Web. The layout is my first DIV layout, so please let me know if you see or find any errors. I have taken me months to make it. I hope you guys like it as much as me.

If you’re wondering when Destiny’s Child would get back together again, you won’t have to wait too long. According to reports, Beyonce Knowles, Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams will reunite as the R&B group “Destiny’s Child”.

However, the comeback will not be by choice. To fulfill their contract with label Columbia Records, the girls will need to make one last album before they can go on their permanently. Neither Columbia nor reps for the trio have officially released a statement on the report.

A new Destiny’s Child album is reported to be due in 2011, but with no confirmation in sight, fans may have to wait a long time for a reunion. Rumors of their reunion swirled not long after they initially split to try solo careers.

Fans have said that this could be a good opportunity for Michelle Williams and Kelly Rowland to get some more focus on them individually. Both girls have released album to lukewarm fanfare and have not done as well as Beyonce. In 2009, Rowland split from Columbia and her manager Matthew Knowles, father of Beyonce.

MICHELLE WILLIAMS and KELLY ROWLAND avoided a red carpet clash when they both rocked up to RICHARD BRANSON’s pre-Wimbledon party at the same time.

DESTINY’S CHILD singer Kelly said No, No, No to a reunion by refusing to step out of her car on the red carpet until Michelle had finished doing the rounds.

A source said: “The crowd loved Michelle and would have lapped up seeing the girls together – but Kelly just wasn’t keen to go there.”