Kelly Rowland knows what its like to be compared.
While mentoring contestant Chris Sebastian on The Voice Australia this week, the singer empathized with his experience feeling overshadowed by his older brother. “I know this feeling. Can you imagine what it’s like being in a group with Beyoncé?” she told him, referring to her years in Destiny’s Child with the global star. “I would just torture myself in my head. Like, I can’t wear this dress because they’re going to say it’s like B. Or, I can’t have a song like that because it sounds too much like B. They’re gonna compare anyways.”
“I would be lying if I said ‘No, it’s never bothered me.’ That’s bull,” she continued. “There was a whole decade, if I am being completely honest, a decade where it was like the elephant in the room. It was the thing that would constantly be on my shoulder.”
Despite the comparisons, Rowland has certainly found success in her own right. She has released four projects as a solo artist, including 2002’s Simply Deep, 2007’s Ms. Kelly, 2011’s Here I Am and 2013’s Talk a Good Game. Most recently, she unveiled a new single “COFFEE” in April.
