DC3

Kelly has been one busy lady! Not only did she film the hot new video for “Lay It On Me”, but she also filmed a great new clip for the dance-infused “Down For Whatever! Watch them both below!

Kelly Rowland – Down For Whatever

Kelly Rowland ft. Big Sean – Lay It On Me

Just this morning, Universal Republic, Kelly’s label, sent out this press release announcing Motivation’s Platinum status and the early arrival of Lay It On Me to radio.
Peep the press release here.

NEW YORK, Aug 31, 2011 (BUSINESS WIRE) — KELLY ROWLAND’s mega hot single, “Motivation” , has officially climbed past platinum status.

Following the impressive #3 debut of her third solo album HERE I AM , on the Billboard Top 200, the single received platinum certification this week for digital sales surpassing one million. It’s another triumph for the superstar as her sizzling summer rolls on.

“Motivation” was a staple at Urban Radio, remaining at #1 for 7 weeks and moving a total radio audience of 92 million on Rhythmic, Top 40, Urban, and Urban AC formats. A phenomenon online, the track’s sexy music video has also been viewed over 33 million times on YouTube/VEVO. Certified platinum now, “Motivation” stands out as a true global smash.

Right now, ROWLAND’s follow-up single, “Lay It On Me” , has already begun to invade airwaves. The track is receiving early airplay from stations across the country, and it’s another hit-in-the-making. With an impenetrable, infectious beat, “Lay It On Me” slips from Big Sean’s airtight rhymes into ROWLAND’s inviting and infectious chorus. In the markets playing the song early, sales have increased significantly. ROWLAND is set to shoot a video for the song early next month.

In addition, she will perform these singles and much more on September 26 in Los Angeles as part of the JIMMY KIMMEL LIVE! CONCERT SERIES.

“Motivation” is only the beginning. KELLY ROWLAND is HERE at the top, and she’s not going anywhere.

To learn more about KELLY ROWLAND, please visit: Official Website: http://kellyrowland.com Twitter: http://twitter.com/kellyrowland Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/kellyrowland MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/kellyrowland

SOURCE: Universal Republic Records

From Business Wire

Hey everyone!

I’m sure you’ve heard the amazing news by now – Beyoncé is the first child of Destiny to be with child! Everyone is so happy for her and Jay-Z. We here at DC3 Forever want to do something special for Beyoncé, and her child on the way. We’re going to be making a memory book that the baby can one day read and find out all about his/her mother, and how much she means to all of us fans, how much impact she has had on this world.

So, what we want you to do is email your submissions. It can be a letter, it can be photos of you and Beyoncé, it could be photos of your Beyoncé-decorated room – anything. For my creative Photoshop talents, you could even create some kind of artwork that gives snapshot of Beyoncé’s career. We want the book to show how much of a difference Beyoncé has made to all of us, and also show and commemorate all her amazing achievements. When the baby looks at the book, we want him/her to see how much his mother is loved, and how much good she has brought to the world. So, submit anything that will get those points across.

Email your submissions to BeyonceBabyBook@gmail.com

Thank you!

From TheBoomBox.com

Rappers like to boast about filling shoe boxes with cash while singers like Michelle Williams, one-third of the Destiny’s Child outfit, doesn’t hoard her riches, she bestows her wealth to worthy causes. She once gifted $100,000 to the Chicago church she grew up attending, proof enough that the 31-year-old is a philanthropist.

Last year, the gospel chanteuse-turned-pop singer decided to do another good deed and joined forces with TERI (Training, Education & Research Institute) to raise funds for children and adults living with autism. Williams recently helped launch the organization’s largest fundraiser, Power of 10, with hopes to raise $5 million by the year’s end to build aquatic and music centers for autistic individuals. Some celebrities may team with campaigns just to get their face plastered on posters, but this lauded entertainer isn’t down with the cause for self-recognition. Her participation comes from a personal place since her godson lives with the developmental disorder.

Ever the workhorse, Williams wears a different hat each day, it seems. Autism spokesperson, today, dramatic thespian, the next. She’s about to embark on a seven-week acting schedule starring in David E. Talbert’s play ‘What My Husband Doesn’t Know.’ Then there’s her musical side, where the recent release of her dance-tinged track, ‘Love Gun,’ sparked talks of whether or not her new album would feature the same sounds heard on her last LP, ‘Unexpected.’ With a loaded calendar that would make most folks insane, this lady takes hers in stride. Read on as the Adele admirer speaks on her recent studio sessions with Talib Kweli, reuniting with Beyonce and Kelly Rowland on stage and using her stardom to bring a little more happiness to those with autism.

‘Unexpected’ was your last album, released in 2008. What mindset are you going into with your fourth solo album being that ‘Love Gun’ is the first song we’re hearing?

Actually, that song was kinda like an accident, first of all that I even recorded it because I’ve been toying with the direction of the music. Everybody seemed to absolutely enjoy it, but at the end of the day, I have to have the final say on the direction. I did the whole dance thing in like ’08 and now that seems to be the new craze but I’m always thinking ahead of what’s next and what’s new, you know what I mean. But I’m glad everyone is loving it but I doubt that’s the sole direction of this next record, unfortunately.

Do you feel like you’re going to move more towards the R&B side then?

Well, you know what, I grew up, first of all, with live music, gospel. The church is where I grew up. I miss hearing that in songs. I miss hearing organs. The cool thing about doing dance music is I like how when I did it live, it kinda had like an alternative R&B kinda sound to it. I enjoyed that. I’ve always adored Adele and I’m so happy that she’s having this massive success of real music. You don’t know how happy and excited I am about that. I just didn’t want, like when I talk about real music, like the real use of the instruments, I didn’t want that to die down. Speaking of that, I hope like everybody that’s trying to cut music education out of schools, I hope they look at the charts and know music is ruling. It’s coming back so don’t cut out that portion.

So will your next album have live instrumentation?

Absolutely! Yes. That’s how I grew up. My brother’s a musician, my uncles are musicians. That’s how we grew up — we grew up with live music. I hated having to sing to a track. I wasn’t raised like that. We had musicians to play. That’s what I want..

Who’s the last person you went into the studio to record with?

I just did something with Talib Kweli like last week. I love all types of music. My iPod is filled with people from Talib Kwlei to gospel greats like the Clark Sisters or the Winans. Then you got Whitney Houston to Coldplay to Bruce Hornsby and Rufus Wainwright. It’s so vast. So when Talib Kweli expressed an interest, I was like, “Really? The hip-hop want to work with the church girl? OK lets go.”

That’s for his project?

That was for his project but the feeling is definitely mutual for him to do something for me for the future. Interesting collaboration, very interesting. I’m singing a verse and a hook and he does his hot 16. Hi-Tek produced it.

‘Love Gun’ is a buzz record, but that may not even end up on the final album. What else have you done?

I recorded so many different, extra songs. I’ve just been enjoying the freedom to do that, like nobody telling me like, “You gotta do this. You gotta work with this person. You gotta do that.” So I’ve been all over the place exploring new producers, new sounds, having an absolute blast doing it. So I know labels and managers go crazy when their artists do stuff like that but they got to get with the times and get it together.

Any time you are pictured together with Beyonce and Kelly Rowland, there’s immediate reunion talk. How do you feel about that?

It’s crazy. You know what, yes, Destiny’s Child is reuniting. Where? At the next event where we all decide to show up at . But you know what, we love it and the fact that people are still asking and wondering. It could be the opposite reaction. It could be, “No! Stay home.” It could be that. It seems like a new natural disaster wants to occur when we are pictured together, which is love, which is great. I love it.

What would have to happen for a definite Destiny’s Child reunion to occur?

We would have to talk about it. We get so overwhelmed with seeing each other and we’re always talking about girl stuff and gossiping stuff, that that’s something that hasn’t crossed — I shouldn’t say it hasn’t crossed our mind — nobody has been the first to just say something.

In the past, you have extended your charitable hand with giving $100,000 to your Illinois church. Why is it so important for you to do charity work?

I don’t know how I would feel if I didn’t do what I do as far as charity work. I think that’s what we are supposed to do when God has given you whatever platform it is that you have. Like you work with AOL, anybody that works there hopefully something is done where people know what you stand for. And you’re able to use your gift to let people know that. Things that mean something to me as far as TERI, they help families and children deal with autism and other developmental disabilities. And my godson was recently diagnosed with autism, so it hit home for me. This is just not something I’m just doing to have my face plastered somewhere. It is because like, I know about this, I know the effect that it has when everybody found out. You thought your world was over, you was like, “What went wrong?” But TERI just lets you know there is hope. And they’re helping people live with it.

We launched the largest fundraiser to date called the Power of 10. It’s basically just us getting people to donate $10 so that we can reach our goal by New Year’s to have raised $5 million to complete our new campus for life quality center. The equestrian center is already built. It’s brand new with the horses. The residents of TERI, they go there for their therapy. I had the chance to actually use one of the horses, ride on the horse and meet the therapist. When I tell you, people are proud to know where their money is going because it’s something that’s actually built with your money. So what’s coming next is the aquatic center, the culinary arts, the theater and music center. You have to see it with your own eyes. It’s beautiful. It’s San Diego, Calif.-based. TERI, which stands for Training Education and Research Institute, they also have like 10 or 11 residential homes where people actually live.

So you’re in this until well after the $5 million is raised?

Pretty much. TERI has been established for 30 years. So I’ve got a long way to go with my portion. I want people to know there are so many organizations for autism and other developmental disabilities are focused on finding a cure but it’s like, OK, what are people going to do until there is a cure? You have to live with it. OK, so TERI helps and assists families live with it and deal with it and have an amazing full life, a full quality of life. An amazing high standard of life because just because somebody has a disability and it takes them time to learn, and they might learn slower than the next person, but that doesn’t mean they won’t get it. That doesn’t mean they can’t succeed in life. How many geniuses are walking around here, that as a child they had a disability, but they’re running companies, they’re artists now, they’re having a great life, families of their own.

Billboard has spoken! The official first week sales of Kelly’s new album, Here I Am are 77,000 copies, debuting at number 3. Read what Billboard had to say below:

Elsewhere on the Billboard 200 this week, Kelly Rowland **’s third album, “Here I Am,” arrives at No. 3 with 77,000. It’s her highest charting album yet, surpassing the No. 6 peak of her last release, 2007′s “Ms. Kelly,” which bowed with 83,000. Rowland’s “Here” was led by the single “Motivation,” which spent seven weeks at No. 1 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.

Beyonce shot the video for “Party” in New Jersey this weekend. She brought along Kelly Rowland & her sister Solange. Check out pictures and info on the video via RapUp:

Beyoncé headed to the rural parts of New Jersey to shoot her new music video on Tuesday (Aug. 2). According to various reports, the retro-themed clip was for “Party,” her collaboration with André 3000, off her platinum-certified album 4. The visuals, filmed in South Brunswick’s Oakdale Mobile Home Park, called for flashy fashions, a red muscle car, and colorfully-dressed dancers. Solange and Kelly Rowland joined B on set, while eager fans scouted out the location and snapped up some camera phone pics.

According to Video Static, B is also planning to shoot a video for “Countdown” with “Sweet Dreams” director Adria Petty.

Beyonce & Kelly attend a listening party July 1st, Monday evening in New York for Beyonce’s husband Jay-Z and Kanye West‘s new album “Watch the Throne”. Beyonce’s sister Solange was also in attendance with Jada Pinkett Smith, Q-Tip, Busta Rhymes & others. Both ladies looked beautiful.

→ ON BEING MORE APPRECIATED IN EUROPE VS. HOME

VIBE: The last album didn’t do well in the States. It did better overseas, particularly in Europe. Do you feel more appreciated in Europe?
Kelly Rowland: No, not really. People still compare me to B over there. I said in an interview recently, ‘You know, if you guys would be a little bit more intelligent and ask me about myself we’ll have a much better interview.’ You can’t want a story from me and keep asking me about the past.

→ ON HER COMPLICATED RELATIONSHIP WITH MATTHEW KNOWLES

When you walked away from that last meeting with Mathew, did you feel an “exhale” moment?
I did, but I also felt like, ‘Oh my God, what have I done?!’ I stayed in the house for two days. I was sad. It was like a funeral. I had to deaden that situation in order to start fresh. That’s a very long time to have the same manager and the same label.

What about your personal relationship with Mathew Knowles. Do you still talk to him?
Mathew sent me flowers for my birthday!

But do you talk to him?
It’s… I respect him above anything.

→ ON HER SEDUCTIVE SIDE & VISITING SEX SHOPS

Speaking of this road we’re going on… Let’s talk about the song “Motivation.” I have to admit, the song went completely over my head. I thought you were talking about working out.
No, honey.

When you heard the song, did you think, This may be too racy for my image?
Not at all. Every woman knows what that feels like—hopefully. But everyone doesn’t expect Kelly to sing about it. This is true. But I just loved the song so much. And yes, I can relate to it. I came into my sexuality while I was recording this album. I can walk into a sex shop now and not worry about what people would say if they saw me in there.

You really do that? Go to sex shops?
Yeah! With friends on the low. I go at the right time. Nighttime. 1 a.m. The really good ones are open that late.

The issue hits stores August 16th!

Tomorrow morning, be sure to catch Beyoncé performing “Best Thing I Never Had” on The View… and then catch her performing it again tomorrow night, with The Roots on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon!