Until recently, K.Michelle was probably best known for her appearance in the infamous, famous and always rather volatile reality show Love And Hip-Hop Atlanta. With all the drama her musical aspirations and musical career COULD have been over looked.
Since leaving the show however before the second season, not only has her success by all accounts sky rocketed but her musical career (she is now signed to Atlantic) and her status as a bonafide singer have been cemented with her second album Anybody Wanna Buy A Heart (2014).
The album has received unanimous positive reviews as well as charting at number 1 on the I-tunes Rnb/soul album chart while her singles; Maybe I Should Call, Love ‘Em All, and Something About The Night, bolstered the album’s appeal.
The facts are that K .Michelle is not new to this whole music thing having been signed to Jive Records back in 2009 but she admits she was not ready when she was initially signed.
Now, K.Michelle states she is ready for all the success that comes her way and in an interview with Flavour she talks candidly.
‘This is the first year where people have started to accept my artistry’
2014 has been really busy. I have wanted to sing for so long and I think that people have (in many ways) not taken me seriously or just plain ignored me. This is the first year where people have started to accept my artistry. I think that success is partly about where your head is at the time. You also have to humble yourself to remain focused-it has been a really eye opening year for me.
‘Back then…I was out of control’
I think everything is timing you can be the best but it might not be in God’s time or it might not be the right time for you. I think if I had made it all those years ago when I wanted it I would have probably self-destructed and so I feel that right now I am in a good mental state and God, the universe sees that now.
Back then, I was drinking heavily out of the bottle.
I was out of control, cursed out, do anything, no filter, do anything, no refinement so when I got the record deal with Jive Records it was never really going to be positive.
I had a lot of self-esteem issues with the album, a lot of things happened to me that should not have happened and it just was not a happy time.
Happier times
I now have my own TV show K Michelle: My Life and the TV ratings are super high now; that show is more of who I am. In Love and Hip-Hop Atlanta I had to fight to prove myself. With my show, I am the producer so I make sure that you get the real life me. I am not a person that puts on a face so what you see is what you get. Now I can focus on ‘me’ and not ‘me’ quarreling with somebody-I am super excited because we are working on getting my show aired in the UK so I hope that goes through.
Anybody Wanna Buy A Heart?
That album, wow, it was like therapeutic for me, it was everything that I was going through it’s an honest album. Sometimes in fact it is difficult for me to sing those songs each and every night. I write about my life and I write about the things that directly affected me so some songs can be emotionally draining because it is like a diary. Sometimes you want to forget the things that caused you so much pain.
In terms of the direction of the album and the sounds well I like to call it ‘progressive rnb’. There are a lot of different sounds on there; country, rock and others-take for example Love and War which is basically a rock record that morphs into this women’s’ anthem.
People might not know but I don’t go around chasing sounds or producers because they are getting heat from somebody-I do what makes me feel right. I do not accept any tracks from people they have to do the tracks with me on the spot in the studio and make the music in front of me because I sing and say what I feel on the spot. It might start off with a piano and then the producers will build as we go-it gives me a lot of say so and it gives greater control.
I am very picky regarding who I work with and I stay with the people I know so the producers on the album were the same; Andrew ‘Pop’ Wansel, Lil Ronnie and Eric Hudson.
No such thing as a sophomore jinx!
People ask me if I was nervous about this whole sophomore jinx bit I was not nervous because this album is better than the last. I have been pleasantly happy with the response but I knew it was a great body of work.
After people get their first bit of success they move away but I am still pushing this album and there are like four singles from it and it is great because the label really supported me and they genuinely love the music on the album.
In terms of the reception, I think people are so used to seeing me angry or straight down the centre that the openness in the album has surprised people but also the genres the album explores. A lot of reports have been saying this is a different album but a ‘great’ album and I think that people have been shocked because they are seeing my writing ability and seeing more of my musicality-this album shows a lot of growth in ‘me’ in many different ways.
Working with Neyo
Neyo is my friend, he is super funny, super cool and of course super talented.
He is very humble and even though he has worked with all these big names he does not act like that. He is able to have a blast and really have fun. It was a great track that we worked on but at the time of the album, I took on a whole new direction so the album at the beginning to when it was finished was completely different.
Success, mental peace, music
My plans for the forthcoming year well to become a stronger business woman, find more depth in my mental place of peace and to continue loving what I do which is creating music and writing music. The thing is in this business, having the talent does not always mean you will become a success and sing. If you are a doctor, go to school, study and get your grades you can become a doctor but if you are singer even if you study your craft and become great it does not mean that you will necessarily become a singer or even get the accolades you deserve-in this business you have to do it because you love it.
Happiest memory of late
Having my mother attend the BET awards with me and see me perform in front of the greats that she loved and my own peers like Usher, Kanye, it was a great feeling.
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