Singer Kelly Rowland says she would be lying if she said she was not bothered by the constant comparison to Beyonce, as she constantly tortured herself over fears of being overshadowed by the fellow Destiny’s Child group member.
In a frank discussion with The Voice Australia contestant Chris Sebastian, who expressed his own fears of living in the shadow of pop star brother Guy Sebastian, Rowland revealed the difficulties of being close to another bonafide superstar.
“I know this feeling. Can you imagine what it’s like being in a group with Beyoncé?” she told Sebastian. “I would just torture myself in my head.”
Constant comparisons to Beyonce had led her to doubt her own choices, Rowland said.
“The Voice” coach recalled often telling herself: “‘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 anyway.”
She continued: “I would be lying if I said ‘No, it’s never bothered me.’ That’s bull,” she added. “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.”
Rowland and Beyoncé first came together in Houston-based group Girls Tyme in 1990, alongside LaTavia Roberson and LeToya Luckett, before being signed to Columbia Records as Destiny’s Child in 1997.
After a couple of changes to the line-up, Michelle Williams replaced Roberson and Luckett. Despite hints of reunions, the group has not been together since 2006.