We all sometimes look ahead much more than behind us. That’s a good thing. Well, it should be a good thing because we can’t control the events of the past, only the current decisions that will affect out future. However, sometimes we look back to see how far we have advanced, and if we are going in our desired direction. There is a dual reason to look back more than five years to a post about talented singer, songwriter K Michelle. Not only has the artist come a long way, but Weekly Music Commentary has changed greatly too.
I went back and read previous post The Real K Michelle to understand how far both she and WMC have progressed. It has been an interesting journey, with a lot of music and growing for the two of us. Certainly, I feel it is time to revisit the musical superstar.
I’m sure there are many readers who may not be familiar with K Michelle, as many of her fans that are not aware of Weekly Music Commentary. Nevertheless, we must have a beginning point, and a brief introduction. In the first post we briefly spoke about K Michelle’s start in the music industry. In 2009, she signed a deal with Jive Records and released her first R&B-charting single called “Fakin’ It” featuring Missy Elliott. After the release of “Fakin’ It”, she released three other R&B songs – “Fallin'”, “I Just Can’t Do This”, and “How Many Times” – all three songs attained spots on the charts before Michelle left the label. In 2012, Michelle Was added to the cast of VH1’s reality series Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta.
This must be the starting point for this post because that is where we were in September 2012. That’s when I became a fan of K Michelle’s music and predicted success. After five years I certainly have no regrets either way. There is one question that deserves an answer. How did K Michelle find success?
It all started when she finally signed her recording contract with Atlantic Records. At that point she could put the negative issues from her time with Jive Records behind her and look firmly ahead to making a lot of new music. Her début studio album, Rebellious Soul was released on August 13, 2013, debuting at number 2 on the US Billboard 200 and number one on the US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums charts, with first-week sales of 72,000 copies in the United States. Rebellious Soul quickly became one of my favorite albums in my personal music library, and remains so even today. She arrived with a backdrop of reality television and very frank interviews. We all knew her pain as well as what would make her happy. The music part of her life was coming into focus and we were all along for the ride.
Two more albums of music were released. Anybody Wanna Buy a Heart? was released through Atlantic Records on December 9, 2014. More Issues Than Vogue was made available for pre-order on February 12, 2016 and was released on March 25, 2016. K Michelle returned to Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta for its fifth season to promote her music and business ventures.
When I speak with others about K Michelle, they usually offer mixed opinions about her life and methods of promotion. I understand that not all will agree with everything that K Michelle does, but I tend to be less judgmental when it comes to her personal life. However, in this day and age of social media, most artists tend to have less private life. K Michelle definitely is an artist who is regularly in front of the public eye. Between reality television and the tabloids, the young star has very little private life. Good, bad or indifferent, her life seems to be there for public scrutiny.
As K Michelle gains musical success, the young single mother is growing older and her health has become an issue. The young recording artist is a major talent for sure, but she is constantly working. As I prepared for this weeks’ post I noticed that K Michelle does a lot of live performances. That has been constant in her career throughout the past five years. It seems that there is no hiatus in sight. With that life on the road there has to be concern about her amount of rest. This is true for most artists in the music industry, however K Michelle seems to really push the envelope with a lot of live appearances. I listened to a recording of a recent radio interview where the question came up about her diet. The young artist admitted she really needs to do better. Also in the media was the story of her illegal implants in her buttocks. They have started to affect her health as well, and she decided to have them removed – all playing out on television. Like many, I only hope for K Michelle’s good health and well-being in all that she does.
Through it all K Michelle has released her fourth studio album on December 8, 2017, Kimberly: The People I Used to Know. Of course, I downloaded the album and listened to it entirely a few times. I’m not sure if you can call any K Michelle album more personal than another, but it sounds like her life and focus are changing. It had to happen. She and her son are both growing older. She also has now enjoyed several years of success. That has certainly changed her viewpoint on life.
I wonder what I will write about K Michelle five years from now. Hopefully, it will be about more music from a little older but healthier artist.