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 TALES OF THE UNEXPECTED
After two gospel solo albums and a foray into theater, Destiny’s Child's MICHELLE WILLIAMS returns to pop with the appropriately titled Unexpected
INSTINCT: What can we expect from Unexpected?
MICHELLE WILLIAMS: I was asked this question: “Michelle, if you could describe your album in one word, what would it be?” I said, “Unexpected,” because no one is expecting a pop/dance fusion, or whatever you wanna call this record. And then, just to give everyone a taste of what I’ve gone through in the past eight years of my life—the past eight years have been unexpected. I didn’t expect to be on such a crazy journey back then.
Going back to that time, you started out as a backup singer for Monica, right?
Yes, that is exactly how I met the ladies. In 1999, Destiny’s Child had “No, No, No” and “Bug A Boo” and maybe “Bills, Bills, Bills” at that point. Monica and 98 Degrees were co-headlining the tour together, and Destiny’s Child would always come out and do spot dates. I remember my very first time meeting Destiny’s Child, actually, only meeting Beyoncé and Kelly [Rowland]. And then I met them on another occasion in Atlanta, Georgia, and it was only Beyoncé and Kelly that time, too. So when I think back, it was like, that was already stirring something up. I finally met [former band member] LeToya Luckett this year.
Scandal! That must have been a bit surreal.
We were at Terrell Owens’ birthday party. I actually had the chance to sit and talk to her. I never met the other young lady that was in the group. It’s crazy, because I ended up being the third of an awesome group.
Did you set out to do such a pop album this time around?
You know what? I first started this album in 2006, and it was just a straight-up R&B album, but it was nothing exciting. My mother actually heard the album, and she was like, “Michelle, this is all right. What is this?” Basically what she said to me was a challenge, because she said, “You have no songs on here that kids can dance to.” So I went to my A&R and said I need maybe one or two up-tempos. Before you know it, the whole album became an up-tempo dance album. I think I have maybe two slow songs on there. So those will be y’all’s cool-down moments!
The first single is called “We Break The Dawn.” What have you broken the dawn doing?
I’ve broken the dawn out at a club. There’s a club in Chicago that I go to called the Underground. It’s one of two clubs that has a license to stay open till 5 or 6 in the morning. And when you go into the club around midnight, it’s obviously dark, but you never expect to come out and see the sun shining—everybody’s like, “Okay, let’s go to the pancake house!” What the heck?
Mmmm. Pancakes! What’s your favorite Chicago restaurant?
It’s crazy this time of year on Rush Street. There’s Tavern on Rush, and then the Original Pancake House. I love it! You’ve got your food, and you can just sit outside and people-watch.
Are you a big pancake fan?
Oh, yes! Morning, noon and night!
Being from Illinois, what are your thoughts on Barack Obama?
I think he’s fabulous. He is, I believe, what this country needs: somebody relatable that we can understand. Somebody that when they’re giving a speech, we’re not looking at him like he’s crazy. “What did you say?” He doesn’t talk to people like they’re stupid. He really wants you to understand what’s going on.
When Destiny’s Child went on a hiatus in 2001, you paid the bills, bills, bills by acting.
I’ve been called dramatic all my life, and then to go and do Broadway, where you can be extra dramatic! I had the chance to do Aida. I did The Color Purple—I played Shug Avery. I think I was born for theater, as well as music. There’s nothin’ that I would ever withhold myself from doing if I think I could do it, and I wanna continue to do more theater. There was actually a show that someone was interested in me for, but I couldn’t do it because it conflicted with my album release.
Did Toni Braxton have any advice for you when you took over her role in Aida?
You know, I didn’t get the chance to talk to her, but I was able to study her while doing it. She’s someone I admire in this business who just continues to thrive.
What does Michelle Williams do when she’s chillin’ with friends?
I like to just sit at people’s houses and watch funny videos on YouTube. My best friend—his name’s Tim—what he does is capture moments of you on his digital camera, and we upload it to the computer, sit back and laugh! I just like doing dumb stuff like that. [Laughs]
I can’t let you go without mentioning your hottie dancers in the “We Break The Dawn” video!
Thank you! I had auditions for dancers, and that’s who I picked.
You got to handpick them?
I got to literally handpick them!
Well, lady, you have good taste in men.
Thank you so much!
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Expect Unexpected on August 12.
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