‘Chasing Destiny’ to find the next girl group
Kelly Rowland’s new BET series fosters female talent, power
“I’m not looking for reality stars. I’m looking for stars.”
That’s Kelly Rowland’s mission as she heads up BET’s new docuseries, Chasing Destiny, which premieres Tuesday at 10:30 p.m. ET. The 10-part project follows the former Destiny’s Child member and Grammy Award-winning solo artist on a journey to discover and develop the next superstar girl group.
The singer says she launched the search in response to a void in the girl-group market. After BET president of programming Stephen Hill picked up the series, Rowland embarked on a threecity quest, scouting talent in New York, Atlanta and Los Angeles with veteran choreographer Frank Gatson Jr.
“We bounce off each other so well,” Rowland says of Gatson, who serves as her and Beyoncé’s creative director. “I think one of the greatest things about Frank is the fact that he’s been in the game for so many years and he understands women working together and he tries to educate the girls about themselves, about other women, about working together.”
In addition to Gatson, who has a recurring role on the series, other girl groups, such as En Vogue, will make cameos. Rowland admits she hasn’t pitched the opportunity to former Destiny’s Child group members Beyoncé or Michelle Williams … yet.
“We haven’t discussed any of that,” Rowland said. “I just really tackled this project with Frank. But the girls, of course, know about the project. They’re very supportive and very excited for me. And we have some visitors from other girl groups that come in and give their blessing and words of advice to the ladies.”
And of course, Rowland — who enjoyed a multiplatinum-selling career as a member of Billboard’s No. 3 girl group of all time — has more than a few nuggets of wisdom.
Acknowledging the role of sexism in the industry, Rowland says that she and Gatson work to reinforce the women’s self-confidence and empower them to set their own artistic parameters. “We do a whole bunch of different exercises with the girls on the show where we really teach them about knowing yourself and respecting yourself as a woman and putting talent first. We teach them about saying no and (identifying) what you feel comfortable with (and) what you don’t feel comfortable with.”
Rowland also has steered away from imposing a look or sound on the group, focusing instead on letting the bandmates explore styles.
Still, the mogul says she doesn’t want them looking “cute” just for the sake of appearances. “You don’t go on stage with a cute outfit and a microphone to look cute,” Rowland said. “You’re supposed to be out here with a message. I think that’s what I learned from Janet and from Michael (Jackson). Music is supposed to be the gift that continues to give.”
She continued: “I think that if different girls see themselves in one group, it makes them feel like they have hope, like anything is possible. They can be singers. They can shine.”