Kelly Rowland’s new single, “Dirty Laundry,” shows a side of the singer fans might be surprised to learn about.
In the song, Rowland discusses being in an abusive relationship, and admits to being envious of Beyonce’s success. She intertwines both stories and talks about how, while she was going through all of these things in her personal life, she was watching Beyonce “killing it.”
“When you’re soaked in tears for years, it never airs out. When you make pain look this good, it never wears out,” Rowland sings in the chorus.
“Meanwhile, this man go putting his hands on me,” Rowland sings. “Swear y’all don’t know the half of this industry.” Later, she talks about how, because she was in Beyonce’s “shadow,” no one had any idea what she was going through.
Rowland then goes on to sing about how she hid behind dark sunglasses because of the abuse she was suffering, and how Beyonce called her to tell her she needed to get out of the relationship. She even goes on to say how she was lying to her mother, and how her abuser told her nobody loved her more than he did — not even her parents or her “sister” Beyonce.
“He turned me against my sister, I missed ya,” she says.
“Love is pain, pain is love. You got me f****d up,” she sings at the end.
While Rowland gives no clue as to who the mystery man was that abused her, ex-fiance Roy Williams, whom Rowland was engaged to briefly in 2006, went on Twitter to squash rumors that the song was about him.
So Kelly has a new song. Called #DirtyLaundry .. & what ever she’s saying in it ppl thinks it’s me. #wow #imnottheonlypersonshedated #wasntme
— roy williams (@roywilliams31) May 15, 2013
While we may never find out who the mystery man was, we can be glad that Kelly Rowland was able to get out of the relationship. And even though she was envious of Beyonce, Rowland is starting to find her own success and is finally stepping out of her shadow.
You can listen to “Dirty Laundry” below. The track will be available on iTunes May 21, and Talk a Good Game hits shelves June 18.
What do you think of “Dirty Laundry?” Are you surprised by Kelly Rowland’s confessions?
[Photo credit: DFree / Shutterstock.com ]