Kelly Rowland Gets Candid About How Sony Music Let Her Go

Kelly Rowland has opened up about her now-defunct relationship with the Sony Music Entertainment-owned record label, Columbia Records.

Although she issued a press release that her leaving the label in 2009 was a mutual decision, the multi-talented superstar admitted years later that they had dropped her unceremoniously. She has now shed more light on how she initially felt and reacted when she received the unexpected news.

After getting her big break in the music industry when she joined the girl group Destiny's Child alongside Michelle Williams and Beyoncé Knowles, Rowland has sold many records and earned multiple accolades.

However, she faced a dark time when Sony dropped her from the label without any warning over two decades ago. In a new conversation with Billy Mann on his "Yeah, I F*cked That Up" podcast about the "hardest no" she has ever received, the "Dilemma" hitmaker shared:

"It wasn't a 'no' but it was the way that Sony let me go. That really did a number on me. I was really f**king pissed. I was so mad that I cussed."

When asked if she was working on a project when the incident happened, the 42-year-old replied "No," and then explained that she found out about Sony terminating her contract online. Adding that the update "spread like wildfire," Rowland recalled that when she saw Sony's claim that she was "no longer a viable artist," she was confused about what they meant.

"I don't remember anybody calling me to say that. Not one person. But I could be wrong because, like I said, that time is so fuzzy for me. And very much still a trauma space that I still need to do some tapping on," the mother-of-two said.

After the "Say My Name" singer disclosed how her assumption that people within the industry would shun her due to her getting dropped turned out to be false, she declared, "I felt like I didn't have any value." Ultimately, what hurt her the most about Sony's decision was how public it was, as she elucidated:

"You tried to humiliate me, and you tried to devalue me. And that did not stick very well. It was probably one of the most hurtful moments of my life, for sure. And why I let it mean so much to me [was because] it was all I'd known. They were all I'd known, and sh*t I was still signed to them as Destiny's Child. It was really, really, wrong. So, yeah, I was disappointed in how it all went down."

At the time when the drama unfolded, the "Merry Liddle Christmas" actress' press release, which was published on Sony's website, read:

"Because Columbia Records has been my home base as an artist for more than a decade, the decision to move out on my own required a lot of soul-searching. As a solo artist, I felt the need to explore new directions, new challenges, and new freedoms outside my comfort zone and my friends and family at Columbia have been incredibly understanding about my evolution. I want to thank everyone at Columbia for the love and support they've shown and I will never forget how many good times we've had over the years."

In August 2020, The Blast reported that Rowland had addressed the prevalent problem of cancel culture in a lengthy Instagram caption that began:

"In this 'cancel culture' we live in. I am SO grateful God NEVER canceled me, And I'm sure he could've many-a-times! Let us TRY to remember NOT to judge others. We HONESTLY don't have the space nor authority too!" 

The "X Factor UK" judge suggested that her fans should "remember to lead With love & kindness; the world has enough negativity for you to pour more into it."

Next, she asked them to share "what light" they were "bringing into the world" in the comment section before adding that she was not shading anybody, reassuring fans that there was nothing to decode from her message. 

Later, the NAACP Image Awards winner further reiterated that she was not "not speaking to anything specific" but had just observed that "it's just happening left and right!"