THE UNDERDOG
Michelle Williams continued
Photo courtesy of Columbia
Published: June 18, 2008
 It’s not unusual for stars to crisscross from pop to R&B or even rap to rock, however, the transition from the church to the club isn’t always as smooth. The fact that gospel releases often exist in a vacuum and few of its stars have successfully made as many jumps in and out of the commercial world as Michelle also heightens the pressure.
She admits, “I was more nervous about this album, because the world is more critical of you when you’re in the mainstream. The comments on YouTube are great, but it’s like where were y’all when I did the first two [gospel] albums? I’m disappointed in a way, but I’m glad that they’re here now.”
Some fans are so serious and vocal in their allegiance (and criticism) that they’ve pointed to everything from her infamous fall during a 2005 performance on BET’s “106th & Park” to her retaining Music World chief Matthew Knowles as her manger as evidence of a conspiracy to keep her from succeeding.
She says, “Everybody thinks that they’re a manager. Everybody thinks that they’re the label executive. Everybody thinks they’re the video director. Everybody thinks they know what’s going on. Management can only do so much, but for me to succeed I gotta work, you know? I gotta get out there and hustle.”
Sorry, bloggers. Not only does Michelle truly like her label and management, but there will be no photos of her getting out of a limo sans panties or shots of the singer hurling a cell phone at an incompetent assistant. And, despite that information you received from your “sources,” she isn’t dating anyone famous or otherwise. (“Henry Simmons isn’t a bad choice, but no, that’s not me,” she says in response to web rumors linking her to the actor.)
Back when she was just another student at Illinois State University, singing was merely a side gig the Rockford native performed at weddings, funerals, and bar mitzvahs. Even as she watched fellow classmate Syleena Johnson prep her own debut on Jive Records, Michelle never really saw the same for herself. “Everyone in my family had medical degrees or were teachers, nurses, whatever. So, I said I’m gonna follow that. I knew I could be successful, but I just didn’t know to this capacity in music,” she says. “I knew that somewhere in criminal law I’d be locking people up, you know, divorce court attorney or something.”
Maybe that sense of normalcy is the reason so many Destiny’s Child fans, if even a little misguided, have been rooting for Michelle all along. “It is just so funny and encouraging,” she says of the audience response so far. “At like 2 this morning, I was just in tears like ‘This is my first major video and the world is gonna see it.” Finally, a tale of a good girl gone surprisingly good.
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