In her brand new single, “Dirty Laundry,” Kelly Rowland is certainly airing things out. The track, from her forthcoming album Talk A Good Game, addresses pain from her past, including a physically abusive boyfriend and a time when she and Beyoncé weren’t so cool.
Rowland uses her soul-baring lyrics to reveal her struggle while watching Beyoncé’s solo career take off. “Well my sister was on stage killing it like a mother f****r ,” she sang. “I was enraged, feeling it like a mother f*****r/ Went our separate ways, but I was happy she was killing it/ Bittersweet. She was up, I was down/ No lie I feel good for her, but what do I do now?”
Rowland’s troubles didn’t end there. A bad-news ex-boyfriend, whom she never names, physically abused her and cost her cherished relationships with Beyoncé and her family.
“Meanwhile this ni**a putting his hands on me,” sings Rowland. “Swear ya’ll don’t know the half of this industry…”
The Texan songbirds, who grew up together, are obviously in a better place. But Rowland explains in the song that Beyoncé asked her to leave the abusive boyfriend, but he wouldn’t let her.
“He turned me against my sister…I missed ya’,” she sings.
Perhaps the most gut-wrenching lyrics come in the hook, where Rowland croons. “When you’re soaked in tears it never airs out/ When you make pain look this good it never wears out.”
We applaud Rowland’s courage, and hope the message in her music resonates with any woman who has ever experienced or been touched by a domestic violence situation. Has a similar situation ever cost you a friend? Tell us what happened below. Listen to the song, now!