Episode 1.03: Crossing Over And Back – Kelly Rowland / Mary J. Blige

What happens when two ladies of soul cross the pond for new inspiration? In this episode we discuss two musical detours, Kelly Rowland’s Commander and Mary J. Blige’s Whole Damn Year, that failed to resonate with fans.

This week, Barry wondered why Kelly Rowland can’t seem to find a formula that works. Taking her lead from the breakout success of When Love Takes Over with David Guetta, she tried charting a course through the emerging waters of EDM, but there weren’t many takers. Commander didn’t make the impact she was hoping for.

Jason wondered why a successful collaboration with Disclosure on F For You and an inspiring trip abroad didn’t yield commercially successful fruit for Mary J. Blige, who had at that point been experiencing diminishing yields from her own time-tested formula. Whole Damn Year brought a fresh new sound that, while popularly neglected, left Jason thinking, damn, that’s good.