Michelle Williams
Discography
2002 Heart To Yours
(All releases on Music World Music/Columbia Records)
Biography
The list of recording artists who have gone from gospel roots to urban radio is endless Sam Cooke, Aretha Franklin, Lou Rawls, Whitney Houston and Jodeci among them. Seldom, however, does a successful R&B artist venture in the opposite direction. But Destiny's Child member Michelle Williams is the exception. With the release of Heart To Yours, her debut solo album, Michelle hopes to strike a gospel chord with the fan base who have made Destiny's Child R&B's best-selling female group.
"There is a song for every one every age," says Williams of her enticing collection of tightly-synchronized harmony-driven songs ranging from inspirational and contemporary urban gospel to deeply-felt traditional sounds. Williams' soulful delivery is laid back on many of the tracks, creating a mellow fusion of lyrical and musical testimonies pulling listeners into her world. And though her distinctive style is impossible to pigeonhole, Williams knows precisely where she is taking her listeners on this melodic journey.
From the title track, "Heart To Yours," produced by Erron Williams (Michelle's brother... the track is also co-written by Erron, Michelle, Kayla Parker and Damion Washington) to the album's first single, "Heard A Word," each of the songs in this collection, several of which she co-wrote, have a special meaning for Michelle.
"They were songs that healed me while I was recording it, so I'm hoping that as the CD healed me and as it is still healing me it touches and blesses others," Williams says. "At first, I was trying to be so careful to satisfy the fan base. Should I say 'God?' Should I say 'He' or 'Him?' Should I say 'Jesus?' I was worried about it reaching the young people," she offers, "but they need to hear about God and what he's done for me. As the album went on, I couldn't help but mention His name."
Heart To Yours lead-in track, "Heard A Word," was produced by the Grammy-winning team of Louis "Buster" Brown and Scott "Shavoni" Parker, whose studio mastery has translated into chart success for Yolanda Adams, Kirk Franklin and The Prince of Egypt soundtrack, among others. For Williams, who was very much "hands on" in the production of the album from beginning to end, "Heard A Word" establishes the tone for the album.
"God talks to us in different ways. He's your friend and He lets you know that He's there with you and everything will be fine," Michelle explains how her faith guided her creative process. "The whole album is about Him being there and being my protection." The theme of trusting in God's protection recurs throughout the CD, especially on cuts like "Everything," which she co-wrote, and ""Rock With Me."
Guest artists on Heart To Yours include the contemporary gospel duo Mary Mary who groove with Williams on the Warryn Campbell-produced cut "So Glad"; Isaac Carree and Lowell Pye of Men of Standard, who back her on the rousing, quartet-flavored "You Care For Me," and R&B crooner Carl Thomas on a CD-only bonus: a remake of BeBe & CeCe Winans' classic "Heaven." The album also includes Michelle's duet with Shirley Caesar on the traditional "Steal Away To Jesus" (also featured on Caesar's Grammy-winning Hymns CD) and a soul-stirring "Gospel Medley" with Michelle backed up on "You've Been So Good"/"Now Behold The Lamb"/"Jesus Loves Me"/"Total Praise" by Beyoncι Knowles and Kelly Rowlands, her "sisters" in Destiny's Child.
For Michelle Williams, a self-professed quintessential "church girl," performing gospel music is a step forward in the evolution of her career. "Some people will do gospel when their career fails, thinking 'well I'll go ahead and do gospel,' but I'm choosing to do gospel at the height of the popularity of Destiny's Child," Michelle confesses. "I didn't want to do it because it was a fad. Gospel is my roots. I wanted to do it because it's in me. It's in my heart."
Looking back, she appreciates the insistence on the part of her parents to involvement in the church. "We were in church every Sunday and during the week," she remembers. "My mom would say, 'go to choir rehearsal' (she went on to direct it) or 'you're going to be on the usher board. You're going to be on the hospitality board."
Michelle's singing aspirations began to take form when, at the age of seven, she delivered her first solo a rendition of "Blessed Assurance" at the St. Paul Church of God In Christ in her native Rockford, Illinois. Inspired by the artistry and success of those like Yolanda Adams, Kirk Franklin, Commissioned, the Clark Sisters, Hezekiah Walker, and Marvin Winans (her favorite all time male singer), Williams became a driving force in two church based groups: United Harmony and Chosen Expression. But eventually resigned herself to singing as a hobby, reasoning, "who's going to come to Rockford to see the talent that was there?"
She went on to attend college for two years hoping ultimately to land a good job. Then a friend called her in May 1999 and told her about auditions being held by the R&B singer Monica, who'd scored a 1998 summer hit with "The Boy Is Mine," a duet with Brandy. Following her audition, Michelle landed a gig with Monica and entered the world of secular contemporary R&B. When the stint with Monica ended in October 1999, Michelle returned home to Rockford. And then, in January 2000, destiny called. Or rather, Destiny's Child rang up Michelle Williams and asked her if she'd be interested in joining the group. Her affirmative answer has become musical history.
Heart To Yours is the first gospel release from the newly-launched Music World Music imprint and is the first of many gospel albums the now-Houston-based singer hopes to release during breaks from Destiny's Child.
"Using the platform that I have with Destiny's Child," Williams points out, "I want to send the message of God's word out to the people who buy Destiny's Child music as well as those who don't."
And Williams once considered "nerdy" by classmates has a message for those experiencing trials in trying to "fit in." "Growing up, I experienced a lot of hurts," she recalls. "When you try so hard to be accepted, before you know it, you're being someone that you're not and that's crazy. I was ridiculed and bullied for being a good student and person. Kids were really cruel. I was skinny and under-developed. Everybody else was getting chosen and getting boyfriends, but now, I'm thankful that God saw something and He chose me.
"People can call me a 'church girl.' My main thing is being who I really am and not trying to fit in. It's time out for that."
These days, what Williams would most like to see changed is the world, and one of her favorite tracks on the CD, "Change The World" addresses just that: You've got to realize God has a purpose for your life/You don't have to compromise/Change the world/ Don't let the world change you."
It's a sentiment that Michelle Williams keeps close to her heart when she tells her fans that "When you see all the destructive things that are going on, you realize that it's up to you to decide whether or not you are going to help change it or fall into it and let it change who you are as a person. Together, we can change the world and make a difference."