Most people who know me well understand my feelings about reality television shows. At one time I watched American Idol with all the other millions of loyal viewers, but soon grew disinterested with the show format and moved on to other programming. I developed the same feelings for other non-musical reality shows after realizing the similarities of characters and the predictability and redundancy of each show’s plotline. Now, I very rarely will watch reality shows except for the occasional episode with a friend. Many readers may not share my opinion, but I do not have an appreciation for the new entertainment star who acquired fame for the sole reason of regularly appearing in a reality show. The new reality star seems to be famous for provoking arguments and/or physical violence instead of abilities in performance arts. However, I am hoping another new trend is developing within the reality television genre; a trend where actually talented performers will emerge from all the chaos. A while back I noticed a young singer/songwriter named K Michelle who happens to appear in Love and Hip Hop – Atlanta. After hearing her sing I decided to research her without viewing her on a single episode of the reality show. What I found was a talented singer with excellent vocal abilities and more. The young artist is a single mom who attended Florida A&M University on a music scholarship and switched her major to Biology with thoughts of going into nursing. K Michelle has continued singing and has found early success with some personal pain along the way from signing with Jive Records in late 2008 to collaborating with singer/producer R Kelly. K Michelle’s songs are an honest depiction of her personal experiences with an abusive relationship and emotional distresses. “I can’t fake music. I sing about what I’m going through at that moment” she said. I still wanted to find out even more about K Michelle, and so I listened to her interview on Power 105.1 The Breakfast Club radio show. What I heard was a refreshingly real artist who answered questions with forthright answers and explanations, maybe too real for some but no one has to guess what K Michelle thinks or feels about any subject. Perhaps she is candid because of her reality show background or maybe she is just naturally outspoken. Though many may be disturbed by her directness, I appreciate her interview style because we all can really get to know her. I’m sure as life goes on K Michelle will have positive experiences which will move her to create music with “happier” lyrics. Whatever the case you can be sure to hear the real K Michelle.
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