Dear Kelly Rowland: Please Take Advantage of This X-Factor Gig

Dear Kelly Rowland: Please Take Advantage of This X-Factor Gig

kelly rowland needs to take advantage of american x factor job
Kelly Rowland

News reports have confirmed that Kelly Rowland will be joining X-Factor as one of the talent competition show’s new judges.

Rowland was a popular judge on the British version of the show but I believe that doing a good job stateside could do wonders for her career and personal brand.

Ever since Destiny’s Child went their separate ways (almost a decade ago), Kelly has been trying to establish herself as a solo artist. And while she’s had a few high points and popular singles, she’s never been able to fully break out of Beyonce’s shadow to become the superstar that we all know she can be.

A perfect example of this happened just last week when Kelly released a new song called “Dirty Laundry” in which she talks about being in an abusive relationship and being envious of Beyonce’s success as a solo star.

As the track started gaining some buzz it was overshadowed by rumors about Beyonce being pregnant which was then followed by a leaked version of Beyonce’s Grown Woman record (incidentally, Kelly also has a song called Grown Woman that was on her album a few years ago).*

But back to X-Factor…

These talent competition shows are not only a launching pad for future stars, but they also serve as an excellent tool for celebs looking to enhance or rehab their image. So sitting at the X-Factor judge’s table is a huge opportunity for Kelly to capitalize off of a platform that in recent years has been a boon to other celebrity judges.

Aside from the multi-million dollar payday, popular judges often walk away with endorsement deals, increased popularity and album sales, more invitations to perform on awards shows and events, an exorbitant amount of press coverage and a renewed sense of respect from their fans if they can really bring it.

So I really hope that Kelly takes advantage of this opportunity. Here are a few ways she can do that:

Perform your music on the show as often as possible

Take a page out of J-Lo and Mariah Carey’s book and perform your songs on the show as often as you can. Millions of people watch X-Factor each week, so use the large audience to your advantage and preview or perform new tracks and songs off of your new album (but make sure whatever you preview is available on iTunes for purchase immediately after the show).

Secure a few magazine covers

Now that you’re ready to air out some of your dirty laundry, editors of major publications should be knocking down your door. But if they’re not, you need to have your PR team go after them so that you’re on the cover of at least 10 magazines back-to-back once the X-Factor shows start airing in the Fall. 

Secure multi-year endorsement deals while on the show 

J-Lo secured a deal with FIAT, a 21-year lifestyle branding deal with Kohl’s and launched a Spanish talent competition show while on Idol. During the short time Nicki Minaj was on Idol she released her fragrance, secured endorsements with K-Mart and Sears to do a clothing line, became the sole spokesperson for Viva Glam and did a brand collaboration with Beats by Dre, just to name a few things.

By the time you’re done with this show (I think you should stay on for at least 2 cycles) you should have a multi-year deal with a beauty brand or you should have at least launched your first fragrance. Please don’t walk off of that stage without an endorsement deal. It would be a huge missed opportunity.

Leverage social media and interact with your fans throughout the show

If you want to build a more meaningful relationship with your fans you should use your social media channels to interact with them. Right now it appears that your twitter feed may be managed by someone on your team as most of your updates are retweets of other celebrities and/or promotional messages about your new single and your media appearances.

You have over 5 million fans/followers if you interacted with them even a little bit you wouldn’t have to do a ton of promo on social media because they would do it for you. Are the celebs that you’ve been retweeting buying your record(s) and/or helping you sell out your upcoming tour?

Dress to impress

You’ve gotten a lot of love for your fashion choices lately, so keep it up as this will endear you to the fashion crowd and possibly secure you some of the magazine covers I mentioned earlier.

Don’t hold back when it comes to judging/mentoring the talent

Kelly, you’re not allowed to be boring on this show. You’re extremely talented and have earned your spot at the judge’s table. You know what you’re talking about so please don’t hold back when it comes to offering constructive criticism to the talent on the show and if you disagree with your fellow judges SPEAK UP.

To paraphrase the infamous words of Tyra Banks “we’re rooting for you. we’re all rooting for you.”

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Photo: Fashionnstyle.com

*I find it interesting that every time Kelly gets a little buzz going it gets overshadowed by a “leak” from Bey’s camp. It’s been happening for years. I wonder if it’s intentional or just the way the game is played.