DEBORAH COX: When was the moment you knew that you wanted to be a performer?
MICHELLE WILLIAMS: I was 4 or 5. My mother had these mirrors in the living room that I would always stand in front of to perform.
DC: How was that for you, being in a group, stepping out when you need to step out, and then also having the discipline to harmonize?
MW: Before I got in Destiny’s Child, I was already in two gospel groups back at home: [one with my girlfriends] and in a group with some older women at my church. When I got in the group, I was so confident. When they asked me to sing something, Beyoncé and Kelly [Rowland] were like, “Oh, my God. She’s the one right here.” I don’t have a problem being in the group, stepping out solo, going back to it.... I have no problem adapting to whatever I’m in.
DC: How have Beyoncé and Kelly influenced you as a solo artist?
MW: Being in the group that long—with even Bey and Kelly, being in the group that long for them—just rubs off on you. The friendships continue to inspire, but the genres are so different now. I can’t wait for them to hear [my new album], so I can be like “Okay, what do y’all think?” They’re like, “Girl, do this or do that.” But we really try to keep the solo stuff separate.
