Fresh into 2014, Bridget Kelly is still on cloud nine from last year. From winning her first Grammy award and touring with Mary J. Blige on “The Liberation Tour” to having two Top 40 hits on Urban radio (“Special Delivery” and “Street Dreamin”), the Roc Nation artist has done alright for herself.
While the release of her debut album “Something Different,” wasn’t on her list of accomplishments in 2013, the arrival of her second EP “Cut To…Bridget Kelly” in December 2013 stands atop of everything from that year.
“Honestly, putting out the EP [Cut To…Bridget Kelly] was the highlight of 2013 for me,” said Kelly. “I’ve been recording music and sitting on it for a while. So being able to release it and celebrate the release was amazing.”
The delivery of “Cut To…Bridget Kelly” came in place of her debut album (slated for release last fall) not because there wasn’t enough material but mainly due to her label, Roc Nation.
“We’ve had a lot of back and forth about what songs to put on the album,” said Kelly. However, there was one factor that played a major part in the delay. “The promotion and marketing process,” she said. “We haven’t over the course of the last five years put a lot of material out.”
While her label has a part in her debut effort being postponed, Kelly says she’s to blame too. “I haven’t been in people’s faces enough,” she said. “Myself personally didn’t want to put out an album prematurely and not have done the groundwork with other music and not have been on a lot of tours.”
With not wanting to “skip any steps” and have her album “dead in the waters,” Kelly felt like releasing the EP was the best route to take. “I felt like let’s put an EP out and let’s promote the hell out of it. Let’s go on more tours and really just get the word out about the record and then see where it goes from there.”
Kelly alongside her creative team came up with the title to her new EP after her physical transformation and wanting to forget about the middle men. “I lost about 17 pounds and I cut my hair and it felt like I was being reborn again and reintroducing myself to the world again as an artist,” she said. “It was shedding a skin that really needed to die. I was tired of playing it safe and being consistent with something and be loyal to stuff that wasn’t really significant. They agreed it was time to cut everything else out of the picture and ‘Cut To…Bridget Kelly.”
In regards to her weight loss, Kelly felt like it was overdue not only for herself but because of the cruel industry. “In our line of work [artists] and even Hollywood, if you’re not skinny, you’re fat. There’s not a lot of room for the in between.” However, the slim new look has helped her confidence. “It was certain clothes I wanted to wear and labels I wanted to be in that my stylist was trying to get me in that didn’t fit, ” she said. “It was time to buckle down and focus on what I really wanted.“
As we get back to discussing her EP, Kelly says it wasn’t hard picking through songs for the EP that were on the album because they will still be on it. “All the tracks on the EP are on the album,” she said. She chose the songs for the EP that correlated the most with a love triangle that she was dealing with. “I started to kinda fall for my friend who I was spending a lot of time with,” she said. “I was already with somebody in a situation but here I was with this friend who I didn’t know if I should cross the line or not cross the line and how far to take it. It became messy.”
Out of the six-track project, Kelly says the song “The Mouth” told the most truth about that situation. “I’m a person that walks by faith and everything starts with your words,” she said. “And your thoughts become your words and your words become your actions. So as soon as you put something out in to the universe and you verbally acknowledge it, you’re speaking something into existence…that’s how it starts. Verbally acknowledging that you feel some kind of way or you’re turned on by something is the beginning of your downfall,” laughed Kelly.
Although releasing her debut album is one of her goals, Kelly made it clear she won’t be in album mode until her new EP gets the life and attention it deserves. In a previous interview with Rated RnB, Kelly revealed that her song called “Hear No Evil” was a song she was most excited for fans to hear. However, since then her thoughts have changed. It’s now a combination between “Hear No Evil” and the Jerry Wonda produced track called “Afterlife” in which she refers to as one the “most emotionally draining song to sing.”
Working with producer Jerry Wonda on tracks like “Afterlife” and “Goosebumps,” Kelly applauds him for taking her out of her comfort zone and giving her confidence to embrace her femininity. “I’m a complete goof. I don’t see myself as a sensual creature,” Kelly said. “But he brought me to a whole ‘nother level of security as an artist that I wasn’t anticipating. I owe him so much.”
Aside from talking about her album and EP, Kelly talked about touring. After seeing K. Michelle and Sevyn Streeter come together for female unity, the New York native chose Jhené Aiko as a female artist she would like to hit the road with. “She’s a beautiful soul,” said Kelly. “She hasn’t compromised her artistry for anybody. Her music is deep and honest. She’s all about bringing warm positive energy and thought-provoking lyrics to the stage and I love that.“
We also chatted about the much talked about arrival of Beyoncé’s self-titled visual album that dropped without promotion. Kelly said Bey’s decision to release an album that way won’t change labels formula but it should change the artist’s approach. “I think it’s going to inspire artists to go ahead and do their own thing. Seeing that artists are much more independent and free-spirited now and create their own projects on the side to keep fans motivated, it will continue to raise the bar on the artistic standpoint.”
Bridget Kelly’s “Cut To….Bridget Kelly” EP is available now on iTunes. Follow Bridget Kelly on Twitter at @theycallmebk.