My best friend's album

The skinny on the newest albums

She may have coined 'bootylicious' and starred in an Oscar-nominated movie, but Beyonce's best friend and former band mate Kelly Rowland proves she's a force to be reckoned with on her latest album, Ms Kelly.

The tracks echo the band's final release, Destiny Fulfilled - each track is more personal and more mature than anything on her previous effort, Simply Deep, with Rowland garnering writing credits on all but three tracks.

Her sound is more mature, too, moving from the more innocent soul and pop of Stole and the Grammy-winning Nelly duet Dilemma to heavily hip hop-influenced R&B and dance.

Rowland discusses the disappointments of past relationships in Love and Better Without You, explains why she had to break off her engagement in the apologetic Still in Love With My Ex, and expresses what she expects from a relationship in the compulsively danceable, beat-driven Work.

Opening track Like This, a duet with rapper Eve, is a popular club tune with a riff reminiscent of Snoop Dogg's Drop It Like It's Hot. It's guaranteed to get you on the dance floor.