Michelle Williams Discography

Michelle Williams Discography

American singer Michelle Williams began her career in the late 1990s as a backing vocalist for Grammy Award-winning R&B singer Monica, however, it was not until Williams became a member of Destiny's Child - which has since has since become one of the best-selling American bands of all time, selling around fifty million records worldwide - in 2000 that she gained mainstream success in the music industry. Williams' discography as a solo artist includes; three studio albums (with a fourth due in 2011), seven singles and four music videos on Columbia Records and its sub-label Sanctuary Records.

Williams' solo career began in 2002, with the release of her debut album Heart to Yours, which made her the first Destiny's Child member to release a solo album. Though primarily a contemporary gospel album, it heavily incorporates elements of many other styles and genres such as; neo-soul, R&B, inspirational and even rock music. Receiving generally positive reviews from critics, the album topped the US Billboard Gospel Albums chart and peaked at number three on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart after selling nearly 20,000 copies in one week. However, the album only peaked at a moderate fifty seven on the Billboard 200. Despite this, Heart to Yours eventually became 2002's biggest selling gospel album in the U.S, selling over 203,622 copies. The album won Williams an award for "Best Gospel Act" at the 2002 MOBO Awards and spawned the single "Heard A Word" which was featured on the platinum-selling WOW Gospel 2003 compilation album and which Williams notably recorded a live version of in Rotterdam, the Netherlands for the Destiny's Child World Tour DVD.

In 2004, after making her on-stage acting debut the previous year in the Broadway musical Aida, Williams released her second studio album Do You Know. Described as portraying "a more intimate side of Michelle", the urban contemporary gospel was received warmly by critics and found fair success on the US Billboard component charts; peaking at number two on the Gospel Albums chart, number three on the Christian Albums chart and number twenty-eight on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. However, after debuting with sales of only 10,000 copies, the album peaked at one-hundred-and-twenty on the Billboard 200, making it Williams' poorest-charting album to date. Re-released later, the album has now sold over 78,000 copies. Do You Know gained Williams a nomination for "Best Gospel Act" at the 2004 MOBO Awards and spawned a same-titled single which she performed notably on the 2004 Soul Train Music Awards and also throughout the Destiny Fulfilled ... And Lovin' It world tour - a recording of one such performance in Atlanta, Georgia was included on the Destiny's Child: Live in Atlanta 2006 DVD release, which has since been re-issued in Blu-ray.

In 2008, Williams released the lead single, "We Break the Dawn", from her first secular (third overall) studio album Unexpected. Described as "a terrific fusion of European disco and American R&B, "We Break the Dawn" received critical acclaim and became her first charting single, peaking at number one on the US Billboard Hot Dance Airplay chart and number four on the Hot Dance Club Songs chart whilst also being a moderate success in certain parts of Europe, where it peaked at number forty-seven on the UK Singles Chart and number thirty-eight on the Hungarian Singles Chart. Following the critical success of its lead single, Unexpected - which is made up of dance-pop, R&B, electro and europop music - also received positive reviews. Charting only in the US, it debuted and peaked at number forty-two and eleven on the Billboard 200 and Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums charts respectively, selling 14,000 copies in its first week of release, before selling a total of 32,000 copies by 2010. Unexpected also spawned two later singles; "The Greatest", which topped the US Dance chart and "Hello Heartbreak". Williams has confirmed that she will release a new album in 2011. On November 27, 2011 Electric Giant Beatz released a song featuring Michelle titled "On the Run". Furthermore, in December, Ultra Naté released a joint collaboration with Williams titled "Waiting on You".

On June 7, 2012 it was announced that Williams had been signed to Light Records and is due to release her third gospel album in January, 2013.