Once Michelle Williams joined a few reporters at The Sony Building in Manhattan, there to hear her upcoming solo album, Unexpected, and to watch her music video, the peppy former Destiny's Child-er snacked on mac 'n cheese with her manager Kelly and hooted and squealed during the video screening when some of those not-bad-to-look-at backup dancers ... well, you can watch it below.

Your CD was so dance-y and fun! Did you go into it wanting to make a dance album?

Well, the first draft of my album was more mid-tempo ... and I let my mother listen to that album and she said, It's aight. Yeah, she didn't say all right, she said a-i-i-g-h-t. And it was like she challenged me. She said, You have nothing on here that kids can dance to. People go to the club to have fun, and I want people to dance to my baby's music.

So I ended up in the studio working with a great writer-producer by the name of Rico Love, and he wrote some great, great dance songs ... "Private Party," "Hello Heartbreak," "Lucky Girl" ...

Oh, I totally loved "Hello Heartbreak."

Thank you so much! Rico ... he was like the angel of my album. He said, Let me see where I can take her with this. There was not one song he wrote for me that I hated. I didn't even have to say, Ehhh ... Change that to this, you know, everything went so well. No drama, it went smooth. And that's why I know it's meant to be.


I also think your voice lends itself to this kind of music really well. I couldn't hear any of these tracks being on Ms. Kelly or on B'Day.

Thank you! I'm excited that you said that, because that lets me know, OK, I've got my voice in this box; Kelly's got hers in that; Beyonce has hers in that ... and I think that's great.

Did your personal taste in music always lean toward dance? Maybe more than Kelly's or Beyonce's did?

You know the crazy thing, I listen to all types: If you go on my iTunes, I got everything: I got Madonna, I got Kylie, I got Donna Summer, I got Bon Jovi, I got ... you know ... 50 Cent!

And the great thing about this album, it really just opened me up in a way to it, 'cause I'm funny with my friends and family behind closed doors, but I think this dance album is kind of making me just ... happy and just bubbly ... I got the new haircut! And I'm just feeling so good. I'm comfortable.

At what point did you and your crew say, The gays would love this stuff?

[laughs] When I did the album, I wasn't like, Mmm! I'm doin' this for the gay clubs! But you know, talking to everybody and doing the research, it was like, Michelle I think you got something here. And that's why I'm glad to do all the press for LOGO and going to The NewNowNext Awards - that was a lot of fun! But it just seems like ... [whispers] Y'all live, honey. And gay or straight, I don't care. We all live. We gotta live, have fun, be fierce...


I think I know the answer to this, but do you have close gay friends?

Absolutely. I do, I do. And I love them 'cause they tell me the truth, honey. I have this open-toe shoe on, right? And my French manicure is messed-up. And only a queen - well, people will look down at it but won't say nothing - but only a queen will be like, BITCH! I KNOW you ain't got yo' toe out and your French manicure ain't done!

Are you excited to perform for Pride at Splash?

I am very excited. It's going to be my first time, and I know they're gonna turn me out - before I even get on stage to turn them out.

So are you a fan of Noah's Arc? Or just of Jensen Atwood? Because I saw that picture of y'all at The NewNowNext Awards...

Of Jensen? He's so hot. He was my interest in the Destiny's Child "Soldier" video.


I don't remember that!

Yup, he was my guy.

I'll have to go back and watch that...

Go back and watch it. He was my soldier.

I'm in love with Jensen. And he does so much gay stuff! I think we said that to him at the Awards ... like, You are at every gay thing. And he's so cool about it.

But you know what? I don't even make it an issue. You don't treat gay people ... I don't even like to say the word "gays." ... How about people? How about a man? Although, I'm sure some men like to be called girls. Come here, girl!

And one more thing about The Awards! Have you heard of Cazwell, the rapper? At the after-party, he performed his song "I Seen Beyonce at Burger King."

Aah! Oh, I wish I had seen that. I was gone. I'll have to tell her about that. That's funny!

So for someone hearing Unexpected for the first time, what do you hope they get out of it?

It's actually a personal statement from where I am in my life. It's like, I want to be in love - and then I don't. I have been in love, and then it went sour. "Hello Heartbreak," for instance, it's like, you're in this relationship, and it's too good to be true; and you're like, somethin' crazy is gonna come around the corner ... Oh, HEY, HEARTBREAK! Hey there, sadness, I knew I was gonna meet you 'cause when all else fails, you'll always be around ... I knew it! How did I know?

And you know, I have a strange connection to pain. I just gotta get better about my choices, my selections.

As far as that subject, I really like "Thank You."

You do? Oh, honey! If I said that to a man, he'd be like, Did you just read me? ... Sure did, buddy: Thank you ... for losing me.