Hitting theatres almost 25 years later with a stunning re-imagining following the original animated classic, The Lion King has found itself resonating with a whole new generation of fans with its second incarnation while continuing to upset children over one of its most iconic scenes — including Kelly Rowland‘s 4-year-old son, Titan who has strong feelings toward the animated antagonist.
In an exclusive with PopCulture.com while in promotion of Honey Nut Cheerios, Rowland admits after taking her son, Titan to watch The Lion King this past month at the Los Angeles premiere, the 4-year-old left the film wanting to knock out the character of Scar, voiced by Chiwetel Ejiofor.
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“Titan left the movie saying he does not like Scar. He wanted to punch Scar in the face,” she laughed with PopCulture.com over the legendary villain.
In all fairness, most would agree. After all, Scar is not a very nice character and was responsible for the death of Simba’s father, Mufasa — a moment that continues to “scar” children, young and old, since its theatrical debut in 1994.
The mom-of-one said overall her son “absolutely loved” the popular Disney movie remake. It also helps that the 38-year-old’s long-time best friend and former Destiny’s Child group mate, Beyoncé starred in the live-action remake, voicing Nala. The “Sorry” singer also sang a few songs for the soundtrack.
After Rowland and Beyonce paired up with the third member of Destiny’s Child, Michelle Williams, for both the Super Bowl XLVII halftime show in 2013 and Coachella last year, fans are most definitely wanting more. However, Rowland says a potential reunion tour hasn’t even been a topic of conversation among the three. Instead, they’re focused on supporting one another in their own separate careers.
“It’s nothing that we’ve talked about yet,” she admitted exclusively. “It’s nothing that we’ve talked about. We just celebrated Michelle’s birthday last night [Tuesday] and we just talked about what everybody’s doing in their lives right now.”
Although the “Lay It On Me” singer has gone on to do amazing things in her solo career, she admits it wasn’t easy at first.
“I think the part where it’s from three to one is for sure a challenge because I was so used to doing everything with them. Making decisions with the girls, traveling with the girls, doing interviews with the girls, everything we did together. So when it was time for me to do it by myself, very much so. Like, looking around saying, ‘Ooh right, wait, is somebody going to be on the left or the right of me?’ And no, it’s just you and being completely comfortable in that light took me some getting used to.”
Since flying solo, she’s pushed out hits like “Motivation,” “Ice” and “Like This,” but by far, her favorite song to record was off her last album, Talk A Good Game titled “Red Wine.”
“I remember singing that song, it actually probably took me an hour to record that song,” she said, adding how she loved the flow of it. “It just kind of like oozed out and it felt amazing and I remember being so excited about it. And also so nervous because it’s so detached from anything that I’d ever done … but I didn’t care and I just went for it.”
The popular singer is not only working on new music for fans, but she’s also encouraging them to get fit and stay healthy through her partnership with Honey Nut Cheerios. The popular breakfast brand is starting an initiative called Happy Hearts, which encourages people to get involved in more heart healthy activities like loving and laughing more often.
“I love the fact that they’re inspiring people to basically have happy, healthy hearts. And for me, it hits so close to home because I actually lost my mother to cardiac arrest,” she shared.
Rowland goes on to encourage fans into getting their cholesterol checked just so they know where their numbers are at since it’s something she immediately did after the devastating passing of her mother. Since then, she’s keeping active in the gym and continuing to eat heart healthy foods like Honey Nut Cheerios.
Those who would like to participate in getting heart healthy, can do so by visiting Cheerios’ Heart Matters website.
Photo credit: David Livingston/Getty Images
