Kelly Rowland Taps Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis for 'Year of the Woman'

Kelly Rowland may be appealing to the fellas in the provocative video for “ICE,” but it’s the ladies who she’s catering to on her fourth solo album Year of the Woman. The R&B diva is reaching out to her fellow females with some help from hitmakers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis.

“I think it’s the most vulnerable I’ve been on a record,” a beaming Kelly told Billboard about the follow-up to Here I Am. “I wanted to definitely touch a woman’s hand and talk to her. One of the things that I wanted to really pronounce on this album was a celebration of a woman.”

She has called on Jam and Lewis (Janet Jackson) to help her reach her goal. “They are a part of the foundation of who I am as well,” she said. “Their sound was one of the first things I remember about R&B and one of the things that I craved for the rest of my life. Being in the studio with them, I had to pinch myself.”

Other contributors include Kevin Cossom (“He’s written a lot of the album”), T-Minus, and Rock City. Year of the Woman is due in the first quarter of 2013.