Kelly Rowland on staying close with Destiny’s Child: Our friendship is ‘super precious’

Since pursuing solo careers, the ladies of Destiny’s Child have gone on to greatness: Kelly Rowland is an R&B star paying it forward by assembling her own girl group, Michelle Williams is a successful gospel singer and Beyonce Knowles is … well, the Queen Bey.

Most importantly, their friendship has endured 16 years in a cut-throat industry that too often pits women against each other.

“How do you separate being supportive of each other and wanting more at the same time for yourself, too?” Maria Menounos asked Rowland on Thursday’s episode of Conversations .

“I remember for a minute that was actually super hard for me, and then it got to a point where it’s like no, that’s great,” said Rowland, 35. “You know who broke it down for me perfectly was Serena Williams, one of my best friends. She said, ‘You know, Kel, I love my sister. I love her to death. But when we get on that court, I want to win.’ And I was like ding ding ding. It was like light bulbs went off in my head, and I was like, ‘Yeah, shoot, me too!’ … It’s great to praise your sister, but at the same time, it’s also okay to be great as well. I think that for some people they would want you to maybe apologize for it or kind of fall back. But you share the light, you sparkle brighter.”

It’s a message Rowland’s teaching her new group, formed on her BET reality show Chasing Destiny.

“Amongst women, we have to be so careful and treat our friendships as super precious,” she said. “And know our worth as an individual. We don’t have to compare ourselves. The world would be so boring if everybody looked the same, talked the same, spoke the same, wore the same things.”

Hear her still unnamed band slay an a capella cover of Drake’s Hotline Bling below:

Chasing Destiny airs Tuesdays at 10 pm ET on BET, and Conversations with Maria Menounos airs live weekdays at 1 pm ET on SiriusXM Stars (Ch. 109).

For a free 30-day trial, check out http://www.siriusxm.com/freeTrial.