What's the Real Deal Behind Kelly Rowland's Split from Columbia?

Unless you've been under a rock, you've heard about Kelly Rowland's departure from Columbia Records. Just in case you didn’t, the former Destiny’s Child released a statement Tuesday saying, “Because Columbia Records has been my home base as an artist for more than a decade, the decision to move out on my own required a lot of soul-searching. As a solo artist, I felt the need to explore new directions, new challenges, and new freedoms outside my comfort zone and my friends and family at Columbia have been incredibly understanding about my evolution. I want to thank everyone at Columbia for the love and support they've shown and I will never forget how many good times we've had over the years."

Naturally, rumors are swirling about whether it was Kelly's choice or the label's. Columbia/Epic CEO Rob Stringer released a statement saying, "It has been a privilege and a pleasure to work with Kelly and we will continue our working relationship with her under the Destiny's Child moniker. The decision for Kelly to seek other opportunities for her solo career was agreed upon mutually, and any reports to the contrary are false."

Despite what the official statements say, that's not the song others in Kelly's camp are singing. The Chicago Sun-Times reports that the record company had no beef with her prior to her dumping Mathew Knowles as her manager earlier this year. After all, her two solo albums -- 2002's Simply Deep and 2007's Ms. Kelly -- sold more than 4 million copies. A music industry was quoted as saying, "Trust me, those two things are not unrelated. Columbia had concerns about the direction Kelly was taking her career."

Being dumped by the label hasn't set too well with Beyonce's best friend. One of her friends said, "'Kelly is very upset about the Columbia action and seems to have a tough time working her way past that.''

Fortunately, Kelly has other things to take her mind off her music situation. She's set to co-host Bravo's The Fashion Show with designer Isaac Mizrahi starting next month.