Kelly Rowland opens up about difficulties of being compared to Beyonce

Destiny's Child star Kelly Rowland has opened up about the "torture" of constantly being compared to one-time bandmate Beyonce.

Rowland, 39, was a founding member of the 1990s R&B band and went on to have a highly successful solo career.

But when a contestant on The Voice Australia said he feared being overshadowed by his older brother, who is already a singer, she admitted she suffered the same problem.

She told the show: "I know this feeling. Can you imagine what it's like being in a group with Beyonce? I would just torture myself in my head."

Speaking in her role as a coach on the talent show, she said that being in a band with someone as successful as Beyonce made her question her choices.

The singer said she would often think: "'I can't wear this dress because they're going to say it's like B.' Or, 'I can't have a song like that because it sounds too much like B.' They're gonna compare anyway."

She added that having a more famous bandmate felt like an "elephant in the room" for "a whole decade" and she "would be lying" if she said it never bothered her.

Rowland was speaking to contestant Chris Sebastian, whose brother Guy is now a successful singer-songwriter after winning the first Australian Idol in 2003.

Now a TV presenter and an actress as well as a performer, Rowland first teamed up with Beyonce in 1990 to form Girl's Tyme with two others in their home city of Houston, Texas.

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They were signed to Columbia Records as Destiny's Child in 1997 and replaced LaTavia Roberson and LeToya Luckett with Michelle Williams to form a trio.

They were managed by Beyonce's father Mathew Knowles and are now regarded as one of the most successful female groups of all time.

They split in 2006 but were reunited on stage during Beyonce's set at Coachella in 2018.

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