Rowland 'dumped by record label'

Kelly Rowland has parted ways with her record company Columbia.

According to the News Of The World, the former Destiny's Child singer was dropped as she was "no longer commercially viable".

However, Rowland insisted that she decided to quit the label in order to try new projects.

"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," she said in a statement.

"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."

Responding to the decision, Columbia CEO Rob Stringer said: "Kelly Rowland is one of our finest contemporary artists and a musical force to be reckoned with.

"The decision for Kelly to seek other opportunities for her solo career was agreed upon mutually, and any reports to the contrary are false."

Rowland sold four million copies of her two solo albums Simply Deep and Ms. Kelly, which spawned hits including 'Stole', 'Work' and 'Daylight'.

The news comes just two months after the star parted ways with her long-time manager Mathew Knowles, father of her former bandmate Beyoncé.