"Dirty Laundry" is a song recorded by American recording artist Kelly Rowland, for her fourth studio album, Talk a Good Game (2013). Co-written and produced by The-Dream, the R&B ballad was serviced to radio as the album's second single on May 15, 2013, and was released for digital download on May 21, 2013, through Republic Records. The record candidly documents the time in Rowland's life after the release of her debut album Simply Deep (2002); Rowland speaks of her envy of former groupmate Beyoncé's solo success and the domestic abuse she suffered during a previous relationship. Critics praised the sparse piano-led melody, as well as Rowland's openness about her jealousy of Knowles and the inspiring message about leaving an abusive relationship. The official remix features a new introduction from Rowland and new verses from R. Kelly.
Background and release
Following the chart success of her Lil Wayne-backed single "Motivation" (2011), Rowland started to work on her upcoming fourth studio album soon after. She said, "I'm in the studio. Man, it's been so much fun. I do wish that some of my fans could be in there for that ... [so] I have taped a lot of moments for my fans." She went on to add that the follow-up to her third album, Here I Am, will have a theme: "I made sure that I locked in on a concept and everyone that's come in to work on this album, we've all built around it. It's just building up so beautifully. I'm so proud! So I can't wait till all of my fans hear it." In the summer of 2012, Rowland reprised her collaboration with Wayne on another song called "Ice". It peaked at number 24 on the US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart and number 88 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Rowland officially began the campaign for Talk a Good Game with the release of its lead single, the Mike Will Made It-produced "Kisses Down Low" in February 2013. "Kisses Down Low" peaked at number 25 on the US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart and number 72 on the US Billboard Hot 100. On May 9, 2013, Rowland released a teaser for "Dirty Laundry", the minute-long clip features a scene from a laundromat set to an instrumental of the song. "Dirty Laundry" was written in collaboration with American singer-producer The Dream, who said he wanted to push Rowland outside of her comfort zone, "I want[ed] to write [her] a record so that people will know exactly who [she is], underneath it all." He told Billboard, "When you have a stage like Kelly has, you should talk about that part of your life. I think Kelly’s way deeper than that." Dream also explained how the duo came up with the song concept of the song; Rowland spoke about various experiences she had and shared her personal stories with Dream, who subsequently "put together the lyrics for the song". It premiered via Rowland's official SoundCloud page on May 15, 2013. "Dirty Laundry" was made available for digital purchase on May 21, 2013, and was serviced to US rhythmic radio stations on July 30, 2013. This was the fourth push back for Rhythmic, the previous three impact dates were: June 4, 2013, June 25, 2013, and July 16, 2013.
Composition and lyrics
"Dirty Laundry" is a R&B "confessional" ballad, built around "R&B jam spools" and a piano-led melody. It details a "frank and often poignant commentary" on Rowland's life, particularly focusing on her time following the release of her debut album, Simply Deep, in 2002. "Dirty Laundry" is constructed in chapters, each detailing a different part of Rowland's life. During an interview with Billboard magazine, Rowland described how emotional it was for her to record the song. According to the Billboard it took Rowland "nearly a dozen takes to lay down her vocals without crying" and that during the recent album listening sessions for Republic Records, she "had to leave the room before the song was played". According to Pitchforks Renato Pagnani, "Rowland's voice drips with a hard-earned wisdom, the kind that only crystallizes after processing dark things and coming out the other side bearing the scars of experience". During the interview, Rowland said "It took me days to record. I had to get past being so upset and actually sing the song, not sob through it. I always hope that my music can inspire someone, the same way other artists inspire me." The chorus is built around the lines "When you’re soaked in tears it never airs out/ When you make pain look this good it never wears out."