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Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images for BETFollowing the controversy over her performance at President Trump’s Inauguration, Chrisette Michelle is declaring she’s secure in her identity with her new single and lyric video, “Strong Black Woman.”
“People assumed I lost work, stopped performing and wouldn’t see the light of day again.” Michelle tells Billboard about the inauguration backlash. “That’s the reason why I chose ‘Strong Black Woman’ as the first single.”
The Grammy Award-winner says she was surprised she received such strong criticism for her presidential performance.
“I thought I had enough of a track record, that people would know who I was having sung twice for President Barack Obama at the White House, at Democratic conventions and black caucuses. I was incorrect,” she says.
Following the inauguration, Michelle was afraid how she’d be received at her next performance, but she was pleasantly surprised.
“I remember being petrified to walk onstage for my very first concert after the inauguration, thinking everybody hates me,” she says. “But I walked out to uproarious applause.”
“Strong Black Woman” is from Michelle’s sixth studio album, Out of Control, which she’ll release April 13, 2018 on her own label, Rich Hipster.
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