Kelly Rowland appears on the pre-show of ‘The X Factor (US)’.

Kelly Rowland had the entire year of 2012 to release her new album, ‘Year of the Woman’, but the misguided singer has opted to drop the record in the increasingly crowded 2013 instead. In fact, the set will hit stores in the first quarter of the year when Beyonce, Mariah Carey and Ciara have all planned to issue their own records.

Rowland broke the news about ‘Year of the Woman’ during her appearance on ‘The X Factor (US)’ pre-show last evening. She also shared advice with the contests, whom she encouraged to perform at their very best at show’s finale – something she failed to do at the 2012 Vh1 Divas: Diva Dance Party – and revealed her excitement for the return of girl groups.

Watch Rowland talk about her upcoming endeavours on ‘X Factor (US)’ below (starting at 33:00):

Rowland had all this time release a followup single to ‘ICE (Ft. Lil Wayne)’ and drop her album during the Thanksgiving sales rush but she has opted to compete with other artists in her lane, who are in far high demand (well, maybe not Ciara). As a person who is constantly compared to Beyonce, wouldn’t it have been wiser for Rowland to avoid the beast altogether by issuing ‘Year of the Woman’ when her former bandmate is inactive?

Yet, there probably is no need to worry. Knowing how Rowland operates, ‘Year of the Woman’ will likely get pushed back to at least July and quietly pass into memory. I personally want her to succeed but situations like this are simply exhausting.

Thoughts?