Kelly Rowland teamed with producer Jake Troth for "The Game," a mid-tempo stomper with lyrics penned by Sia. Rowland loved making the track so much and stretching her vocals into more rock-based territory than we've come to expect from the former Destiny's Child, she's already tapped Troth to produce songs for her forthcoming fifth album. "He's so innovative and fresh and pushes me as an artist to stretch my creative self," says Rowland, who will also soon be shopping for a new label after parting ways with Republic Records earlier this year. "Pepsi made that introduction, and he's been one of the major highlights for me with this new album."
Rowland will be one of the few artists to appear on-camera in their accompanying "Beats" filmtrack, which is about to film in Brazil with director Spike Lee. Speaking to Billboard, Lee says he was inspired to participate in the Pepsi program through a triangulation of his own projects - his own ad agency Spike DDB, an ongoing documentary project he's been filming with Brazilian musicians like Caetano Veloso, Tom Ze and Gilberto Gil, and Michael Jackson's 1995 music video "They Don't Care About Us," which he directed and filmed parts of in the heart of Rio de Janiero. "When you think about Brazil, you think about the drums," Lee says, noting that Pepsi had few
guidelines when it came to guiding his creative process. "I'm a storyteller, so I'm very grateful that my man Frank Cooper gave me the opportunity to do what I love, which is to make films."
Pepsi Beats of the Beautiful Game showcases an eclectic mix of rising and celebrated musical artists from around the world including Kelly Rowland, Janelle Monae, Rita Ora, Don Omar, Santigold and Timbaland. Rising stars such as Jetta and R3hab are also featured alongside regional favorites Pearls Negras (Brazil), Jolin Tsai Yl-ling (China) and Hassan El Shafei (Egypt).