With Emmy, Tony Noms and Return of ‘RHOA,’ Kandi Burruss Is Having the Best Week Ever

Kandi Burruss can’t escape the excellent news — the Grammy-winning singer-songwriter is having the most effective week ever: She scored an Emmy nomination on Monday and earned a Tony nod on Tuesday, whereas the fifteenth season of The Actual Housewives of Atlanta returns Sunday.

“I’m overjoyed proper now. That is form of unbelievable,” Burruss informed The Hollywood Reporter. “You know the way you’ve been talking issues into existence in your life and praying for it and doing all that. However when it truly begins occurring in a serious approach, you’re virtually like, ‘Whoa, is that this occurring?’”

“To have the 2 nominations occurring back-to-back inside 24 hours — it was simply unbelievable,” she continued.

Burruss, a member of the platinum-selling R&B group Xscape, received the most effective R&B track Grammy Award in 2000 for co-writing TLC’s popular culture hit “No Scrubs.” As a producer, she’s getting nearer to EGOT standing: The 46-year-old picked up a Tony nomination for finest revival of a play for August Wilson’s The Piano Lesson and a Southeast Emmy nomination for La Musica de la Familia, which is about Grammy-winning Latin jazz musician Tony Succar. The nod is within the Spanish – Historic/Cultural/Politics/Authorities/Societal Issues class.

In an interview, the entertainer, who additionally stars in Showtime’s The Chi, talks about her new nominations, the dramatic return of RHOA, the writers strike, songwriting for Beyoncé and Justin Timberlake as youngsters and extra.

You actually are having the most effective week ever. 

It’s fantastic. I’ve been telling all people for years now that I’m going to get the EGOT. However I do know half the those who I stated it to have been like, “Yeah, OK, woman, no matter.” Now it’s an actual factor. I really feel like all of the praying, all of the angels up there which were working for me — it’s simply all coming collectively and it’s form of overwhelming.

You’ve written songs, produced and acted — it feels like you’ve gotten a number of methods of profitable an Oscar, proper?

Actually that’s the approach that I checked out all of [the awards shows]. I’ve at all times been a p2erson the place I by no means actually simply bought caught on, “Oh, I’ve to be the star of one thing” even when I’m producing one thing myself. Proper now, my husband and I, we simply produced a movie, however we went into it saying, “Properly, I don’t really feel like I needs to be the star of our first movie. Let’s let someone else be the star.” I don’t should be within the entrance. 

So yeah, coming into how I’d have a look at going after the subsequent, the O, I’m undoubtedly like, “OK, I can act, I can sing, I can write songs, I can produce, I can do all that.” So let’s determine this out.

As producer for The Piano Lesson, what did your function entail?

As a producer, you’re actually accountable for lots of issues. The financing of the present, all of the bells and whistles. For some producers, it will depend on how a lot they wish to be concerned. For me, I needed to be very concerned — so far as the advertising and marketing of the present, we have been part of the casting of the present … ensuring you get traders. It’s rather a lot that goes into it that folks don’t perceive.

Has navigating the Broadway trade been totally different than TV and music for you?

Sure. I feel the Broadway world is rather a lot smaller, so it wasn’t simple to get into. I actually was form of clueless. I knew I needed to, however I used to be like, “How do I am going about entering into this world?” And it was a blessing that I did join with Brian Moreland. He had reached out to me a very long time in the past about coming to see Ideas of a Coloured Man once they have been doing it off-Broadway. And I didn’t go. After which it got here again round and I used to be like, “Oh, OK, properly possibly I ought to do that.” And it was going to be my first time producing and we determined to work collectively. And it was a tremendous expertise working with him. And now we determined that we’re caught like glue. Now we’re engaged on an entire bunch of tasks collectively.

The venture you’ve earned an Emmy nod for is one you didn’t let individuals learn about, proper?

No person knew about it. It hasn’t aired but. It’s for public broadcast, PBS. But it surely’s about Tony Succar. It’s him serving to his mom reside her dream of changing into a music artist. However he’s a Grammy winner. He’s a Latin jazz musician. And the best way I bought concerned with this venture is my pal and my lawyer, his identify is Doug Davis, in addition to our different pal, Kabir [Sehgal]. Kabir is on the identical objectives that I’m on. He desires to get the EGOT too. So Doug has at all times been attempting to attach us to work collectively on a venture. And that is one which Kabir was like, “Yeah, he’s labored with this musician and this might be an excellent venture.” In order that’s how that happened.

I didn’t know the place this venture was going to take us. Clearly I’ve a love for music, so it was form of simple. However I didn’t know that it was going to get us right here. It’s form of a docu-follow of Tony in his journey along with his mom. Clearly, I’ve completed docu-follows earlier than, however this can be a totally different kind. This isn’t your common actuality TV. It’s a documentary in regards to the journey of this household, and it’s an actual, heartfelt music venture.

And to cap off your week, The Actual Housewives of Atlanta returns Sunday.

You already know, actually, I didn’t even actually take into consideration the truth that the Housewives comes out this Sunday. However you’re proper. I imply, I suppose that’s form of loopy that all of it occurred in the identical week. I used to be so caught up in these two nominations that I forgot that the present is airing this week as properly.

What can we anticipate from this season? 

These ladies tried to return for me from day one. And it was actually robust for me as a result of I used to be coming straight out of filming that SWV-Xscape present (The Queens of R&B). And that present was demanding, very demanding. Anytime issues are occurring with my group it’s demanding, just because we grew up collectively. It’s very private. And the drama that occurs could be very actual for us. And it doesn’t cease when the digital camera shuts off.

So me coming into this new season, I had a variety of drama happening that had nothing to do with these ladies. So once they have been including their mess on prime of that, I used to be able to explode. Actually. You already know how one can be pushing individuals’s buttons and also you don’t even know what they’re coping with — that’s principally what was occurring.

How’d you cope with all that? I’ve seen actuality present drama, however the SWV-Xscape present felt deep and private. How is the group proper now?

The drama’s very a lot nonetheless happening. Proper now it’s simply Tamika, Tiny and I doing exhibits. We’re doing a number of exhibits, so clearly that’s very unlucky to say the least. We filmed the SWV-Xscape present and … then I went straight into beginning season 15 [of RHOA].

So that you’re going to see me have just a few pop-offs, not only one. It’ll be a number of. The followers crack me up once they say stuff like, “Oh, redhead Kandi is coming again.” 

With actuality exhibits, do they provide some form of psychological well being check-ins?

Yeah. No, that’s not a part of it. They’re simply there to catch what’s occurring in our lives. So if we select to set our personal selves as much as get some assist, then they’ll observe it. However they’re not doing it for us. However I wasn’t the one one going via issues. Consider me, it’s a lot that occurred throughout season 15. It was a variety of stuff that occurred within the blogs. Sadly, Drew’s coping with issues and all the women bought some stuff happening. Not simply me, however I’m simply talking from my very own private expertise.

So this season is action-packed. And we had some good moments the place we did join. Properly, someone had described it to me as we bought additional into the season the place it began feeling just like the Talls versus the Smalls, the place it was form of divided.

How is your relationship with SWV after filming?

I haven’t spoken to anyone within the group since, so I can’t actually say that it’s good or unhealthy. I do know that folks say that they’re not so completely satisfied. I don’t know. I select to only let that go. It’s like, “OK, it didn’t work out. We’re not going to tour, so it’s not going to work out. OK, cool.” For me, it was at all times simply strictly enterprise. I by no means was attempting to take private jabs at them. It wasn’t private for me. As a result of actually I like SWV. And I hate that they form of took it private, but it surely wasn’t meant for them to take it personally. 

Have you ever listened to LaTocha Scott’s gospel album, The Invitation: A Dialog With God?

I haven’t.

Are you completed filming this season of RHOA?

We’re completed filming.

Are you additionally filming The Chi, or is that completed filming?

Chi continues to be occurring, sure.

Do you’ve gotten any ideas about how the writers putting in the meanwhile? 

Properly, I admire what they’re attempting to do. I imply, as instances change, you must replace the foundations and rules. With these streaming companies, we’ve to ensure that individuals are nonetheless in a position to profit from their work. So I respect what they’re doing and hopefully all people will give you one thing that’s truthful for everyone, in order that we are able to proceed developing with artistic issues and have good work and make artistic, enjoyable exhibits.

You’ve written songs for Future’s Youngster, ‘N Sync, Pink, Mariah Carey, Alicia Keys, TLC, Whitney Houston, Usher and extra. Is there ever a track you wrote for another person that you simply want you saved for your self?

No, I by no means have any regrets about any track that I gave away. As a result of I really feel like you must give away nice songs to ensure that individuals to need you to maintain writing for them. For those who solely preserve the great ones for your self, then what would make individuals need you to write down for them?

Have you ever mirrored on the truth that you labored with a variety of these icons early of their careers, like Beyoncé, Justin Timberlake, Pink and the others?

Yeah. I feel that’s the blessing of it. I feel on the time I ended up on a number of diamond albums as a songwriter, which is a giant deal. Folks don’t actually promote diamond anymore. Meaning a number of those who I labored with and the songs that I wrote have been on albums that offered 10 million or extra copies. So that they have been iconic then, and now they’ve simply transitioned into greater and higher or totally different. I really feel like my life has transitioned into a much bigger, higher, totally different house. 

And now to have the ability to say I’m Tony-nominated and Emmy-nominated in the identical week, that’s extraordinarily big. I’ve had totally different moments in my life which might be in numerous areas the place I’m equally as pleased with what I’ve been in a position to accomplish. And once I have a look at them, it’s like whenever you have a look at individuals that you simply went to highschool with, a few of us from the category, we blew up from highschool — that’s how I form of have a look at it.

Are there another new tasks you’re engaged on?

Proper now we’re engaged on the revival of The Wiz again to Broadway. And my husband and I, we’re engaged on some extra film tasks. Proper now, we’re buying the one we’ve already completed. I’m engaged on some music issues as properly.

Did you at all times have this entrepreneurial spirit? 

Yeah. I’ve at all times been fairly good at sustaining cash. My mother at all times informed me, “Hey, you bought to have a number of sources of revenue.” After which I used to be shopping for a variety of monetary books once I was a young person. As a result of our group, we had bought our first document deal once I was 16, so my aim was to not be a kind of tales you hear about baby stars who find yourself being broke. That was at all times a worry for me. 

You’ve completed some a lot and also you’ve checked so many packing containers. What different objectives do you’ve gotten for your self?

I undoubtedly wish to do higher about discovering the steadiness of being residence extra for my household. And that’s such a subject, proper? I imply, I’ve mother guilt similar to all people else. So I undoubtedly wish to do higher at discovering steadiness. That’s a aim.