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- [00:00]
Michelle Williams
This is an iHeart podcast.
- [00:05]
Carlos Miller
Taking control of your career is empowering. Just don't tell my boss I said that. Building a career isn't just about a job. It's about creating a path that impacts our community and future generations. Whether you're starting out or making big moves, State Farm is here to support you with resources to help protect what you're working hard to achieve. They've got your back every step of the way. Because, like, a good neighbor, state forum is there. Find out more@stateforum.com welcome to checking In With Michelle Williams.
- [00:35]
Michelle Williams
A production of iHeartRadio and the Black Effect. Coming up on Checking in with Michelle Williams. Listen, I tell y' all all about delays and diversions. Whoever brings you the most peace gets the most time. And Cowboy Carter. Coming up next on an all new episode of Checking In. Hey there. Welcome to Checking in with Michelle Williams, y'. All. I sometimes dislike saying the title Checking in with Michelle Williams because, like, I'm Michelle. Why can't I just say checking In? So let me start that over, y'. All. Welcome to another amazing episode of Checking In. We are. Wow. Into the second month of Checking In. I was blessed to have some amazing guests starting off this season. Raquel, Hopkins, Deval, and Kadeem, like, who are just absolutely incredible. This week, it's just me again. I've got a few things to talk about, a few things to share, and discovering that throughout the years, you guys really enjoy my solo episodes. You also enjoy those that that I have with guests. But it was shocking that also the number of people who download the solo episodes. Like, I was thinking that people really want to sit for about 30 minutes and listen to what I have to say versus dialogue with other guests. I thought that that would be incredible to share my platform with guests who I admire. But according to the Black Effect, y' all like my solo episodes as well. So we're gonna get right to it. I hope y' all have had an an amazing week. We have had. We're coming off of the fourth of July. I don't know if it was a fourth of July for folks. I literally have to read this text from my aunt. She is probably in her 80s. Matter of fact, she is 80. And my aunt says, she said, okay, I'm getting in real time. My aunt texted and said, good afternoon. Happy Independence Day, even though your president is keeping it from being happy. Have a blessed day. I was absolutely losing it because I'll never forget, there was a time where we were just excited about the 4th of July, we were getting our, our menu ready. Whose house we going over, what time is it gonna start, and all that good stuff. But I'm excited because of Juneteenth and what Juneteenth has been for us. And I'll never forget Juneteenth. My grandmother, years before. Juneteenth is what it is today. My grandmother taking us to Juneteenth activities and picnics festivals year after year in my hometown of Rockford, Illinois. So shout out to Juneteenth and God bless the fourth of July. All right, all right. So the week of 4th of July was absolutely bonkers. Days of traveling. Okay? So let me tell y', all, I've been in New York since about end of August of 2024. And you know, I knew that I was going to be leaving my comfort zone. Okay, what is my comfort zone? My house, my plants, my own bed. Just my little nook that I absolutely enjoy. So I was like, well, New York to Atlanta ain't that far. You know, I'll just go home like once a month to check on everything to make sure everything's okay. And the busyness of my schedule has, is a blessing. But I hadn't been able to get home because back to Atlanta, as much as I would like to. And then there are times where I could have got on a plane to fly home, but I was so tired from doing eight shows a week that it was just best for me to get my weekly massage and go to bed. You know what I mean? So this week I said, you know what, let me go on home. I want to see what's up at my house. I get home, check my plants. One of my beautiful plants gone dead. Okay. And they are on this cool watering system. But when I opened up the water reservoir, it was totally empty. And I was like, well, you haven't been home in a while to really check on it. And how long did you think this water was going to be in this reservoir? It's a self watering system. Great, great for folks who are. I love the self watering system because I have over watered plants, you know, but this particular system, it does the perfect amount of watering for plants. Now I could be going somewhere here you can underwater or over water. And so I just, I hadn't been home and so one of my favorite plants. Oh, it was gorgeous. It was absolutely gorgeous. It's one of the plants where it just continues to grow and just kind of like it grows over the table. It's like a waterfall. It's beautiful. So I was able to put water back in the reservoir, take the dead leaves off, and hopefully when I get back, I'll see some buds, some more budding. Cool. Get home and I spend my amazing time at home. I'm feeling refreshed, I am feeling rejuvenated, I am feeling restored because I was able to sleep on my own mattress that I absolutely adore. Ms. Tina Knowles has always said, probably have said this on this podcast at least once. She told us, invest in your mattress. Especially that's where you're going to be spending a lot of hours in the day. So invest in your mattress. I'm proud of my mattress. I feel like it's amazing. I love my bed. Okay, cool. Anyway, I'm refreshed. I'm rejuvenated. I'm able to walk around my own neighborhood, get some sun and just, ooh, drive my own vehicle. It's the little things that I have been missing. Great. I get on a plane to come back here to New York, and I flew into Newark. And yes, I know about the news of air traffic control and outages, but I fly into Newark all the time when I travel, and it's been great. Let me tell you why I like Newark. It's quiet. The drive from Manhattan into Newark, I don't know why I love it better than the drive from, like, where I live here in New York to LaGuardia or JFK. I think the drive to LaGuardia, JFK, it just makes me too anxious. The drive to Newark is just peaceful. The experience to me has been peaceful. We're in the air, about to land at Newark, and the pilot comes on and says, hey, we've got a circle a little bit. Those of y' all that fly, if you fly frequently, sometimes that happens. Okay? You know that when the pilot says, we got a circle, it ain't 10 minutes, sometimes 30 minutes, I don't know. So I'm like, okay, cool. We're going to be fine, y'. All. He then comes back on the intercom and says, we actually have to get some gas, so we're going to land in Norfolk, Virginia. He's like, we gonna gas up. I'm gonna have you back in the air. I'm like, okay, cool. Show starts at death, becomes her. Show starts at 7. Gonna be great. I can get to the theater at 6:30 for a 7 o' clock show. I don't like to do that. I've never done that because I need at least an hour for makeup and prep my breathing and my stretching. Some people literally walk in the door at 6:30 for a seven o' clock show. My hand claps to y' all for that. I can't do that. I can, but that's not my desire. Okay, I just mentioned, I just told you guys my routine. Oh my gosh. We land in Norfolk and it goes from 30 minutes to an hour. Now mind you, they have gassed up the plane. It's gone from like one hour to an hour and a half. Two hours, three hours, four hours, five hours, six hours. By the time about four o' clock rolls around, I'm like, I'm not gonna make it to the Luntfontanne theater.
- [11:34]
Carlos Miller
Hey, fam, if you like me, you're thinking about how to level up in your career. Maybe you're fresh out of college, just started in your field, or even looking to switch things up and find your true calling. Whatever stage you're in, remember that this is your time to grow, to learn, and to build something that lasts. State Farm understands that early career development is key to long term success. They've been a steady presence in our communities and they know that having the right support early on can make all the difference. State Farm is there to help you make smart moves and to help you get the coverage you need. We all know the journey to success is a marathon, not a sprint. It's about staying focused, staying grounded, and making sure you're protected every step of the way. Let's build our careers with confidence knowing that State Farm is there to support us, just like they've always been. Because like a good neighbor, State Farm is there. Find out more@stateforum.com.
- [12:30]
Michelle Williams
Y'. All. I do this routine. I have done this routine quite often and I've never missed a show because of a flight to diversion. I have never really missed a work event period because of. I've never missed a flight for work. Anybody that books me for the past 25 years knows that you book me, I'm going to show up. If I don't show up, it's because I think one time I was literally in, in the hospital, like sick with something, right? Or I'm just sick. And if I say I'm sick, I'm really, really sick. So I've never missed work. I've never, you know, I just, I don't play that. That's just this. Guess it's still the school of Matthew Knowles. I don't know. But that's just. I try not to. I try not to do that. So y', all, we missed the show. I missed the show. I'm gutted. I am disappointed. I'm like, oh, my God. But I'm so thankful for an understanding management team of death becomes her totally understood. So it's that. That was. That was a lesson learned, you know? So I don't know if I'll be home anytime soon because I don't want that to happen. Or maybe try flying into LaGuardia or JFK, I don't know. But Newark has never been an issue for me again. I have seen the news where it's been about outages and air traffic control issues, but. All right, so I finally experienced it that same week. I was also needing to attend a close friend of mine. Her mother passed, and I wanted to be at the funeral. I was torn because, you know, I'm under contract in this show many times. I've been under contract for the past, again, 25 years of my life. And I was torn between how many moments am I going to miss by being able to be present for someone in my life. I've missed enough birthdays, I've missed enough funerals. I've missed enough graduations, y'. All. I even miss my brother's first sermon. He preached. Now, he understood because that year we filmed the Bootylicious video. He was totally understandable. But me as his sister, as his baby sister, whom I adore. My brother, I was like, I cannot believe I'm missing my brother preach his first sermon while I'm on set shaking my thighs. It's a great video. I love those Christian Dior shades. Those are. I wish I could find those. Those are vintage. So, yeah, that's what was going on while filming Bootylicious. My brother preached his first sermon. But, you guys, everything worked out. Everything worked out, as you can see, all as well. But at this point in my career and in my life, I'm like, man, how many more moments of being present will I miss? And that's the sacrifice of the business of show. That's a sacrifice of I chose this life. So I'm not asking for pity, sympathy, anything, but just, I guess, some understanding of, I guess, where my mindset was. And I did get permission, of course, again, from management of death becomes her to attend this funeral. I adore what I do. I adore the show. And I'm so glad that I was allowed to go to my friend's mother's funeral and it meant the world to her. And the person that did the eulogy looked over at the row that I was sitting on and there were some other Friends and stuff of the family sitting on that row. And he said these words. He mentioned the words, ministry of presence. Sometimes your presence is comforting to someone. You might not even have the right words. You probably can't even get to them in that moment at the funeral or even a party or their first sermon or a graduation. But as long as they can look over and see you, you never know what that does for a person. When Beyonce and Kelly came to my opening night, Dr. Amira and Brittany, Tim, Ms. Tina, I felt so anchored by their presence. I was like, I don't care what happens tonight. I am going to be okay. The ministry of Presence. And there are times where people have even looked at me like, you're Michelle Williams. Why are you here? What are you doing here? And I'm not saying anyone said that last week, but there are times I have shown up to different things for people in my life, and I don't let what I do or who I am in quotes. I don't want that to ever get in the way of showing up and being there for people that I love, at least not at this time in my career. Now, sometimes it's just not possible. It's just not possible. But I'm thankful that this time it was possible for me to show up and be present. So prayerfully, you can take inventory of your life about maybe people you can show up for a little more or take inventory of people where you like. Man, they can show up for me more. Or if they don't, you probably might even have to assess how much you show up for them. So this older woman, one day she told me that I was ministry in motion. And literally, just me being able to show up and be present is just something that I treasure. Something that if I can show up, I'm going to show up. All right, so that was Thursday of last week. Friday we are off because it's Fourth of July. Death becomes her. Did not have a show, so where did I go? So I went from the city where I was in for this funeral, flew to Washington, D.C. to see Cowboy Carter. The tour. Insane. Absolutely. I just have no. I do have words. Beautiful. The visuals, y'. All. She's. She gives vocals every tour she's done. But I feel like this tour, Beyonce. There are many times I had a Baptist fit, if you want to know what a Baptist fit is. It's where you just get to your arms, just get to flailing uncontrollably. You. You yell, you scream. You're just. Just in awe. Listen, y' All I love I. Because I feel like she's so gifted vocally. 2. That sometimes I personally, I just. Oh, I just want to hear what she's going to do. I just want to know what vocal choice she's going to use. Where is she going to place this run? What is she going to do with the texture of her voice? Here, baby. It gave me everything I needed. You hear me? It was a joy. It was a joy. It was a joy.
- [21:47]
Carlos Miller
Hey, fam. This is Carlos Miller from the 85 South Show. If you're like me, you're always thinking about how to level up your career. Maybe you're fresh out of college, just starting in your field or even looking to switch things up and find your true calling. Whatever stage you're in, remember that this is your time to grow, to learn, and to build something that lasts. State Farm understands that early career development is key to long term success. They've been a steady presence in our community and they know having the right support early can make all the difference. State Farm is there to help you make smart moves and to help you get the coverage you need. We all know that the journey to success is a marathon, not a sprint. It's all about staying focused, staying grounded, and making sure you're protected every step of the way. Let's build our careers with confidence, knowing that State Farm is there to support us, just like they've always been. Because, like a good neighborhood, State Farm is there. Find out more@state farm.com.
- [22:42]
Michelle Williams
She really, really, really, really, really, really. This, this. Did I say the sound? Like, who designed the sound for this tour? It was beautiful. The visuals, the wardrobe. Oh, my God. And then vibing to Miss Tina in the suite. Absolutely incredible. Oh, of course. Blue. Okay. You can't forget blue. Roomy, Absolutely adorable. Okay, everybody. Band, dancers. Honey. Balenciaga. Just. All right. So that was my week. All right. Then I came back to New York to do two shows Saturday and two show Sunday. A full productive, amazing week. Dallas on yesterday, which is supposed to be my day off, but Dallas and then today, sharing with y' all my journey this past week, the journey of showing up for the people you love. The Cowboy Carter tour. That was my first time being able to go to the tour because I'm in a Broadway musical and it's been difficult. But I'm. I'm glad that there was a show on the fourth of July. There was a show last night, actually. Like I said, that was on the day off, but I had to go to Dallas. I can't Wait for y' all to see what that was about. But, y', all, it was also amazing to be around people who bring me peace. And I saw a friend of mine post something the other day. I could be paraphrasing, but they said something. Whoever brings the most peace gets the most time. And that hit me so deep. There are people that I love. There are relationships that I don't talk about a lot publicly because I just hold those relationships near and dear to me. And there's. Sometimes I'll name some names, you know, because of an experience. I named some names just now. But sometimes I don't go into the totality of those relationships because I'm like, man, that's the only thing that I get to protect, kind of. But I've got some amazing, amazing folks. And I always. In some episodes, I've always said, what my prayer is for y', all is that you also have safe people, people that you can trust, people that you can confide in, people that you can laugh with, like, uncontrollably. I have also been seeing these amazing videos and reels about people who are darn near smacking each other upside the head because they're laughing so hard and their arms are just going everywhere, and they're just a kiki and just laughing uncontrollably. Those are the relationships that I want to keep. The relationships that fortify me. What do I mean by fortify? Relationships that strengthen me. Relationships that are challenging in a way. Relationships that are inspiring. You should never be jealous of anyone in your circle. They should always be inspiring you. You should never be competing or comparing yourself to anybody that's in your circle. Maybe there are some people in my life that make me tighten up. People that make me say, oh, oh, oh, I can do this a little better. I can tweak this here. And I have a confession to make. I think sometimes when I see Bea on tour, it does make me feel like, man, she kept going in music and didn't let any naysayer stop her. And I'm like, why did I let things stop me musically? And I'm like, I really gotta sit with that. I'm gonna go to therapy about it. So, yes, I have teased new music, and I know that I can do it. I do know that I can do it. So we'll see. That happened to me on the Renaissance Tour and Cowboy Carter. It's like she would not be doing what she's doing had she stopped and listened to what the critics had to say or the naysayers or the haters. She. There's no way she'd be in stadiums right now had she buckled and, you know, listened to what people had to say. All right, so that's my confession. We'll talk about that later. But, yeah, back to being around people who bring me peace. And those were the people that I was able to be around this past week. And guess what? I'll do it again. Also this week, I am taking some time away from the show. Not due to illness or a funeral, but I've got some personal days that I hadn't taken. And they're like, Michelle, you gotta take your personal days. And again, just. I'm thankful for a strong work ethic. Again, if I'm not sick or some type of emergency, I want to be there. But this week, I am excited to report that I get to take a few days away. It's my birthday month, and I'm excited about that. I get some more time later on in the summer, and we'll see what happens. I know a lot of y' all have been asking me how long my run in Death becomes her the musical is, and just know that I'll be there a while longer. I'll, I'll say that reason why I'm not saying anything is because producers haven't said anything and I'm not making no announcements that they haven't made. Okay? So when the, when the time comes, you all will know my departure date. Okay? But for those of y' all wondering, lurking and asking, just know you got time to come back and see your girl or you have time to come see me if you haven't been here. All right, you can go to Broadway direct dot com. They have amazing specials Sometimes if you Go to Death becomes her, our official Instagram page. You can find cool specials or discounts or what's going on for. For this time. It's been an amazing run. It's been an amazing, amazing time. I cannot wait to tell you the plans for later. We'll see. But it's been a joy. Being in Death becomes for the musical. It's like, I don't want to leave. I don't want to leave. So we'll see what happens. But thank y' all for allowing me to share my time of travel and what I've just been thinking. I'm 45 years old, and I am just. I just, I want to be there for people. I, I, I, I don't want to continue doing things that keep me from being present from my friends and family and the people that mean the most to me. All right? So I hope this makes you think and, you know, take inventory of the people in your life. And again, whoever brings the most peace gets the most time. Thank y' all so much for listening to my travel chronicles this week and just. Just kind of what I've been, I'm thinking about. We will see you again next week. All right, thank you again. I cannot. I. I can't continue to do this without Yalls love and support. Black Effect would not continue to bring me back. It's because y' all are just really, really supporting me. And I. I really, really, really appreciate it. All right, we'll talk again soon. Checking in with Michelle Williams is a production of iHeartRadio and the Black Effect. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.
- [33:27]
Carlos Miller
Taking control of your career is empowering. Just don't tell my boss I said that. Just kidding. I am the boss. This is Carlos Miller from the 85 South Show. And building a career isn't just about a job. It's about creating a path that impacts our community and future generations. Whether you're starting out or even making big moves, State Farm is here to support you with resources to help protect what you're working hard to achieve. They've got your back every step of the way. Because like a good neighbor, State Farm is there. Find out more@state farm.com this is an iHeart podcast.