“Calm, Cool & Collected!”
R&B Divas: Atlanta Season 3
Episode 1: “Engagement to Enragement”
Celebrity Blogger: Diva Meelah
Newbie Diva Meelah blogs about the PREMIERE episode of season three and shares her thoughts on the real deal with reality TV, the drama at the engagement party and her thoughts on Diva Angie’s big idea!
DIVA MEELAH DISHES ON HER FIRST SCENE
When you see LaTavia and I walking in with Diva Angie to the gratitude tea that was REAL- not staged!!! It was at the moment that the other ladies (KeKe, Syleena and Monifah) were finding out that we were going to be a part of the show. Prior to that Angie knew but no one else.
I didn’t know what to expect FOR REAL! Frustration? Irritation?? Shade????? But thankfully, it was NONE of that!!! The ladies were definitely surprised but it was a pleasant surprise– it wasn’t a clutching your pearls surprise! LOL!!!
I just remember saying to myself right before walking in with Angie to remain CALM. COOL & COLLECTED.
It’s funny because that face you see KeKe giving when we walk in is a HAPPY funny face not an annoyed, up-side-down frown! LOL!!! Just days before she posted a video of her on Instagram singing at the top of her lungs (in her car) 702’s song “You Don’t Know.” Later she told me that smile was like ….. WOW… I was just singing her song and I had no idea you were joining the cast! That’s crazy and really just a sign that it was meant to be!!!!!
For the most part, I had met most of the divas before. Monifah and I go way back because we were both on the 90s’ performance circuit. I also met Angie some years ago. Syleena had just completed an album with Musiq called 9nine and although I hadn’t actually met her, she was already like family and KeKe had just posted that video on Instagram of her & her crew singing 702 so she WON my heart!!! Ms. KeKe and THAT voice- OK!!!! Enough said!!! It definitely made me feel special and LaTavia and I have been friends FOREVER!
MY FRIENDSHIP WITH DIVA LATAVIA
LaTavia is more like a sister because we’re so tight and we have been friends for years! Our paths first crossed during our 702, Destiny Child group touring years because we had shows together. I remember once we were all backstage at the Soul Train Awards in the make-up room and I just remember her sweet southern drawl . LOL!!! She said that we were “good competition” (702 and Destiny’s Child) and I just remember her being warm and sweet and liking her from the jump. We would run into each other again and again but the one time that officially sealed our friendship was when I was visiting ATL before moving there and I went to church and I was crying while worshipping. 702 was going thru something’s and I was in a space of uncertainty and just not happy. At that moment I felt a hand on my back comforting me and I turned around and it was LaTavia. She gave me this look like I KNOW WHAT YOU’RE GOING THRU. I GET YOU – and that was it. She has been my home-girl ever since!!!!
SHARING MY GRATITUDE
When I share what I am grateful for at the gratitude tea that was NO act!!! That was pure raw emotion and NOT for the camera. My son Zac is what I will always be eternally grateful for. I was ten months pregnant (Zac was 2 weeks late) and he was in distress. He came out barely breathing (he inhaled bowel while in the womb which is considered toxic) and I knew something was up because I hadn’t seen him after the birth. They rushed him off in an ambulance to another hospital while I was recovering from an emergency C-section. Meanwhile, Musiq went to the other hospital to be with our son and I prayed, our whole family prayed. Zac was placed on a lung machine (ECMO machine) and his chances at surviving were not good. But a month and a half later he finally got to come home on Mother’s Day (2009) so that day has a super special meaning for me. Fast forward to now and Zac just turned five and is thriving!!!! Yes! I am GRATEFUL!
What you don’t know is that I did NOT know that song that Angie started singing at the gratitude tea!!! And wait… why was I first because I was sitting beside her. LOL! Just my luck!!!! I tried to play it off but I really did not know that song hence my reserved vocal delivery LOL!!!!
DIVA MEELAH on ANGIE’S BIG IDEA
Saying that this is the “dumbest idea I ever heard in my damn life,” was a little harsh, OK… a lot harsh LOL!!!! I was NOT disrespecting the legendary Ms. Angie Stone when I said “dumb” in reference to her idea. I would NEVER disrespect her like that. My feelings at that time were that the word “SHOWCASE” is a bit amateur and inappropriate for ALL the divas who are established and successful in their own right. We have all experienced pivotal moments in our careers like winning awards, achieving multi-platinum sales and even working/collaborating with certain artists that take us out of the “SHOWCASE” realm.
I think doing something together and the idea of a collective DIVA project is AMAZING…let’s do it!!!! But please, just don’t call it a “SHOWCASE.” LOL!!
ENGAGEMENT to ENRAGEMENT!!!!
I was really CONFUSED as to what was going on! I mean in like .5 seconds things blew UP out of NO WHERE!!!! I had only been filming for like 2-3 days when it all went down and at first I thought it was staged… I was like… oh… this must be how reality TV works. WRONG!!!!! That really went down and QUICK.
I didn’t want NO VIOLENCE or to get caught in the crossfire that early in the game and plus, let’s not talk about all the time I spent curling my hair OK!!!!! I was like what happened between this season and last season for this to GO DOWN- what did I miss????
KeKe said she was joking and I felt bad for her because she said she’s often misunderstood. I don’t know what to think!!!!?!!!! I was just plain SPEECHLESS!?!!!
“THE B*TCH LIVES WITHIN”
Ha! I did say that but let me EXPLAIN!!!! I think a lot of times there is a misconception of a person due to their outward appearance. I’ve never been a confrontational, combative, big bad wolf that’s NOT my personality – I’m quite the opposite actually BUT DON’T COME FOR ME, ‘cus I’m coming right back!!!
I learned the hard way! Back in my 702 days, I was a little passive and I let A LOT slide plus I raised in the church so I would always take the “turn the other cheek” route. But I got tired of my kindness being taken as a weakness and being taken advantage of. So, I have learned to speak my mind!!! It’s OK to have an opinion or speak and stand up for yourself if a situation calls for that. If this makes you a b*tch then so be it!!!
– MEELAH –
TELL US: SHARE YOUR FAVORITE MOMENTS OF THE SEASON 3 PREMIERE EPISODE!
