LeToya Ready to Face the World Solo

TORONTO, Ont. (andPOP) - After group efforts in Destiny's Child and the short-lived Anjel, LeToya Luckett is ready to release a solo album.

"I never thought I would be a solo artist, I'll tell you that right now," says LeToya, in Toronto promoting the album, "LeToya," scheduled for release July 18.

Luckett, 25, was an original member of Destiny's Child, forming the group with Kelly Rowland, Beyonce Knowles and Latavia Roberson in 1993. Luckett and Roberson were then replaced with Michelle Williams and Farrah Franklin in 2000, after the two women tried to break their management contract with Matthew Knowles.

Luckett and Roberson then formed the group Anjel, but the production company who handled the group fell through and the group's demo was never released. After all that, Luckett finds herself on the cusp of the release of her first solo album. But it wasn't an easy transition for her.

"I was so spoiled by the group atmosphere, you know, the having your sisters around at all times. And I knew my role in Destiny's Child, which was soprano," she says, adding she loved being a member of Destiny's Child.

Luckett says she knew she had the ability to be a solo artist, but that she enjoyed being in a group for the atmosphere. Even now she finds it hard to perform solo instead of in a group.

"I love performing in a group because you can look to your left and to your right and have your girl there. You can definitely get the crowd involved from all ends of the stage. You know a girl will have the left side, you'll have the right side and someone else will have the middle and there's always somebody to look at. With being a solo artist, you're just all by yourself. All the focus is on you, and you're like 'oh my god, turn the spotlight off,'" she laughs.

Luckett says the album took awhile to come together because she wanted to make sure everything on it was, by her standards, perfect.

"I knew it was something I was going to have to put everything into ? totally focus on ? because I didn't just want to throw any kind of album out there. I wanted to have the right songs, I wanted them to have some substance, I wanted them to really be talking about something and have topics that people can relate to. I just wanted everything to be right," she says.

While in Destiny's Child, Luckett co-wrote some of the group's hits including "Bills Bills Bills" and "Say My Name." She has continued her songwriting, by co-writing nine of the 16 tracks on "LeToya."

"It's a way to express myself and just pour my heart out on paper, shall I say," she says, adding one of her favourite songs on the album is the hit "Torn."

"Torn" is currently number 11 on the Billboard R&B/Hip Hop chart. Luckett says she is humbled to see a song that is just hers climb the charts.

"It's crazy. It's exciting but it's unreal. I never knew that this was what God had planned for me. Every time I see progression of the song climbing or the video climbing or people hitting me on the MySpace page (saying) 'I love that song,' it's crazy to me, because I never saw this coming. It's wonderful," she says.

Another dream of Luckett's is coming true.

She'll be opening for Mary J. Blige on tour this summer. Even now, Luckett says she can't believe that it is really happening.

"I am such a big fan of hers. I've been listening to her since 'Real Love.' I used to bang on my school desk trying to do what she did in the video and dance like her and stuff like that. I've been listening to her ever since and been a huge fan of hers. To be able to be on tour with someone that I have looked up to for so long, that's just crazy," she says.

Besides her solo project, Luckett's other big project is her clothing store, Lady Elle, which is located in Houston, Texas. She says she is not sure if she would like to expand to other cities because of the heavy involvement she and her mother have in the store.

"We handwrite the tags for God's sake. My mom runs the store. When I'm there, I work in the store. Our customers come in and we build a relationship with them so it would be different to expand because it wouldn't be mom and pop anymore," she says.

Luckett also says she is unsure whether or not she would want to create her own clothing line. She says right now she is busy concentrating on her solo work and she knows a clothing line would be a lot of work.

And she has complimentary words towards "American Idol." Although she couldn't ring in on the controversy of Chris Daughtry being voted off last week's show because she doesn't have time to sit down and watch each episode, she says she is glad it got made.

"I admire them for making that show (and) going around to these different cities and finding talent," she says. "For people who never thought they would be able to have a chance, (they get to) line up and get a chance to audition and showcase their talent."