Kelis 'Almost Quit Music to Become a Chef'

Kelis has revealed that she was on the brink of retiring from music for a career in food after training in the culinary arts.

The star said she became disillusioned with her musical career following the laboured recording of her last release, the 2006 album 'Kelis Was Here.'

The 'Milkshake' singer told Scottish newspaper the Daily Record that she questioned her future so much, she went back to school and retrained as a Le Cordon Bleu cook -- and wasn't sure she'd ever make another album. She said, "I took four years off to have a little life between this album and my last album. I studied to be a chef as a side thing, a little hobby that I enjoyed doing. But I ended up falling madly in love with the food and the lifestyle."

Kelis explained, "The business of making the last album, 'Kelis Was Here,' sucked the life out of me. It was such a hard process and wasn't an enjoyable experience. I needed a break and going to culinary school turned a lightbulb on that I didn't have to make music and I could do something else I really enjoyed." Kelis graduated and said that sauce-making is now her speciality.

She added, "The people in the music business forget that not only is there an entire world of people out there who do not care what we do; we are not creating the wheel. If you are not enjoying making a record, you shouldn't do it."

But, luckily for us, she did eventually leave the kitchen to return to the studio.

She mused, "I honestly went to school with the intention of not making another record for very a long time. But it was so incredibly rejuvenating that there was no pressure to make a record -- so I made a record."

The resulting new album, 'Flesh Tone,' is released on May 17 in the UK and July 6 in the US. First single from it, 'Acapella,' has already been a worldwide hit on downloads alone, reaching No. 5 in the UK charts and No. 1 in the US Hot Dance Club Songs chart. The actual CD was released on May 10.