Destiny's Child was a Grammy-Award winning
American
R&B girl group comprising lead singer
Beyoncé Knowles alongside
Kelly Rowland and
Michelle Williams. Throughout
their career, the group released four major
studio albums and achieved four US number-one
singles. They had sold over 50 million records worldwide, becoming
one of the best-selling recording artists in the U.S. The
World Music Awards recognized them as the
best-selling female r&b group of all time.
Billboard magazine ranks the group
as one of the greatest musical trios of all time, and inducted the
group in 2008 into the All time Hot 100 Artist.
Formed in
1997 in Houston,
Texas
, Destiny's Child members began their musical
endeavors in their pre-teens under the name Girls' Tyme, comprising Knowles, Rowland,
LaTavia Roberson and LeToya Luckett. After years of
performing underground, they signed to
Columbia Records and changed their name.
Destiny's Child was launched into mainstream recognition following
the release of their best-selling second album,
The Writing's on the Wall,
which contained the number-one singles "
Bills, Bills, Bills" and "
Say My Name". Despite critical and commercial
success, the group was plagued by internal conflict and legal
turmoil, as Roberson and Luckett attempted to split off the group's
manager
Matthew Knowles. They were
soon replaced with Williams and
Farrah
Franklin; however, in 2000, Franklin also parted with the
group, leaving them as a
trio.
Their third album,
Survivor, which
contains themes the public interpreted as a channel to the group's
experience, contains the worldwide hits "
Independent Women", "
Survivor" and "
Bootylicious". In 2002, Destiny's Child
announced a hiatus, allowing its members to attain individual
success. They re-united with 2004's
Destiny Fulfilled, and a year later
during their world tour, announced that the group would disband and
its members would pursue solo careers.
Recording history
1990–1997: Early beginnings
In 1990,
Beyoncé Knowles met
LaTavia Roberson while in an
audition for a girl group.
Based in Houston
, Texas
, they were
joined to a group that performed rapping and dancing.
Kelly Rowland, who relocated to
Knowles' house because of family issues, joined them in 1992.
Originally named
Girl's Tyme, they were
eventually cut down to six. With Knowles and Rowland, Girl's Tyme
attracted nationwide attention: west-coast R&B producer Arne
Frager flew to Houston to see them. He brought them to his studio,
The Plant Recording Studios, in
Northern California, with focus on
Knowles' vocals because Frager thought she had personality and the
ability to sing. With efforts to sign Girl's Tyme to a major record
deal, Frager's strategy was to debut the group in
Star Search, the biggest talent show on
national TV at the time. However, they lost the competition
because, according to Knowles, their choice of song was wrong; they
were actually rapping instead of singing.
Because of the group's defeat, Knowles' father,
Mathew, voluntarily dedicated his time to
manage them. Mathew Knowles cut down
the original lineup to four, with the inclusion of
LeToya Luckett in 1993. Aside from spending
time at their church in Houston, Girl's Tyme practiced at their
backyards and Headliners Salon, owned by Knowles' mother, Tina. The
group would test routines in the salon, when it was on Montrose
Boulevard in Houston, and sometimes would collect tips from the
customers. Their try out would be critiqued by the people inside.
During their school days, Girl's Tyme performed at local gigs. When
summer came, Mathew Knowles established a "boot camp" to train them
in dance and vocal lessons. After rigorous trainings, they began
performing as openings for established
R&B groups of the time such as
SWV,
Dru Hill and
Immature. Tina Knowles designed the group's attires for
their performances. When she was on the road with Girl's Tyme most
of the time, she left her managerial function in the salon to her
best friend, Vernell Jackson.
Over the course of the early years in their career, Girl's Tyme
changed their name to Something Fresh, Cliché, the Dolls, and to
Destiny. The group signed with
Elektra
Records with the name Destiny, but it was dropped several
months later before it could release an album. The pursuit of a
record deal affected the Knowles family: in 1995, Mathew Knowles
resigned from his job as a medical-equipment salesman, a move that
reduced Knowles' family's income by half, and her parents briefly
separated due to the pressure. They finally changed their name to
Destiny's Child in 1996, which was taken from a passage in the
Book of Isaiah. Knowles' father
helped in negotiating a record deal with
Columbia Records which signed the group in
1997. The same year they were signed to Columbia, the group
recorded their first song, "Killing Time", which, upon the label's
recognition that the group had a "unique quality", was included in
the soundtrack to the 1997 film
Men in Black. The group released
its debut single, "
No,
No, No," on November 11, 1997, in the United States.
1998–2000: Career breakthrough and lineup changes
Destiny's Child released their
self-titled debut album in the
United States on February 17, 1998, featuring productions by
Rob Fusari,
Jermaine Dupri,
Wyclef
Jean and Corey Rooney.
Destiny's Child peaked at
number sixty-seven on the
Billboard 200 and number fourteen on
the
Billboard Top
R&B/Hip-Hop Albums. It managed to sell over 500,000 copies
in the United States, earning a gold certification by the
Recording Industry
Association of America (RIAA). The remix version to the album's
lead single, "
No, No,
No", reached number one on the
Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop
Singles & Tracks and number three on the
Billboard Hot 100. Domestically,
the single sold over one million copies and certified platinum by
the RIAA. Its follow-up singles, "
With Me Part
1" and "
Get on the Bus"
failed to reproduce the success of "No, No, No". In 1998, Destiny's
Child garnered three Soul Train Lady of Soul awards Best New Artist
for "No, No, No". Knowles considered their debut successful but not
as huge because she claimed it a
neo soul
record and was way too mature for them.
After the success of their debut album, Destiny's Child re-entered
the studio quickly, bringing in a new lineup of producers,
including
Kevin "She'kspere" Briggs and
Rodney Jerkins. Coming up with
The Writing's on the
Wall, they released it on July 27, 1999 and eventually
became their breakthrough album.
The Writing's on the Wall
peaked at number five on the
Billboard 200 and number
two on R&B chart in early 2000. "
Bills, Bills, Bills" was released in
1999 as the album's lead single and reached the top spot of the
Billboard Hot 100, becoming their first US number-one
single.
The Writings on the Wall has been credited to as
Destiny's Child's breakthrough album, spurring their career and
introducing them to wider audience. The said key to the
breakthrough is the album's third single, "
Say My Name", which topped the
Billboard Hot 100 for three consecutive weeks. The
successful release of the singles bolstered the album's sales,
eventually selling over eight million copies in the United States,
gaining eight-time platinum certification by the RIAA.
The
Writings on the Wall was one of the top selling albums of
2000.
In December 1999, Luckett and Roberson attempted to split with
their manager, claiming that he kept a disproportionate share of
the group's profits and unfairly favored Knowles and Rowland. While
they never intended to leave the group, when the video for
"
Say My Name" surfaced in February 2000,
Roberson and Luckett found out that two new members were joining
Knowles and Rowland. Prior to the video premiere, Knowles announced
on
TRL that original
members Luckett and Roberson had left the group. The group had
included
Michelle
Williams, a former backup singer to
Monica, and
Farrah Franklin, an aspiring singer-actress.
Shortly after her stint with Monica, Williams was introduced to
Destiny's Child by a choreographer friend, and was flown to Houston
where she stayed with the Knowles family. Roberson and Luckett took
legal action in March 2000, suing both Mathew Knowles and their
band mates for breach of partnership and fiduciary duties.
Following the suit, both sides were disparaging each other in the
media.
Five months performing with Destiny's Child, Franklin left the
group after, according to the group, being asked to leave due to
missed promotional appearances and concerts. According to Williams,
Franklin could not handle stress. Franklin, however, disclosed that
she left because of the negativity surrounding the strife and her
inability to assert any control in the decision making. Her
departure was seen as less controversial. Williams, on the other
hand, shared that her inclusion into the group resulted to
"battling insecurity": "I was comparing myself to the other
members, and the pressure was on me."
Towards the end of 2000, Roberson and Luckett dropped the portion
of their lawsuit aimed at Rowland and Knowles in exchange for a
settlement, though they retained one against their manager. As part
of the agreement, both sides were prohibited from attacking each
other publicly. Roberson and Luckett formed another girl group
Anjel but were unsuccessful in record sales and publicity. Although
affected by the turmoil, Destiny's Child's success continued. The
following years of their career were seen as the group's most
successful stretch, becoming a pop-cultural phenomenon. "Say My
Name" became their second number-one and biggest single to date.
The fourth single off
The Writing's on the Wall, "
Jumpin' Jumpin'", also became a top-ten hit.
During this time, Destiny's Child began performing as an opening
act at the concerts of pop singers
Britney Spears and
Christina Aguilera.
With Williams in the new lineup, Destiny's Child recorded a theme
song for the soundtrack to the
film version of Charlie's
Angels. Released as a single in October 2000, "
Independent Women Part 1" spent
eleven consecutive weeks atop the
Billboard Hot 100
from November 2000 to January 2001, the longest-running number-one
single of Destiny's Child's career and of that year in the United
States. The successful release of the single boosted the sales of
the soundtrack album to
Charlie's Angels to 1.5 million by
2001. In 2000, Destiny's Child won Soul Train's Sammy Davis Jr.
Entertainer of the Year award.
2001–2003: Subsequent releases and group hiatus
At the 2001
Billboard
Music Awards, Destiny's Child won several accolades, including
Artist of the Year and Duo/Group of the Year, and again won Artist
of the Year among five awards they snagged in 2001. In September
2000, the group took home two at the sixth annual Soul Train Lady
of Soul Awards, including R&B/Soul Album of the Year, Group for
The Writing's on the Wall. Destiny's Child recorded their
third album,
Survivor, in late 2000
until early 2001. In the production process, Knowles assumed more
control in co-producing and co-writing almost the entire album.
Survivor hit record stores in the spring of 2001 and
entered the
Billboard 200 at
number one, selling over 663,000 copies in its first week sales.
The first three singles, "
Independent Women Part I",
"
Survivor" and
"
Bootylicious" reached the top three in
the United States and were also successful in other countries; the
first two were consecutive number-one singles in the United
Kingdom. The album was certified four-time platinum in the United
States and double platinum in Australia.
In October 2001,
Destiny's Child released a
holiday album,
8 Days of Christmas, which
contained updated versions of several Christmas songs. The album
managed to reach number thirty-four on the
Billboard 200. In February 2001, Destiny's Child won
two
Grammy awards for "Say My Name":
Best R&B Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group and Best R&B
Song. They also earned an American Music Award for Favorite
Soul/R&B Band/Duo. In March 2002, a
remix
compilation titled
This Is the
Remix was released to win fans over before a new studio
album would be released. The remix album reached number 29 in the
United States. The lead single and Grammy-winning song "Survivor"
was by some interpreted as a response to the strife between the
band members, although Knowles claimed it was not directed at
anybody. Seeing it as a breach of the agreement that barred each
party from public disparagement, Roberson and Luckett once again
filed a lawsuit against Destiny's Child and
Sony Music, shortly following the release of
This Is the Remix. In June 2002, remaining cases were
settled in court.
In late 2000, Destiny's Child announced to embark on individual
side projects, including releases of solo albums, an idea by their
manager. In 2002, Williams released her solo album,
Heart to Yours, a contemporary
gospel collection. The album reached number one
on the
Billboard Top Gospel Albums chart. In the same date
Heart to Yours hit stores, Destiny's Child released their
official autobiography,
Soul Survivors. Rowland
collaborated with
hip hop artist
Nelly on "
Dilemma",
which became a worldwide hit and earned Rowland a
Grammy; she
became the first member of Destiny's Child to have achieved a US
number-one single. In the same year, Knowles co-starred with
Mike Myers in the box-office hit
Austin Powers in
Goldmember. She recorded her first solo single, "
Work It Out", for
the film's soundtrack.
To capitalize on the success of "Dilemma", Rowland's solo debut
album
Simply Deep was brought
forward from its early 2003 release to September 2002. Rowland's
career took off internationally when
Simply Deep hit number one on the
UK Albums Chart. In the same year, she made
her
feature film debut in the horror
film
Freddy vs. Jason.
Meanwhile Knowles made her second film, "
The Fighting Temptations", and
appeared as featured vocalist on her then-boyfriend
Jay-Z's single "
'03
Bonnie and Clyde", which paved the way for the release of her
debut solo album.
As an upshot from the success of "Dilemma", Knowles' debut album,
Dangerously in Love,
was postponed many times until June 2003. Knowles was considered
the most successful among the three solo releases.
Dangerously
in Love debuted at number one on the
Billboard 200, selling 317,000 copies. It yielded the
number-one hits "
Crazy in Love",
and "
Baby Boy"; and the top-five
singles "
Me, Myself and
I" and "
Naughty Girl".
Knowles solo debut was well-received by critics, earning five
Grammy awards in one night for
Dangerously in Love, tying the likes of
Norah Jones,
Lauryn
Hill, and
Alicia Keys for most
Grammys received in one night by a female artist.
In November 2003,
Williams appeared as Aida on
Broadway
. In
January 2004, she released her second gospel album,
Do You
Know.
In June 2003, Mathew Knowles announced that Destiny's Child would
expand back to a quartet, revealing Knowles' younger sister,
Solange, as the latest addition to
the group. Destiny's Child had previously recorded songs with
Solange and shared the stage when she temporarily replaced Rowland
after she broke her toes while performing. Their manager, however,
said the idea was used to test reactions from the public. In August
2003, Knowles herself confirmed that her sister would not be
joining in the group, and instead promoted Solange's debut album,
Solo Star, released in January
2003.
2004–2005: Destiny fulfilled and final releases
Three years after the hiatus, members of Destiny's Child reunited
to record their fourth and final studio album,
Destiny Fulfilled. The album
introduces the trio to a harder, "urban" sound, and songs featured
are conceptually interrelated.
Destiny Fulfilled saw
equality in the trio: each member contributed to writing on the
majority songs, as well as becoming executive producers aside from
their manager.
Released on November 15, 2004,
Destiny Fulfilled failed to
top
Survivor; the album reached number two the following
week, selling 497,000 copies in its first week, compared to 663,000
for the previous album. Certified three-time platinum in the United
States, it was still one of the best selling albums of 2005,
selling over nine million copies worldwide; it pushed the group
back into the position of the best-selling female group and
American group of the year. Four singles were released from the
album: the lead "
Lose My Breath",
"
Soldier", "
Cater 2 U" and "
Girl"; the first two reached
number three in the United States. "Soldier" "Cater 2 U" were
certified platinum by the RIAA in 2006.
To promote the album, Destiny's Child embarked on their worldwide
concert tour,
Destiny Fulfilled... and
Lovin' It Tour.
On June 11, 2005, while at the Palau Sant
Jordi in Barcelona
, Spain, the group announced before 16,000 people
their official breakup. Destiny's Child claimed, however,
that naming it
Destiny Fulfilled was not a coincidence of
sort. Right in the making of the album, they planned to part ways
after their fourteen-year career as a group to facilitate their
continued pursuit in individual aspirations. Knowles stated that
their destinies were already fulfilled. The group exclusively sent
a letter to
MTV about the decision:
We have been working together as Destiny's Child since
we were 9, and touring together since we were 14. After a lot of
discussion and some deep soul searching, we realized that our
current tour has given us the opportunity to leave Destiny's Child
on a high note, united in our friendship and filled with an
overwhelming gratitude for our music, our fans, and each other.
After all these wonderful years working together, we realized that
now is the time to pursue our personal goals and solo efforts in
earnest...No matter what happens, we will always love each other as
friends and sisters and will always support each other as artists.
We want to thank all of our fans for their incredible love and
support and hope to see you all again as we continue fulfilling our
destinies.
—Destiny's Child, MTV
Destiny's Child released their greatest hits album,
#1's, on October 25,
2005. The compilation includes their number-one hits including
"Independent Woman Part 1", "Say My Name" and "Bootylicious". Three
new tracks were recorded for the compilation including "
Stand Up For Love", which was recorded for
the theme song to the World Children's Day, and "
Check on It", a song Knowles recorded for
The Pink
Panther's soundtrack.
#1's was also released as a
DualDisc, featuring the same track listing,
seven videos of selected songs and a trailer of the concert DVD
Destiny's Child:
Live in Atlanta.
The DVD was filmed during the Atlanta
visit of the
Destiny Fulfilled
... And
Lovin' It tour, and was released on March 28, 2006. It has been
certified platinum by the RIAA, denoting shipments of over one
million units.
The title of the compilation fueled a ripple as it contained
number-one singles, although not exclusively. While the liner notes
of the compilation does not present any information regarding
commercial performances of the songs featured, writer Keith
Caulfield of
Billboard
magazine suggested that the name could only be "a marketing angle".
Despite this, journalist Chris Harris of
MTV
said that it "lives up to its name";
#1's debuted at
number one on the
Billboard
200 with sales of 113,000 in the first week. "Stand Up For
Love" was released as Destiny's Child's last single.
2006–2008: Disbandment and solo projects
Destiny's
Child reunited for a farewell performance at the 2006 NBA All-Star Game on February 19
in Houston,
Texas; however, Knowles commented, "It's the last album,
but it's not the last show." Their final televised
performance was at the Fashion Rocks benefit concert in New York at
the same month.
On March 28, 2006, Destiny's Child was
inducted into the Hollywood Walk of Fame
, the 2,035th recipient of the coveted
recognition. At the 2006
BET
Awards, Destiny's Child won Best Group, a category they also
earned in 2005 and 2001.
After their formal disbandment, all members continued their solo
projects including
LeToya Luckett.
She released her debut solo album,
LeToya, in July 2006 which peaked at
number one in the United States. Knowles co-starred in the 2006
comedy film The Pink Panther, for
which she recorded the number-one single "
Check on It".
She landed a role in Dreamgirls, the film adaptation of
the 1981 hit Broadway musical
about a 1960s singing group loosely based on Motown all-female group The Supremes. In the film, she portrays
the
Diana Ross-based character Deena
Jones. Inspired by her role in the film, she went to crafting her
second solo album, aptly titled
B'Day, released on September 4, 2006 in the
United States to coincide her birthday. Knowles' music video to her
single "
Get Me Bodied" features
Rowland, Williams, and Knowles' sister
Solange. The video was released on the
B'Day Anthology video album
in April 2007. Knowles said: "It really sets the tone of the video,
because you feel like you're there for part of the
experience."
In 2007, Rowland released her second solo album,
Ms. Kelly. On June 26, 2007, the group made a
mini-reunion at the 2007
BET Awards.
Knowles performed "Get Me Bodied" with special guests Williams,
Solange Knowles, and
Mo'Nique. After her
performance, Knowles introduced Rowland who performed her single
"
Like This" with
Eve.
On the September 2, 2007 Los Angeles
stop of The
Beyoncé Experience tour, Knowles sang a snippet of "Survivor"
with Rowland and Williams. The latter two rendered a "Happy
Birthday" song to Knowles. The performance was featured in Knowles'
tour DVD,
The
Beyoncé Experience Live!, released on November 20, 2007.
Knowles recorded a cover of Billy Joel's "
Honesty" which was included on a
Matthew Knowles/
Music
World CD released only in Japan towards the end of June 2008 to
celebrate the tenth-year anniversary of Destiny's Child. Williams
released her first non-Gospel third solo album,
Unexpected, in
October 2008. The following month, Knowles released her third
studio solo album,
I Am…
Sasha Fierce.
Philanthropy
In 2005, record producer
David Foster,
his daughter Amy Foster-Gillies and Knowles wrote "
Stand Up For Love" as the anthem to the
World
Children's Day, an annual
worldwide event to raise awareness and funds for children causes.
Over the past three years, more than $50 million have been raised
to benefit Ronald McDonald House Charities and other children's
organizations. Destiny's Child lent their voices and support as
global ambassadors for the 2005 program.
Rowland and Knowles, along with the latter's family, founded the
Survivor Foundation, a charitable entity set up for the purpose of
providing transitional housing for the
Hurricane Katrina victims and storm
evacuees in the Houston, Texas area. The Survivor Foundation
extended the mission of the Knowles-Rowland Center For Youth, a
multi-purpose community outreach facility in downtown
Houston.
In the wake of the
September 11
attacks, Destiny's Child canceled a European tour and performed
in a concert benefit for the survivors.
Style and themes
Destiny's Child recorded
R&B
songs with styles that encompasses
urban,
contemporary, and
dance-pop. Destiny's Child revealed that R&B
singer
Janet Jackson is one of their
influences. Ann Powers of
The New
York Times described Destiny's Child music as "fresh and
emotional ... these ladies have the best mixes, the savviest
samples and especially the most happening beats." In the same
publication, Jon Pareles noted that the sound that defines
Destiny's Child, aside from Knowles' voice, "is the way its
melodies jump in and out of double-time. Above brittle,
syncopated rhythm tracks, quickly articulated
verses alternate with smoother choruses."
The group usually harmonize their vocals in their songs, especially
on the ballads. In most instances of their songs, each member sings
one verse and chimes in at the chorus. In
Survivor, each
members sings lead in the majority of the album:
"... everybody is a part of the music ... Everybody is
singing lead on every song, and it's so great — because now
Destiny's Child is at the point vocally and mentally that it should
be at." Knowles, however, completely lead songs like "Brown Eyes"
and "
Dangerously in
Love". The group explored their lyrics to man-to-woman
relationship, and sisterhood and female empowerment anthems.
Survivor contains themes interpreted by the public as a
reference to the group's internal conflict. The title track,
"
Survivor", which
set the theme used throughout the album, features the lyrics "I'm
not gonna blast you on the radio ... I'm not gonna lie on you
or your family ... I'm not gonna hate you in the magazine"
caused Latavia and
LeToya Luckett to
file a lawsuit against the group; the lyrics were perceived to be a
violation over their agreement following a settlement in court. In
an interview, Knowles commented: "The lyrics to the single
'Survivor' are Destiny's Child's story, because we've been through
a lot, ... We went through our drama with the members ...
Any complications we've had in our 10-year period of time have made
us closer and tighter and better." In another song called "Fancy",
which contains the lyrics "You always tried to compete with me,
girl ... find your own identity", was interpreted by critic
David Browne, in his review of the album for
Entertainment Weekly magazine, as
a response to the lawsuit. Stephen Thomas Erlewine of
Allmusic summarized
Survivor as "a
determined, bullheaded record, intent on proving Destiny's Child
has artistic merit largely because the group survived internal
strife. ... It's a record that tries to be a bold statement of
purpose, but winds up feeling forced and artificial."
Albeit critical praise to Destiny's Child's records, Knowles' close
involvement in their projects have generated criticisms. Knowles
wrote and co-produced the bulk of
Survivor. Browne
suggested that her help made
Survivor a "premature, but
inevitable, growing pains album".
Public image
Destiny's Child was compared to
The
Supremes, a 1960s American
female singing
group, with which Knowles had been equated to as the
Diana Ross, the frontwoman of The Supremes;
Knowles, however, dismissed the notion.
Ironically, she
starred in the film adaptation of the 1981 Broadway
musical
Dreamgirls as Deena Jones, the front
woman of the Dreams, a female singing group based on the
Supremes.
With Knowles' wide role assumed in the production of
Survivor, Gil Kaufman of
MTV noted that
"it became clear that Beyoncé was emerging as DC's unequivocal
musical leader and public face". Her dominance to the creative
input in the album made the album "very much her work". For Lola
Ogunnaike of
The New York
Times, "It's been a long-held belief in the music industry
that Destiny's Child was little more than a launching pad for
Beyoncé Knowles's inevitable solo career."
In the wake of Knowles'
Dangerously in Love, rumors spread
about possible split of Destiny's Child after each member had
experienced success and had ongoing projects. Comparisons were
drawn to
Justin Timberlake, who
did not return to band
'N Sync after his
breakthrough debut solo album,
Justified. Rowland responded to such rumors,
announcing they were back in the studio together. The group claimed
that the reunion was destined to happen and that their affinity to
each other kept them cohesive. Margeaux Watson, arts editor at
Suede magazine, suggests that "the star does not want to
appear disloyal to her former partners," and called Beyoncé's
decision to return to the group "a charitable one".
Knowles' mother, Tina, wrote a 2002-published book, titled
Destiny's Style: Bootylicious Fashion, Beauty and Lifestyle
Secrets From Destiny's Child, an account of how fashion had an
impact on Destiny's Child's success.
Discography
- Studio albums
- Other albums
- Video releases
See also
References
External links
Exclusive) (2004)
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