Destiny's Child
The group Destiny's Child has changed immensely over the years, beginning as a duo, eventualy becoming a quartet and later shrinking back down to a trio. The group formed in 1990 in Houston, Texas. It initially was comprised of Beyonce Knowles and LaTavia Roberson, who were just nine years old at the time.
Knowles father, Mathew, began developing the group under the name of Girls Tyme. After landing an appearance on Star Search where they performed a rap song, Kelly Rowland joined the group when she met LaTavia Roberson in elementary school. The group became a quartet when LeToya Luckett joined the group in 1993. The group got the name Destiny's Child from a passage in the Book of Isaiah and they slowly established a name for themselves touring clubs and opening for popular acts. They were signed with Elektra Record in 1995 but were dropped and then signed by Columbia records in 1997.
Destiny's Child had their first recording debut in 1997, with the song 'Killing Time' from the Men In Black Soundtrack. The group's self-titled album was released in 1998 to lukewarm reviews. The first single for the album 'No, No, No' was released in two different forms. The second form, 'No, No, No Part 2' featured Wyclef Jean and was a #1 hit on the R&B charts and reached #3 on the Hot 100. The single went platinum, helping the album do the same. The other singles failed and the girls were believed to be a one-hit wonder group.
Not to be discouraged, the girls went back to work on a second album with an all-star line up of producers. Their work came out in 1999 and was The Writing's on the Wall. Critics were positive about the album and its first single 'Bills, Bills, Bills' was their first #1 hit on the Hot 100. The second single, 'Bug-a-Boo' hit the Top 40 pop charts and had a popular music video.
Yet as Destiny's Child began to succeed, LeToya and LaTavia grew angered by manager Matthew Knowles who they felt was keeping an unfair share of the group's profits and was unfairly favoring his daughter. They hadn't planned on leaving the group however, until in early 2000, the video for 'Say My Name' premiered and the girls found that they'd been replaced by two new members, Michelle Williams and Farrah Franklin. The girls brought law suits against their fellow members and Mathew Knowles for breach of partnership and fiduciary duties. Despite the controversy, the single is the group's biggest to date.
With Destiny's Child's fourth single 'Jumpin' Jumpin,' another Top 5 hit for the girls, another change occured in the group. Franklin, who'd only been in the group for five months, left for personal reasons. Nevertheless, the album went on to sell 13 million copies worldwide and went 8 times platinum in the U.S. Roberson and Luckett dropped their charges against their bandmates after a settlement but continued their charge against Beyonce's father.
2000 was a big year for Destiny's Child as they won two Grammy Awards, and worked heavily on their third album. In addition, the single 'Independent Women, Pt. 1' from the Charlie's Angels Soundtrack dominated the charts, spending 11 weeks at No. 1.
Destiny's Child's third album Survivor, found Beyonce taking a much larger role in the group's work. She co-produced and co-wrote every track on the album and sang solo in several of the tracks. The album was a big success with the big hits 'Independent Women Part I,' 'Surivor,' and 'Bootylicious,' and 'Emotion.' 'Survivor' made it to #2 on the Hot 100 while Bootylicious spent two weeks at #1. The single 'Emotion' made it to #10. The album was a strong success, going 4X platinum in the U.S. and selling 11 million copies worldwide.
Following their third album, the girls announced they would be taking time off to work on solo albums. Michelle Williams released hers first and it was a gospel album called Heart To Yours. It reached #1 on the gospel charts, selling 300,000 copies in the U.S. Her second album Do You Know managed to sell over 100,000 copies. Kelly Rowland released her debut in late 2002, called Simply Deep. It had the smash hit 'Dilemma' which won her a grammy and spent ten weeks at #1. The album went gold in the U.S. and sold 1.5 million copies worldwide.
Beyonce's solo album started with a single called 'Work It Out' from the Austin Powers in Goldmember soundtrack. The single was a flop in the US and much of what Beyonce had recorded up to that point was scrapped. When she released her new album in 2003, Dangerously In Love, it debuted at #1 and sold over four million copies in the United States, eleven million worldwide. The album had the #1 hits 'Crazy In Love' and 'Baby Boy' as well as top 5 singles 'Me, Myself and I' and 'Naughty Girl.' Her album won five Grammy awards, tying the record for most received in one night by a female artist.
After three years apart, Destiny's Child came together and in three weeks, wrote and recorded their fourth and final album together, Destiny Fulfilled. The album was released in late 2004 and allowed all of the group's member to write and produce on the tracks. The group's movement towards equality was seen throughout as Beyonce no longer stood front and center in photos or promotional posters. The album's singles 'Lose My Breath' and 'Soldier' both reached the Top 10 of the Hot 100, going double platinum and platinum respectively. The album went triple platinum in the U.S. and has sold 7 million copies worldwide.
The group announced in 2005 that they would disband and will no longer be putting out albums. Yet according to Beyonce, the group will continue to perform together. They have also formed a charity organization called the Survivor Foundation. The organization helped set up transitional housing in Houston, Texas for Hurricane Katrina victims.