Destiny's Child

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Hit singles and racy gyrating dance moves are one way to become a star, but add a word as ludicrous as "bootylicious" to the American lexicon, and you've pretty much cemented your status as an icon, which is exactly what Destiny's Child achieved before they disbanded in 2006. While its former members have since enjoyed their fair share of lukewarm success, its unofficial frontwoman Beyoncé Knowles continues to stand as an idol in the world of all things involving infectiously catchy booty-shaking music. But she owes her success in large part to the little Houston, Texas girl group that got her career rolling.
 
Destiny's Child got its start in 1990 as Girl Tyme, a disjointed sextet consisting of singers rappers and dancers. When an attempt on the hit show Star Search ended in failure, Beyoncé's father, Matthew Knowles, took the reins as their manager. His first order of business was cutting the original six members down to four, leaving Beyoncé, Kelly Rowland, LaTavia Roberson and LeToya Luckett.
 
After several ironic name changes including Cliché and Something Fresh, they finally settled on Destiny's Child, and the girls got a taste of success with their first single "No, No, No" and their 1998 self-titled debut album, which went gold. Riding the wave, they quickly released a second album, The Writing's on the Wall, and its first single "Bills, Bills, Bills" became their first to hit the top of the charts.
 

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But they hit a snag when Roberson and Luckett were unceremoniously booted from the band after a dispute with Matthew Knowles over their share of the profits and his favoritism of his daughter and Rowland. The obligatory mud-slinging ensued until the two took legal action. It wasn't going to be the last time Knowles got the band caught up in legal woes. More recently, they settled a lawsuit for copyright infringement for "Cater 2 U," a single off their fourth album.
 
Roberson and Luckett went on to form their own group, Anjel, which never achieved quite the level of wild success as Destiny's Child. Go figure. Michelle Williams and Farrah Franklin came in to fill their void, but Franklin was also kicked out soon after. And then there were three...
 
The trio of Beyoncé, Rowland and Williams turned out to be a magic formula; 2001 became the year they cemented their status as icons. "Say My Name" became their most successful single and landed four nominations and two wins at the Grammys. They also released their third album, Survivor, which included the hit singles "Independent Women" and "Bootylicious."
 
Destiny's Child announced they were taking a hiatus in 2002 to pursue solo projects. Rowland's Simply Deep and William's gospel album Heart to Yours both found success, but by far Beyoncé's debut, Dangerously in Love received the most acclaim as well as five Grammys. They reunited in 2004 to record their final album Destiny Fulfilled, but disbanded permanently soon after they finished their world tour in support of it.
 
Rowland went on to release a second album Ms. Kelly in 2007, and branched into acting and hosting gigs. Williams released a second gospel album, Do You Know, in 2004 and her first pop album, Unexpected, in 2008. She still works as a theater actress, and became the first African-American woman to star as Roxie Hart in Chicago on Broadway.
 
Beyoncé only found more fame after Destiny's Child, releasing three albums, scoring multiple top singles, breaking the record for most Grammys won in a single night by a female, creating her own fashion line and fragrance and topping it off with a marriage to rapper and music mogul Jay-Z. Her next step—world domination...although Lady Gaga might give her a run for her money.




Filed under:  beyonce knowles
Tags:   Beyonce Knowles , Beyonce , Destiny's Child , Michelle Williams , Kelly Rowland
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