Destiny's Child started out as a duo, doubled in size and then scaled back to a svelte, perfect-fit trio just in time to become the biggest-selling female group of all time, according to the World Music Awards with combined record sales of over 60 million albums and singles sold (includes group and solo sales). Straddling the millennial line, Destiny's Child were either the last great pop group of the 90s or the first great one of the 21st century. Like The Supremes, Sister Sledge and En Vogue before them, these girls have nearly always delivered quality songs, most of which have been commercially successful. Two things remained constant throughout Destiny's Child career: irresistible, booty-shaking melodies and Beyonce Knowles' blazing star power. On June 12, 2005, the group announced on tour in Barcelona that they would no longer perform together, instead pursuing individual careers in music, theater, television and film. When all is said and done the just-released hits album #1's is dolled up as beautiful and immaculate as Beyonce Knowles, Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams themselves.
The album has thirteen hits and three new songs, the first single being the group's last hurrah, Stand Up For Love, officially the 2005 World Children's Day Anthem, and widely known as the song of hope for the victims of Hurricane Katrina and the late 2004 tsunami. The other two new songs are the excellent dance/hip-hop track Check On It featuring Slim Thug, which will also grace Beyonce’s movie, The Pink Panther, and the solid R&B song Feel the Same Way I Do. Naturally, all of the trio's biggest songs are here, including No No No Part 2 featuring Wyclef Jean, the remix single from their first album Destiny's Child in 1998; the four hits from 1999's The Writing's on the Wall; four from the huge 2001 album Survivor, the first album with Beyonce, Kelly and Michelle as a trio, and including mega hits Independent Woman Part 1 (the theme to the film Charlie’s Angels), Bootylicious and Survivor; and four from 2004's Destiny Fulfilled. Early smashes like the smooth, rhythmically stuttering Bills, Bills, Bills and the moody mid-tempo slow jam Say My Name also feature, as well as later hits like Destiny's Child cover of the Gibb brothers' Emotion. Unless you're a fan who wants to own all of the original albums, #1's should give most potential buyers the cuts you're looking for, with arguably no filler.
Today Beyonce has several individual projects lined up, including her starring role in the movie Dreamgirls, as well as music for the soundtrack of that movie, and the upcoming Pink Panther movie remake. She is also launching her own clothing line, House of Dereon with her mother, Tina, in early 2006. Beyonce's second solo album is expected to be released in September 2006. Kelly has some individual TV and music projects lined up. She is featured on the new album Illumination by soul greats Earth, Wind & Fire and has already began working on her second album, which is expected to be released in Spring 2006. Michelle is one of the current spokespersons for The Gap, and she is singing her cover of soul legend Al Green's Let's Stay Together in their new commercial. She is also expected to release a new album in early 2007, it will be her third solo effort. Unlike her first two albums, it may veer away from Gospel to mainstream R&B. Here's hoping the girls are still chummy enough to embark on a reunion tour one day.
Destiny Fulfilled
Middle Cyclone 2009
Neko Case's sixth album Middle Cyclone is devoted to the theme of nature and various types of hurricanes in particular and offers both original material and a number of covers perfectly matching the work's concept
