Destiny's Child was an American girl group whose final lineup comprised Beyoncé Knowles, Kelly Rowland, and Michelle Williams. The group began their musical career as Girl's Tyme, formed in 1990 in Houston, Texas. After years of limited success, the original quartet comprising Knowles, Rowland, LaTavia Roberson, and LeToya Luckett were signed in 1997 to Columbia Records as Destiny's Child. The group was launched into mainstream recognition following the release of the song "No, No, No" and their best-selling second album, The Writing's on the Wall (1999), which contained the number-one singles "Bills, Bills, Bills" and "Say My Name", alongside successful singles "Bug a Boo" and "Jumpin', Jumpin'". Despite critical and commercial success, the group was plagued by internal conflict and legal turmoil, as Roberson and Luckett attempted to split from the group's manager Mathew Knowles due to favoritism of Knowles and Rowland.
Kelendria Trene Rowland is an American singer, actress, and television personality. She rose to fame in the late 1990s as a member of Destiny's Child, one of the world's best-selling girl groups. During the group's three-year hiatus, Rowland released her debut solo studio album, Simply Deep (2002), which debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart and sold over 3 million copies worldwide. It included the Billboard Hot 100 number-one single "Dilemma", as well as the UK top-five hits "Stole" and "Can't Nobody". Rowland also ventured into acting with starring roles in Freddy vs. Jason (2003) and The Seat Filler (2005).
Destiny Fulfilled is the fifth and final studio album by American girl group Destiny's Child. It was released on November 8, 2004, by Columbia Records and Sony Urban Music. Following the conclusion of promotional activities for their globally successful third studio album Survivor (2001), Destiny's Child embarked on a two-year hiatus, during which each member released solo albums to varying levels of success. They reunited in the summer of 2004 to record Destiny Fulfilled, primarily at the Sony Music Studios in New York City. Unlike the group's previous recordings, the album saw each member equally contributing to the songwriting and production, drawing inspiration from the events in their lives while being apart.
Tenitra Michelle Williams is an American singer and actress. She rose to fame in the early 2000s as a member of R&B girl group Destiny's Child, one of the best-selling female groups of all time with over 100 million records, of which more than 60 million copies sold with the trio lineup that included Williams. During her time in the group she earned several accolades including a Grammy Award and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
"Bootylicious" is a song recorded by American group Destiny's Child for their third studio album Survivor (2001). It was written and produced by Rob Fusari, Beyoncé and Falonte Moore. The song contains a prominent sample from Stevie Nicks' song "Edge of Seventeen". It was released as the second single from Survivor on May 22, 2001, by Columbia Records.
Survivor is the third studio album by American girl group Destiny's Child. It was released on April 25, 2001, by Columbia Records. As their breakthrough second studio album The Writing's on the Wall (1999) became a rising commercial success, Destiny's Child faced the controversial departure of original members LeToya Luckett and LaTavia Roberson, who were replaced with Farrah Franklin and Michelle Williams, in February 2000. Soon afterwards, they commenced production of their third studio album, tentatively titled Independent Women.
Heart to Yours is the debut solo studio album by American singer and songwriter Michelle Williams. Released on April 16, 2002, by Sanctuary and Columbia Records, it became the first solo release of any Destiny's Child member. Production of the album began in 2001, with Williams working with an array of producers, including her brother Erron Williams, HR Crump and Warryn Campbell. Heart to Yours is primarily a contemporary gospel album, which incorporates elements of other styles and genres such as neo-soul, inspirational, R&B and rock music. The album includes a tribute, dedicated to the victims and families affected by the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States. Writing on her vocal performances, critics drew comparisons to Ella Fitzgerald, Diana Ross, Erykah Badu and Jill Scott.
Do You Know is the second studio album by American singer and songwriter Michelle Williams. It was released by the Sanctuary Records Group and Columbia Records on January 26, 2004 in the United States. Do You Know "straddles between contemporary gospel and inspirational R&B" and is described as portraying "a more intimate side of Michelle". It contains a greater percentage of mid and up-tempo songs, along with a much heavier and grander use of live instrumentation. Williams contributed lyrically to the album as she did with her debut album, co-writing a total of six songs. However, Do You Know is much more diverse, lyrically, than its predecessor Heart to Yours, covering the themes of "spiritual" and "carnal" love and contains retrospective songs about Williams' career thus far, whilst still retaining the inspirational and encouraging lyrics that characterised Heart to Yours.
Simply Deep is the debut solo studio album by American singer Kelly Rowland. It was first released on October 22, 2002, by Columbia Records and Music World Entertainment. Initially expected to be released during the hiatus of her group Destiny's Child in 2003, recording of the album was accelerated after the success of the single "Dilemma," a collaboration with rapper Nelly. Largely produced within three weeks only, guest appearances on Simply Deep include Nelly, Solange Knowles and Joe Budden.
"Cater 2 U" is a song recorded by American group Destiny's Child for their fifth and final studio album Destiny Fulfilled (2004). The song was written by group members Beyoncé, Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams along with Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins, Ricky "Ric Rude" Lewis and Robert Waller, with Beyoncé, Rude and Jerkins handling its production. An R&B ballad talking about a woman's desire to cater to the male love interest of her life, "Cater 2 U" contains synthesizers in its instrumentation. A lawsuit filled by singer-songwriter Rickey Allen in 2006 claimed the group only recorded a cover of the song, which was originally his; however, the case was settled in 2009.
"Girl" is a song recorded by American girl group Destiny's Child for their fifth studio album Destiny Fulfilled (2004). The group co-wrote the song with Darkchild, Ric Rude, Angela Beyincé, Sean Garrett, and Patrick "9th Wonder" Douthit; the latter co-produced it with group members Beyoncé and Kelly Rowland. Sampling "Ocean of Thoughts and Dreams" by the Dramatics, the soul song was written about an abusive relationship Rowland went through during the time of writing. "Girl" was released as the third single from Destiny Fulfilled on March 15, 2005, by Columbia Records.
"Jumpin', Jumpin'" is a song by American group Destiny's Child for their second studio album, The Writing's on the Wall (1999). The song was co-written and co-produced by group member Beyoncé Knowles and Chad Elliott, with additional writing from Rufus Moore and production assistance from Jovonn Alexander. It was released on July 14, 2000, by Columbia Records, as the fourth and final single from The Writing's on the Wall. It marked the last single to feature the vocals of original members LeToya Luckett and LaTavia Roberson. The artwork and music video for the song feature the group's second lineup consisting of Knowles, Kelly Rowland and replacement members Michelle Williams and Farrah Franklin.
"Survivor" is a song recorded by American group Destiny's Child for their third studio album of the same title (2001). It was written and composed by group member Beyoncé, Anthony Dent, and Mathew Knowles. "Survivor" was inspired by a joke that a radio station had made about the fact that three members had already left the group, comparing the band to the reality game show Survivor. Beyoncé was inspired to take the negative comment and turn it into a positive by writing a song out of it. The song was released as the lead single from Survivor on March 6, 2001, by Columbia Records. It marked the first single released by the trio of Beyoncé, Kelly Rowland, and Michelle Williams.
"Lose My Breath" is a song recorded by American group Destiny's Child for their fifth and final studio album Destiny Fulfilled (2004). It was written by Beyoncé, Kelly Rowland, Michelle Williams, Rodney Jerkins, LaShawn Daniels, Fred Jerkins III, Sean Garrett and Jay-Z. The song was partially developed by Jerkins before being presented to Destiny's Child; its chorus was afterwards rewritten by Jay-Z. An uptempo R&B and dance-pop song, "Lose My Breath" has a marching, military percussion-led instrumentation with different sound effects in its backing track. First offered in September for streaming and as a digital download, Columbia Records released the song as the lead single from Destiny Fulfilled on October 5, 2004, preceding the album by a month.
"Say My Name" is a song by American group Destiny's Child from their second studio album, The Writing's on the Wall (1999). It was written by Beyoncé Knowles, LeToya Luckett, LaTavia Roberson, Kelly Rowland, LaShawn Daniels, Fred Jerkins III, and Rodney Jerkins, featuring production by the latter. While the song and single artwork features the group's original line-up consisting of Luckett and Roberson, the music video for the single marked the introduction of the group's second line-up with replacement members Michelle Williams and Farrah Franklin. "Say My Name" was released as the third single from The Writing's on the Wall on October 14, 1999, by Columbia Records.
"Soldier" is a song recorded by American group Destiny's Child, featuring American rappers T.I. and Lil Wayne, for the group's final studio album Destiny Fulfilled (2004). The artists wrote the song with Sean Garrett and Rich Harrison who produced it with the latter co-produced it with Beyoncé. A Southern hip hop mid-tempo song, it lyrically describes each member's favorite type of male love interest. The song was released as the second single from Destiny Fulfilled on November 9, 2004, by Columbia Records and Sony Urban Music.
#1's is the first greatest hits album by American girl group Destiny's Child. It was released on October 21, 2005, by Columbia Records, Music World Entertainment and Sony Urban Music.
Unexpected is the third solo studio album by American singer Michelle Williams. It was released by Columbia Records and Music World Entertainment on October 7, 2008 in North America. Her first solo project following the disbandment of her group Destiny's Child in 2006, it marked Williams' first full-length dance-influenced commercial pop album, moving away from the gospel style of her previous efforts Heart to Yours (2002) and Do You Know (2004). Unexpected fuses dance-pop, R&B and electronic music to form a wide selection of up-tempo, beat-driven, club-oriented songs which gradually calm into slower material more R&B in sound and style.
"Say Yes" is a song by American singer Michelle Williams, taken from her fourth studio album Journey to Freedom (2014). It features Williams' former Destiny's Child groupmates Beyoncé and Kelly Rowland. The song was written by Williams, Carmen Reece, Al Sherrod Lambert and Harmony Samuels who also produced it. E1 Music released "Say Yes" as the album's third single on June 2, 2014. "Say Yes" marks the third time the trio collaborated as solo artists following the disbandment of their group in 2006.
Journey to Freedom is the fourth studio album by American recording artist Michelle Williams, released on September 9, 2014, by E1 Music and Light Records. It marked her first release under the label after severing professional ties with longtime record company Columbia Records and manager Mathew Knowles in 2009. Following a hiatus from her recording career, Williams' album, a collaboration with main producer Harmony Samuels, was a fusion of both urban contemporary gospel and R&B sounds.
