Truly Destiny's Child

Girl power reached new heights on 12th May 2005. It was a night when Destiny's Child, the biggest selling girl band of our time set the stage on fire.

A string of dancers of top class quality, a live band that knew no stopping and a trio of singers that left everyone breathless. The UAE has never seen a performance of this proportion and it will be a long time before someone pushes the limits further.

They are truly a tough act to follow. Bootylicious Beyonce Knowles, Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams performed to a packed audience at Dubai Media City. They have been vowing audiences all over the world on their most recent tour. Residents of the UAE could not believe their good fortune. What was even more significant was that the mood was set a month before the concert date. It was the first time that tickets were sold out a month before the performance.

"It is unprecedented that a ticket category has sold out so early", commented Thomas Ovesen, General Manager Mirage Promotions UAE. "Destiny's Child are extremely popular with all ages and nationalities and we've had a high demand for tickets from all around the region as well as UAE", he added. It is no wonder then that there were people who had come all the way from Bahrain to catch a glimpse of this terrific trio. Media persons were given a closer glimpse of the stars at a press conference held at the Grand Hyatt hotel earlier in the day. It was then that the girls were seen in their true avatars. They were down to earth and truly un-diva like. Michelle, who is known for her religious songs, was extremely delighted to answer questions posed by the media. She told the audience that it was her friend and fellow band member Kelly that first sold the idea of Dubai to her. "Kelly was
raving about Dubai and convinced us that we have to come here. We are glad to have finally made it."

The audience could not have been more delighted. The girls have been overwhelmed by the response they have been given from the Middle East. Call it coincidence but their current album had already sold platinum in the UAE within a short span of time. Their ballads like 'Girl' and 'Soldier' are no less than anthems for screaming young fans who go by every word spoken by this terrific three. Destiny's Child were formed in Houston, TX, in 1990, when original members Beyoncé Knowles and LaTavia Roberson were just nine years old; the two met at an audition and became friends, and Knowles' father Mathew set about developing an act based on their singing and rapping, taking their name from a passage in the Book of Isaiah. Beyoncé's cousin Kelendria "Kelly" Rowland joined the group in 1992, and shortly thereafter they landed an appearance on Star Search, where they performed a rap song.

The quartet's lineup was finalized (for the time being) when LeToya Luckett joined in 1993, and they spent the next few years working their way up from the Houston club scene, eventually opening for artists like SWV, Dru Hill, and Immature.

Finally, in 1997, Destiny's Child was offered a recording contract by Columbia.
The group made its recorded debut on 1997's "Killing Time," a song included on the soundtrack of the blockbuster Men in Black. It took a while before their single "Say My Name," was another massive hit, their biggest so far; hit number one on both the pop and R&B charts for three weeks apiece in early 2000, and made Destiny's Child a
pop-cultural phenomenon. However, at the peak of "Say My Name"'s popularity, the group splintered. A few months later the next Destiny's Child single, "Jumpin' Jumpin'," hit the Top Ten, and The Writing's on the Wall went on to sell a whopping eight million copies.

The personnel-turnover drama still wasn't over; in July 2000, just five months after joining, Farrah Franklin split with the group. Now reduced to a trio, Destiny's Child was tapped to record the theme song for the film version of Charlie's Angels; released as a single in October, "Independent Women," raced up the charts and spent an astounding 11 weeks at number one. Destiny's Child were now indisputable superstars, the biggest female R&B group on the scene, and they quickly began work on a new album. "Survivor" -- whose title was reportedly inspired by a DJ's crack about Destiny's Child members voting one another off the island, much like the popular CBS reality series -- hit stores in the spring of 2001, and entered the charts at number one.

The first two singles, "Survivor" and "Bootylicious," were predictably huge hits, with the latter becoming the group's fourth number one pop single. A cover of Andy Gibb's "Emotion" was also successful, albeit less so, and Survivor sold well -- over four million copies -- but not as well as its predecessor. Toward the end of the year, the group released a holiday album, 8 Days of Christmas, and announced plans for a series of side projects, including solo albums from all three members (to be staggered over the next year and a half, so as to avoid competition).

In early 2002, shortly after This Is the Remix was released to tide fans over, Roberson and Luckett sued the group again, claiming that some of the lyrics in "Survivor" made reference to them (in violation of the earlier lawsuit settlement). Meanwhile, the first Destiny's Child solo album was released in Destiny Fulfilled is Destiny Child's sixth album. Filled with soaring harmonies, rich with rhythm and nuance brimming with a passionate and purposeful style that is quintessentially their own, it is undoubtedly one of the strongest albums of the group's career. Reacting professionally to a pointed remark that the new album is too mushy, Beyonce was composed and collected. She said, "You know when you are always in the spotlight people tend to treat you like a cartoon character. We have journeyed as women, we hurt, we bleed like everyone else. So this album is not only mushy, it is also about the pain that women feel when they are being mistrusted. It is about the inner strength that we have found in ourselves. Because when you want to feel true love you have to love yourself." This is clearly a group that sticks together and sings together. They have been doing precisely that from the tender age of nine. Their voices have only matured over the years and it is plain to see that they stick by each other no matter what. Kelly mentions that "We are like sisters and we are always there for each other."

Published in Telelife Magazine, UAE's entertainment magazine, May 2005.

The image was the only I could manage of Beyonce and Kelly at a crowded press conference just before the concert.