DESTINY'S CHILD: Hot Young Divas Continue To Burn Up Music Charts

Jet, May 29, 2000

They may refer to themselves as "divas in training," but to their multitude of fans, the hot group Destiny's Child is a quartet of young divas with a fiery career that is scorching the music charts.

The group consists of Beyonce Knowles, Kelly Rowland, Farrah Franklin and Michelle Williams.

Its second album, The Writing's On The Wall, has sold 4 million copies in the states and 5 million worldwide. The project's first three singles, Bills, Bills, Bills, Bug A Boo and the current, Say My Name, have made the ladies one of today's biggest girl groups.

In addition to a Grammy nomination, Destiny's Child recently was a part of VH1's Divas 2000, which featured music greats such as Diana Ross, Donna Summer and Mariah Carey.

"We're growing divas," maintains Kelly, 19, with a chuckle. "We're like in the beginning diva process. Doing the Divas show was just a step. There are a lot of things to a diva."

Adds the 18-year-old Beyonce, whose distinctive vocals lead on most the group's chart-topping tunes, "We're like the Supremes of the '90s and a younger En Vogue. Our style of music and our style in general is different than any other. We want to be in a class by ourselves. Fifty years from now we want young groups to say they want to be like Destiny's Child."

So far the group appears to be in a class by itself.

It first hit the music scene in 1998 with its self-titled debut album, which featured the song No, No, No. But it was the remix for the song, featuring famed musician Wyclef Jean, that made people take notice of the group despite the fact that the debut album received only a tepid response.

And when most groups encounter the dreaded sophomore jinx on their follow-up project, Destiny's Child said "no, no, no" to that notion and whipped it.

"We weren't really nervous doing the second album. We were just ready to do it because we weren't entirely satisfied with the first album," contends Beyonce. "We had a lot of ideas for the second album. We grew up and had a lot to sing about. We expected to sell a million at the most with this album. It's been unbelievable."

One noticeable change that has come along since the second album dropped has been the replacement of two original members, LaTavia Roberson and LeToya Luckett.

The sudden change of members left the group's legions of fans wondering what happened to Roberson and Luckett when they noticed Franklin and Williams in the Say My Name video.

Explains Beyonce, "There were some difficulties creatively. It just didn't work out. We had to find two new members to save Destiny's Child or self-destruct. We're happy our fans stuck by us. We replaced half a group, but people still stuck by us."

The group's newest tune, Jumpin, Jumpin, is sure to leap to the top of the charts like the rest of its smoking party favorites.

Fans usually know that they can expect nothing less than a good time once a Destiny's Child song hits the airwaves, and if you've ever attended one of its live performances, you can hardly sit still. The key to moving the crowd is a little something the group picked up from its "big brother" Wyclef.

"We first went on tour with Wyclef as his opening act," says Kelly. "He's a wonderful entertainer. We would go to watch him perform every night. He would demand the audience to have fun, and he would get that respect. He would tell us, 'Don't let the audience sit still. Make them have fun.'"

Fun is what Destiny's Child fans have been having ever since. The songs Bills, Bills, Bills and Bug A Boo captured attention with its catchy grooves, but the songs' lyrics really kept people, namely the fellas, talking.

"Bug A Boo was written for the fellas, but there are some female bug a boos out there. We wanted everyone to be able to relate to it," notes Beyonce of the tune which deals with a pesty guy.

"People thought Bills, Bills, Bills was a male-bashing song about women who just want to get paid. It's actually about a guy who ran up all these bills and now we're wondering if he can pay for what he created. People thought Destiny's Child just stood for women and dissing men. That's not true. We just don't take any crap out of them. But our next album will be for the fellas. We still love the fellas," she laughs.

In July the ladies will hit the road with Christina Aguliera for what will be one of the hottest tours of the summer.

Destiny's Child isn't about to slow down. The ladies are just getting warmed up.

Concludes Beyonce, "We are proof that whatever you put your mind to, you can achieve. This is just the start for us, believe me."

The album title The Writing's On The Wall speaks for itself.

"When we were looking for a title, we had that name and another. We asked Wyclef which was tighter. He said, 'The Writing's On The Wall sounds really cool.' Then he went into a story about Moses finding the Ten Commandments on the wall," Kelly recalls. "He said add that to Destiny's Child's commandments of relationships, which will mean something big is about to happen."

It already has for music's reigning young diva group.