| Destiny's
Child is an R&B girl group from Houston, signed to Columbia and
first premiered on Men in Black: The Album with their song
"Killing Time." Early in 1998, the group released their
self-titled debut album, featuring the single "No, No, No (Part
II)" featuring Wyclef Jean. The quartet, including Beyoncé
Knowles, Kelly Rowland (Beyonce's cousin), LaTavia Roberson and
LeToya Luckett, also toured with Jean. The group's sophomore album
The Writing's on the Wall followed in 1999 and immediately spawned
the number one smash "Bills, Bills, Bills," which topped
both the pop and R&B charts.
By the end of the
year, "Say My Name" had duplicated the feat, and ended up
becoming one of the biggest hits of 2000. But just as the group had
broken through to superstardom, Roberson and Luckett abruptly left
in March of 2000, filing a lawsuit against the group and manager
Matthew Knowles (Beyoncé's father and Kelly's guardian). The two
were replaced by similar-looking 18-year-old Farrah Franklin and
19-year-old Michelle Williams, who debuted in the video for
"Say My Name" (much to some fans' surprise).
Five months after her
addition, Franklin announced that she too was leaving. Undaunted,
the remaining trio recorded the theme song for the film revival of
Charlie's Angels; "Independent Women" became another
across-the-board smash that fall, topping the charts by the end of
the year. Roberson and Luckett dropped the portion of their lawsuit
directed at the group itself in early 2001; they soon formed a new
group called Angel, while Farrah Franklin began work on a solo
album. Meanwhile, Destiny's Child released their third album,
Survivor, in May.
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