The three “bootylicious” vocalists from the Grammy-winning R&B act Destiny’s Child are parting ways to pursue solo projects for the near future, they said in a television interview aired on Wednesday.
“Well, Destiny’s Child put out four albums in four years, which is unbelievable,” lead singer Beyonce Knowles told cable network E! Entertainment Television in an interview conducted last week. “We’ve been working… nonstop. So I think Destiny’s Child is gonna take a little break.”
She added, “I think the great thing about us doing this is we will all have to develop individually. You’re in a group and it’s kind of like your girls are like your security blanket.”
Asked when they would regroup, bandmate Kelly Rowland said there was no time table.
“You know how the Beatles broke off – they all did their solo projects and they came back together and they were even stronger,” she said in a mistaken reference to the Fab Four’s split. Three of the Beatles reunited in the studio years after John Lennon’s death to record two songs from demo tapes he had recorded, blending their own voices with his.
Destiny’s Child – comprising Knowles, Rowland and Michelle Williams – has become a dominant pop music force since the spring of 2000. A string of multi-platinum albums and such hit singles as “Say My Name,” “Jumpin’, Jumpin’,” “Survivor” and “Bootylicious” have kept the glittery threesome at the top of the charts and made them a constant MTV presence.
But it was barely two years ago that Destiny’s Child, which began more than a decade ago as a foursome in Houston, emerged as a reconstituted trio following the acrimonious departure of two co-founding members of the group.
The 1999 sophomore album “The Writing’s On the Wall,” powered by the hit “Say My Name,” took off about the time LaTavia Roberson and LeToya Luckett left the group. “Say My Name” went on to earn a Grammy for best R&B group performance with vocals and best R&B song.
The group’s third album of new material, “Survivor,” debuted in May at No. 1 on the Billboard charts and has sold more than 3 million copies. It was followed by a holiday album, “8 Days of Christmas,” in late October.
