Destiny's Child (album)

In 1990, Beyoncé and LaTavia Roberson, both aged nine, met at an audition for the Houston-based girl group Girl's Tyme, of which they soon became members. Kelly Rowland joined the group the following year, and they unsuccessfully auditioned for Star Search in 1992. In 1993, Beyoncé's father Mathew Knowles became the group's manager, alongside its founder Andretta Tillman. Knowles restructured the group from a sextet to a quartet, and recruited LeToya Luckett. After numerous name changes, the group was renamed Destiny. However, the label terminated their contract the same year, without the group having recorded a debut album. Inspired by a passage in the Book of Isaiah, the group renamed themselves Destiny's Child. They soon began touring as an opening act for groups Immature, Dru Hill, Das EFX, and SWV. Immediately afterwards, Destiny's Child commenced work on their debut album, having been signed to D'Wayne Wiggins' production company Grass Roots Entertainment. ==Recording and production==

Destiny's Child began recording material for their first album in early 1996. D'Wayne Wiggins and Mathew Knowles enlisted 16 producers for ''Destiny's Child'', which would be recorded until late 1997. LaTavia Roberson reflected: "Mathew always just made us listen to the tracks, emphasizing it shouldn't matter if the producer has a name. What was most important is that we felt the music." ''Destiny's Child'' and its closing track "My Time Has Come" were consequently dedicated to her. Mark Morales and Cory Rooney produced Destiny's Child's cover of the Lionel Richie-written Commodores' 1979 song "Sail On"; the cover was recorded at The Hit Factory in New York City. In New York, Destiny's Child also recorded "No, No, No Part 1", written and produced by Rob Fusari and Vincent Herbert, at the Chung King Studios. "No, No, No" was selected as its lead single. However, Teresa LaBarbera Whites was adamant that a track more distinguishable than "No, No, No" be the lead single. Destiny's Child fortuitously met Wyclef Jean at Sony Music's headquarters in New York, and performed "No, No, No" a cappella for him. Impressed, he asked the group to contribute to the remix of his 1997 single "We Trying to Stay Alive". He subsequently produced "No, No, No Part 2" by accelerating the original version around a sample of Barry White's "Strange Games & Things". After Beyoncé jokingly sang the song's lyrics in a fast, staccato manner, Wyclef Jean encouraged her to incorporate the style into the recording; the rap-sung staccato would be incorporated into Destiny's Child's subsequent albums and become their signature singing style. Rowland reflected on the sessions by saying: "There was never a dull moment in the studio working with Wyclef". "No, No, No Part 2" was recorded at the Digital Services Recording Studios in Houston, where a substantial portion of ''Destiny's Child'' was recorded. Wyclef Jean also produced "Illusion", on which he made a guest appearance alongside his fellow Fugees member Pras; the track is a cover of Imagination's 1982 song "Just an Illusion". Jermaine Dupri and Manuel Seal wrote and produced "With Me Part I". They co-wrote the song's "Part II" with Destiny's Child; alongside "Birthday", it was the album's sole track written by the group. Produced by the Medicine Men's KLC, Odell, and Craig B, "With Me Part II" features a rap performed by Master P; "Freak Hoes", recorded by Master P's group TRU, was sampled on both parts of "With Me". Both parts of "With Me" were recorded at the KrossWire Studios in Atlanta. Other recording locations for ''Destiny's Child'' included Castle Oak Studios in Calabasas, Live Oak Studios in Berkeley, Manhattan Ave. Studios in Topanga, Pajama Recording Studios in Oakland, and PatchWerk Recording Studios in Atlanta. ==Music and lyrics==

''Destiny's Child'' is predominantly classified as an R&B and neo soul record, drawing influences from quiet storm, While "No, No, No Part 1" is a new jack swing-influenced down-tempo R&B track, its counterpart is an up-tempo, hip-hop-influenced contemporary R&B track. ==Marketing and sales==

In 1997, Destiny's Child performed as an opening act on SWV and the O'Jays' respective concert tours, in order to promote ''Destiny's Child''. The song's two versions were strategically given a dual release, to ensure chart success. and became the ninth best-selling single of 1998 in the US. ''Destiny's Child was released on February 17, 1998. The album debuted at number 69 on the US Billboard'' 200 chart dated March 7, 1998, peaking at number 67 four weeks later. Meanwhile, it debuted and peaked at number 14 on the US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums. and "With Me" on the episode dated July 10. "With Me" was released as the album's second single on April 20, but failed to enter the Billboard Hot 100 due to its airplay-only release. Unlike "No, No, No", only part one of "With Me" was accompanied by a music video, to which Beyoncé later attributed the single's underperformance, as the song's part two was deemed more marketable due to Master P's appearance. Destiny's Child subsequently joined Jon B. and Jagged Edge on their fall 1998 tour, which commenced in Omaha on September 16. "Illusion" was scheduled for release as the third single from ''Destiny's Child'', with Columbia Records commissioning a Maurice Joshua-produced dance remix with re-recorded vocals, in an attempt to market the two versions simultaneously, as was done with the album's first two singles. However, the single was canceled as the group's management was eager for the recording of a second studio effort to begin. LaTavia Roberson retrospectively stated: "It's not that we didn't love 'Illusion', but we were minors and it's the executives who make the decisions. The label wanted us to move on and create more age-appropriate music." In the aftermath of the success of Destiny's Child's second album ''The Writing's on the Wall, Destiny's Child'' became a sleeper hit, proceeding to be certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in July 2000, for shipments of one million units in the US. In August 2001, the album was reissued outside North America, including the bonus tracks "You're the Only One", a remix of "No, No, No", and Joshua's remix of "Illusion"—retitled "DubiLLusions". ==Critical reception==

''Destiny's Child received mixed to positive reviews from music critics. John Bush of AllMusic and a critic from Q'' directed predominant praise towards the group's vocal harmony. An editor of Vibe called it "more earnest than Allure, but less inspiring than 702", adding that the "urban-chic" record possessed the ability to "entice listeners with sultry vocals and apple-pie innocence". British magazine Music Week described the album as a "mixture of soulful grooves and kickin' dancefloor tracks." In retrospective commentaries regarding ''Destiny's Child, Q'' and critic Piero Scaruffi both credited the record's mainstream quality with helping to establish Destiny's Child as a viable act. Conversely, Paul Flynn of The Guardian reflected on the album being a "relative misfire", negatively comparing its musical style to TLC, Jill Scott, and Angie Stone. In The Rolling Stone New Album Guide (2004), Rob Sheffield declared it inferior to Destiny's Child's subsequent albums ''The Writing's on the Wall (1999) and Survivor'' (2001). The Recording Academy's Sope Soetan opined that ''Destiny's Child'' had aged well by its 25th anniversary, adding that tracks such as "Show Me the Way", "Birthday", and "You're the Only One" merited contemporary reappraisal. Meanwhile, Jon O'Brien of Billboard described it as infused with "tastefully arranged, slickly produced and well-performed but entirely unremarkable R&B slow jam[s]", further criticizing its lyrical themes. ==Legacy==

In October 1998, Destiny's Child began recording their second album ''The Writing's on the Wall. Partly dissatisfied with Destiny's Child, the group asserted more creative control over The Writing's on the Wall. The Writing's on the Wall was released in July 1999, preceded by their first US Billboard Hot 100 number-one hit "Bills, Bills, Bills". In 2006, Beyoncé reflected on Destiny's Child'' being largely overshadowed by its successor, which she attributed to the former's neo soul style, perceived as too mature for then-teenaged group members. Kristin Corry of Tidal regarded the album as a "solid" introduction to the group's "twin strengths of sweeping ballads and tight harmonies". Jon O'Brien of Billboard remarked that, had the rest of the record been in the vein of "No, No, No Part 2", the group's "world domination would no doubt have come a little sooner". Writing for the Recording Academy, Sope Soetan stated that ''Destiny's Child'' "heralded the beginning of an R&B supergroup" and remained an "artifact of the elements central to Destiny's Child's musical persona", concluding: "Achieving a level of international and cross-cultural appeal as Black women that eluded their competitors and some of their forebears, ''Destiny's Child'' is demonstrative of the axiom that it's not about how you start, but how you finish." ==Track listing==

{{Track listing Notes • signifies a co-producer • signifies an additional producer • Songwriting credits for "Illusion" are excluded from the album's liner notes due to "copyright control". Sample credits • "Second Nature" contains replayed elements from "Make Me Say It Again, Girl (Part 1 & 2)", performed by the Isley Brothers, written by Marvin Isley, Ronald Isley, Rudolph Isley, Ernie Isley and O'Kelly Isley. • "No, No, No Part 2" contains elements from "Strange Games & Things", performed and written by Barry White. • "With Me Parts I & II" contain a sample of "Freak Hoes", performed by TRU, written by Master P. • "Bridges" contains replayed elements from "Simply Beautiful", performed and written by Al Green. • "Know That" contains an interpolation of "Tom's Diner", performed and written by Suzanne Vega. ==Personnel==

Credits are adapted from the liner notes of ''Destiny's Child''. • Mark Morales – producer • Bill Ortiz – trumpet • Darin Prindle – mixing • Warren Riker – engineer, mixing • Bob Robinson – arranger, producer, multi instruments • Tim Kelley – arranger, producer, multi instruments • Carl Washington – producer • Carl Wheeler – keyboards • D'Wayne Wiggins – bass, producer, guitar, multi instruments • Benjamin Wright – arranger, conductor • Eric Fischer – engineer • Jay Lincoln – drums, producer, mixing, keyboards • James Hoover – engineer • Erwin Gorostiza – art direction, design • Wyclef Jean – producer, performer • Rawle Gittens – engineer • Vince Lars – saxophone • Cory Rooney – programming, producer, mixing • Craig B – producer, mixing • KLC – producer • Sylvia Bennett-Smith – arranger, producer • Jerry Duplessis – producer • Joey Swails – engineer, mixing • Ian Dalsemer – assistant engineer • Rob Fusari – producer • Anthony Papa Michael – acoustic guitar • Beyoncé Knowles – lead vocals, background vocals • LeToya Luckett – background vocals • LaTavia Roberson – background vocals, rap vocals on "Illusion" • Kelly Rowland – lead vocals, background vocals • Lee Neal – drums • O'Dell – producer • Mathew Knowles – executive producer • Tina Knowles – hair stylist • Storm Jefferson – assistant engineer, mixing assistant • Mean Green – production coordination • Che Greene – producer • Darcy Aldridge – arranger • Mike Arnold – engineer • Charles Brackins – engineer • Johnny Buick – make-up and hair stylist • Kenny Demery – guitar • Paul Empson – photography • Eric Ferrell – make-up • Pras – performer • Debra Ginyard – stylist • Mike Scott – mixing • Booker T. Jones III – mixing • Master P – performer • Terry T – producer • Bill McKinley – bass • Paul Arnold – engineer • Preston Crump – bass • Jermaine Dupri – producer, performer • Dale Everingham • Steve Foreman – percussion • David Frank – piano • John Frye – engineer • Kevin W. – second engineer • Brian Gardner – mastering • Jamie Hawkins – keyboards • Vincent Herbert – producer • Jon Jubu Smith – guitar • Marc M2E Smith – mixing ==Charts==

Weekly charts Year-end charts ==Certifications==