Destiny's Child, in my opinion, is the best girl group of all-time (The Supremes & TLC aren't forgotten). This group has accomplished more than any other girl group in music history. Perhaps their biggest accomplishment is becoming the biggest-selling female group/band of all-time (many believe that TLC are the biggest selling, but they've only sold around 33 million records worldwide), with over 40 million records sold worldwide; if you input their record sales as solo artists, you'll have the total number of over 50 million records.
What makes them the best is the fact that they've survived all of the drama; the rumor mill, legal woes, and changing lineups have plagued the group since the beginning of their dream to pursue success since 1990. In 1998, they charted a huge hit titled, "No, No, No Pt. 2." The single was remixed by and featured Wyclef Jean of the Grammy-winning Fugees. Their self-titled debut album went platinum soon after.
DC's sophomore album, "The Writings On The Wall," is considered the group's best album by critics and fans alike. It brought the group's signature hit, "Say My Name"; it also won the group two Grammy Awards for Best R&B Song and Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals. But in the midst of this success, struggles began to set in. Two members of the group, LaTavia Roberson & LeToya Luckett, left the group due to management disagreements; they were replaced by Tenetria Michelle Williams (who was a backup singer for Grammy-winning R&B superstar, Monica, at the time) and Farrah Franklin (who appeared in the group's video for its #1 single, "Bills, Bills, Bills" from "The Writings On The Wall").
In 2001, the girls went back into the studio, but this time with one less member; Farrah Franklin was dismissed from the group after missing numerous appearances that the group had signed on for.
Destiny's Child seemingly became a bigger success after these dramatic lineup changes. In 2001, they released the smash album, "Survivor." It gave the group another Grammy win in the title track, and in the process, broke many records. The album debuted at #1 in the U.S., removing Janet Jackson's latest album at that time, "All For You," from the top spot. Not only that, it sold 663,000 copies in its first week of release, the best first week sales figures ever in the history of Columbia Records. The album featured the #1 smash, "Bootylicious."
Up unto this time, "Say My Name" was the group's biggest hit. That was until the group signed on to record the theme song for the movie mega-hit, "Charlie's Angels." The result was a song that lead singer Beyonce Knowles wrote, titled "Independent Women." It stayed at the top of the charts for 10 weeks, and made history by becoming the song that was played more times in a single week on radio than any other song in history.
In 2002, the group announced that it was taking a break; that same year, Michelle Williams released her debut Gospel album, "Heart To Yours," becoming the top-selling Gospel CD of that year. Kelly Rowland released her solo debut album, "Simply Deep," in 2002 as well. It featured the #1, Grammy-winning smash, "Dilemma," a collaboration with rapper Nelly.
The biggest solo debut effort, however, came on June 24, 2003 with Beyonce's album, "Dangerously In Love." It won her 5 Grammy Awards and brought her two #1 singles with "Crazy In Love" and "Baby Boy"; she earned two more top 5 hits with "Me, Myself & I" and "Naughty Girl." She later won the 2003 NAACP Image Award for Entertainer of the Year.
In 2004, the powerhouse trio reunited to bring the album, "Destiny Fulfilled." It brought the group a Grammy-nominated smash titled, "Lose My Breath" and another hit with "Soldier."
In June 2005, the group announced that it would be retiring to fulfill solo dreams and goals.
What makes this group so great is its accomplishments, originality, wonderful music, and talent. Throughout its career, Destiny's Child has charted four #1 singles ("Bills, Bills, Bills", "Say My Name", "Independent Women Pt. 1", & "Bootylicious"), 3 Grammy Awards, 3 American Music Awards, 1 BET Award, the 2004 Artist Achievement Award from the Billboard Music Awards, 8 Billboard Awards, 2 MTV Video Music Awards, 4 NAACP Image Awards, 9 Soul Train Lady of Soul Awards, and 2 Soul Train Music Awards.
They are the greatest female group in history because of their undeniable vocal talent. Nobody can deny this group's talent. Beyonce is a wonderful leader for this group. She has one of the greatest voices in music today; she's a fantastic performer, yet still a strong vocalist; songs like "Dangerously In Love 2" & "The Closer I Get To You" prove that. Kelly Rowland is a fantastic vocalist as well, and Michelle Williams' talent was the perfect addition to the group. It's never difficult to tell which one is singing because they all have different voices. They're the greatest and no one can deny it.
