Destiny’s Child breaks up

The “bootylicious babes” of Destiny’s Child have announced that they would be pursuing independent careers. The Grammy-winning R&B trio of Beyoncé Knowles, Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams are currently on their “Destiny Fulfilled…And Lovin’ It” tour which will be the last time that fans would see them perform together.

A formal announcement from their Sony Urban/Columbia Records label said the trio “would be retiring as Destiny’s Child and moving forward to pursue personal goals and individual careers in music, theatre, television and film.”{{more}}

Lead singer Beyoncé said, she and Kelly (her cousin) have been working non-stop since they were nine. She confessed that through the years the group has been a security blanket, but it’s time for them to develop individually.

The Texas, Houston-based group launched in the early ’90s before the original line up of Knowles, her cousin Rowland, LaTavia Roberson and LeToya Luckett even hit puberty.

After a gig on Star Search, they got their big break in 1997 by landing the song “Killing Time” on the Men in Black soundtrack. A year later, they released their self-titled debut album, which contained the single “No, No, No (Part II)” with Wyclef Jean.

Trouble started brewing after the release of their hit second album, The Writing’s on the Wall, in 1999. Despite two smash singles–“Bills, Bills, Bills” and “Say My Name”–Roberson and Luckett groused about their perceived second-class treatment. They eventually sued the band and manager, Matthew Knowles (father of Beyoncé and guardian of Rowland), and were bounced from the group in 2000. Michelle Williams and Farrah Franklin replaced Roberson and Luckett; both of whom turned up in the video for “Say My Name” even though they didn’t actually perform the song on the album.

Just months after joining, Franklin left the group. Franklin has since started a solo career and Roberson and Luckett settled their suit and formed a group called Angel.

Destiny’s Child – “Say My Name” earned them two Grammys. Their third album, Survivor topped the charts when it was released and spawned the hits “Survivor” and “Bootylicious.” Their recent album, “Destiny Fulfilled,” peaked at No. 2 on The Billboard 200 pop album chart late last year and spawned the hit single “Lose My Breath.”

The “Destiny Fulfilled…And Lovin’ It” tour ends on September 10 in Vancouver, Canada.