Disco de Destiny's Child: “Destiny Fulfilled [Bonus VCD]”

It's unfortunate to hear that the musical landscape's biggest female group of the last decade is planning on dismantling, but it is sobering and promising to know that they will each have futures. I really do respect Destiny's Child talent. They can harmonize. They can perform, and they have some nice fits (outfits) and very charasmatic but different personalities. Their appeal shows with the fact that they have pulled in sales of almost 3 million copies with this release which makes a statement in this current, sales-declining musical landscape.

LOSE MY BREATH-- Produced by Darkchild and Beyonce, I knew right away after hearing this first single that I had to cop this joint. The energy of this song is bananas. I love the drumline beat. It is definitely unique and at that point, there were no other songs of its kind. It was also good to see that each of the ladies were featured in the song. It was good as well to see that Darkchild made a comeback with a fresh beat. The accompanying video was also unique and hot as well. Another good fact about this song is that it never got overexposed which adds to its quality. A+

SOLDIER-Featuring T.I. & Lil Wayne, produced by Rich Harrison (Usher, J. Lo, Amerie), when I first heard this slow uptempo, I liked it. However, being a male myself the appeal of the song faded fast due to the lyrical content of the song and the fact that the song was overexposed. They played it TOO MUCH. Admittedly, the song is kind of cheesy. They sound like the Pussycat Dolls trying to look for a soldier. While I love DC, what do they know about a true, ghetto soldier? They probably would run if one came their way. The black-and-white video was tight though. Oh yea, this song is kind of long on the CD version. B

CATER 2 U-Produced by Darkchild (Rodney Jerkins), Ric Rude and Beyonce, this tight, night-life slow jam is all about a female catering to her man. While I am a male, I love this song. The phrasing of both of the verses is tight. The lyrics while touching are not cheesy or too schmaltzy. The bell-sound during the chorus is tight and just blows me away everytime I hear it. The harmonies/background vocals are tight. The bridge is done in an excellent anti-climatic way by Michelle. The song also displays each of the singer's individuality well. They each bring a different approach to their parts rather than sounding homogenized. Fourth single. A+

T-SHIRT- Produced by Andre Harris and Vidal Davis (Usher) and Beyonce, this song has got to be a single even if it is just in the Urban format. I hear this song so much in Chicago by people it is ridiculous. This slow jam dominated by Beyonce is tight. It is a very sultry and sexual song that has the girl yearning for her man so much that she adores his t-shirt to fill his place while he is gone. The hook is very catchy and the harmonies, once again, are tight. It is hard to not imagine Beyonce singing about Jay Z. I try to envision myself, but I know that the song is for Jay-Z. A nice old-school like slow jam. A

IS SHE THE REASON?-Produced by 9th Wonder, Beyonce, Sean Garrett, this old-school song with samples from I DON'T KNOW NO ONE ELSE TO TURN TO by R&B veteran Melba Moore, is a slower mid-tempo that calls for the girl reaching out to her man asking if another girl is the reason for his changing attentions toward her. The song is tight, and it works, but following the latter songs, it sounds more like filler because it would not work as a single at all, and it is somewhat boring. The harmonies are good as always. Beyonce dominates the song and Kelly is relegated to singing the pre-chorus. Michelle struggles in this song during the bridge. They should have given that to Kelly. B+

GIRL-Produced by 9th Wonder and Beyonce and containing elements from OCEAN OF THOUGHTS AND DREAMS as performed by THE DRAMATICS, this mid-tempo which was their third single is a tight song that has a good and very colorful video. At first, I did not care for this song because it does not stand out initially. However, listening to the way that the ladies phrase the lyrics they sing. The old-school vibe of the song which works really well here. Beyonce's adlibs, the harmonies and Michelle letting loose on the bridge showing her true vocal abilities brings a new light to this song. I just wished it could have done better as a single. This is music. When I sing along, I say "boy" instead of "girl" to let ya'll know. A+

BAD HABIT-Produced by Bryan Michael Cox and Kendrick Dean, the production of this Kelly-dominated song sounds so much like Usher's Burn, Fantasia's yOU GOT ME WAITING, Faith Evans' TRU LOVE, Frankie J's HOW TO DEAL and Tamia's STILL that it is crazy, but it still is its own song. The words of this song is something that many can relate to especially girls who just pigeon-hole their musical tastes to those soldiers or any other limited group of guys. Kelly interprets the song well, but vocally the song falls short on this Destiny Child's CD. I was thinking all along where are the girls at. They could have been used on the background or something because Kelyl falls just a little short, but this heartfelt, emotional song is tight. A

IF-Produced by Rockwilder and Beyonce, containing elements from INSEPARABLE as performed by Natalie Cole, this old-school slow jam sounds like something right out of 1975's R&B music catalogue. "If" looking for some tight and fresh harmonies, this is th e perfect song to listen to. The cut talks abotu "if" the guy thinks she is going to stay and ignore all the wrongs, he is wrong. I like the fact that all three of the girls are utilized well throughout the song. Because of that, out of them all, this is a true Destiny Child's song because they are all used. A

FREE-Produced by Rockwilder and Beyonce, this mid-tempo with excerpts from NIGHT WHISTLER performed by Donald Byrd is a nice, "free"ing song. It talks about no feeling like being free from a relationship. The vocals are tight, but I do wished that Kelly and Michelle could have been used more. The scatting or whatever it is that Beyonce does at the end is tight. B+

THROUGH WITH LOVE- Produced by Mario Winans and Beyonce, this empowerment song about being through with love and being strong sounds like a Mario Winans track. At first, I did not like this song and I had deemed it the worst of all the tracks. However, after listening to it so much, the haunting, slow but fast production of the song mixed with the innovative vocals make the song more appealing. Michelle brings fire during the needed fire during her bridge part. It is good hearing her sing like that. I like the collective, powerful "through with love" chants at the end. A-

LOVE-Produced by Erron Williams and Beyonce, this acoustic-sounding with Country music elements to it but still sounding R&B ballad is weird because they just sang about being "free" and "through with love" but the CD celebrates all spheres of love. I love this song. It is just a beautiful love song where the lyrics are not cheesy. It is also not your traditional R&B ballad like CATER 2 U is which is an excellent song, but here the harmonies are magnificent. It is just a nice, laidback, breezy song. All of the ladies' vocals are more evenly distributed here. A+

Overall, the CD is tight. It is good to see Destiny Child matured and grown ladies. There are not the usual disposable, bubblegum songs like Bootylicious, which was fun but good but who listens to that now? This is more quality. It is good to hear Beyonce's creamy, operatic vocals mixed in with Kelly's mature, soulful voice and Michelle's nasal but unique vocals. I just wished they were not breaking up because if this was any indication, the group was only going to get better with quality material.

Destiny's Child is going downhill in so many ways....

1. Beyonce is TAKING OVER. You may as well rename them Beyonce's Child. Beyonce, we know you're feeling sympathy for your not-so-successful sistas, but if you're going to get back together with them, the least your ungrateful selfish ass could do is ACTUALLY INCLUDE THEM IN THE MUSIC. I forget...what are the other two girls' names again...? Do we care...?

2. They are becoming a bunch of sex-hungry skanks, like the rest of our oh-so-predictable f^&%ing world. They used to stand out because of their modesty and class, but now they're just typical trash. Are these girls, singing sex anthems like "Cater 2 U" and doing streetwalker-friendly videos really the same singers of "Independent Women" and "Nasty Girl"...? Like another reviewer said, "Lose My Breath" is awesome, and "Solider" is somewhat catchy as well but when you listen to the lyrics....your jaw will drop to the floor if you don't gag first.

3. ....ONE upbeat song?!! That's IT????? People keep defending, 'they dont have to just do it for the clubs, blagh blagh blah'......yeah well this crap is so slow and so boring they wouldn't play it at an old folks' home, let alone a club. Survivor had a lot of dance songs, which was nice....and Writing's On The Wall at least had a few....this is too big a change.

4. Even attempts to bring meaningful messages fall flat because the melodies are so painfully dreary, you can't listen to it. Slightly slow songs are nice in moderation (same with dance songs), but when you have THIS many ballads on one album, it gets excrutiatingly boring to listen to....people only have so much patience.

5. WTF is a quiet, raspy religion-obsessed Catholic girl like Michelle doing singing this kind of music..? Hearing her try to be sexual in the music and watching her try to be ghetto in the videos is just plain laughable. She doesn't fit in with this crowd.

So there you have it. Thanks for the "Lose My Breath" single, ladies, we've had our DC fix. You can go now.

Destiny's Child - Destiny Fulfilled (Sony Music Urban, 2004)

I know it's cliché to start off a Destiny's Child review without mentioning Beyoncé's name first but after she hit it big with last year's Dangerously in Love album people wondered if she would do a Justin Timberlake and never look back or come back to do at least one more album with her girls. Well, she's back with her Child(ren) and their new album, Destiny Fulfilled. This album is thankfully better than their last album, 2001's Survivor, which was too pop, experimental, and mediocre. However, it's just like Dangerously in Love, meaning that it has its highs and lows.

First of all, to all the reviewers who keep saying, "This album is too slow, where are the dance tracks that they are known for", YOU NEVER KNEW DESTINY'S CHILD. Their two biggest hits were "Bills, Bills, Bills" and "Say My Name", which are slow songs. But they can still make you shake a tail feather, so the album kicks off with "Lose My Breath" (man, that "Drumline" movie is providing a lot of samples this year!) and "Soldier" (with T.I. and Lil Wayne). The rest of the songs are typical Destiny's Child stuff: women's lib anthems ("Girl"), I-love-you-so-much ditties ("Love", "Cater 2 U"), trifiling-man songs ("Is She the Reason") and some love-making songs thrown in for good measure ("Lose My Breath", "T-Shirt"). "T-Shirt" is actually a standout, and the production by 9th Wonder on "Is She The Reason" and "Girl" is great (Beyoncé dating Jay-Z must have its priviledges; 9th also produced Jay-Z's "Threat" last year).

What really brings this album down are the predictible song structures (Beyoncé dominates the chorus, she and Kelly switch off between first and second verse, Michelle sings the bridge). Speaking of Michelle, she really can't sing that great. She tries to come off like an old soul singer but ends up sounding like Macy Gray and Fantasia combined. I wonder how she even passed the auditions. She reminds me of the third member of Brownstone who couldn't sing well and had to leave the group because of throat problems.

This album shows that Beyoncé is obviously better as a solo artist (doesn't this remind anyone of when Michael Jackson went back to the Jackson 5 during the mid-'80s for one last album?) while Kelly and Michelle should concentrate on their own solo careers as well. Alas, another R&B album this year that doesn't provide any surprises but will keep the fans happy, or at least serve for good background music. Matter of fact, I'll listen to some Brownstone now and reminisce on the good ol' days of R&B. -EJR

I dont understand why so maybe people dont like it on the internet,but everyone i know does.The only reason I can think of is because of Beyonce being overexposed.I like the fact that each song brings something different to the cd,and also the fact that we here everyones voice,and its pure r&b,and the fact that they are in love make me love it more .my only problem is that i wish the cd would of had maybe 2 or 3 more tracks.But i remember dc said the cd was telling a story,and if you listen to each track you can hear the story.I think most people are either skimming through the tracks or are only listening to the album once,and then judgeing it.If people would be open,and actually listen to their voices,they might have a different reaction.People wanted a survior part2 (IMO the ablum was overhyped),they wanted the independent women of 2000&2001,but they fell in love.I mean they couldnt keep the male bashing going forever.it seems they are very where they are right in there life and it shows through there music.My favorite tracks are:

through with love-can i say michell killed the track at the end love the message

if- they all sound so good i love the way hey harmonize

cater to you-they man takes care of them so its there turn to do the same

love-i love this song

Well as of right now they already sold 3 million in the U.S.,so i guess all the bad reviews arent stopping the people heard them

GO GET THIS CD

I can't believe that Beyonce did this to us. It is all about that contractual agreements.. She just made this Cd to quiet the fans... She never really liked anyone the members they always placed her in the middle so when she was ready to go solo people would buy into her. She is just bad and her [...] hurts my ears. How many packs of weave can Tina stitch in to Beyonce's head? I guess Tina doesn't know that because man her hair just keeps on looking like a Raggetty Ann doll... Don't get me started on the VMAs... She looks like a Malibu Barbie doll.. Actually she should be called Malibu Beyonce. If you place spotlight on her weave grows an inch every hour and begins to blonde after six hours. I feel sorry for every victim that has been a [...] in to Beyonce's plot of ultra success. 11 tracks on a CD that is saying that your Destiny is fulfilled.. If this CD saying that it is fulfilled then I am scared of what it would be like if it weren't. Beyonce just weaved all over this CD like she did Survivor. They stick Michelle in the middle but Beyonce head and weave is bigger than Kelly and Michelle's.. MORE GROUP AND LESS BEYONCE!

This CD is bad, burn the singles and then when you get tired of them throw your CD away because the songs will be [...]