Destiny’s Child Reborn In The Name of Fans
Destiny’s Child is coming off the shelf.
After a two-year hiatus, the bootylicious Grammy-winning R&B trio is already recording a new album has just announced their first live gig since 2002.
The troika of Beyonc Knowles, Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams are planning to hit the stage in Los Angeles in September to preview songs from their forthcoming album. That concert will be taped, and one of tunes will in turn be featured on Pepsi’s Play for a Billion game show airing Sept. 12 on ABC.
“We are really looking forward to getting back on stage and performing together as a group,” said Knowles, the trio’s most prominent member, who has found huge success as a solo artist, actress and, yes, Pepsi pitchwoman, in a statement Thursday. “The Pepsi Play for a Billion show is a great place to share our new music with the millions of viewers who will tune-in to see if someone wins that billion dollar prize.”
Pepsi’s Play for a Billion, hosted by Damon Wayans, is a game show offering one lucky Pepsi drinker the chance at a potential $1 billion grand prize awarded live on TV.
The Destiny divas’ sixth album will hit record racks in November, followed by a tour. It will be the official follow-up to 2001’s Survivor, which sold more than 8 million copies and earned the group a Grammy for the hit title track.
Back in December 2001, Knowles told E! that, after four albums in four years, Destiny’s Child needed a break. “I think the great thing about us doing this is we will all have to develop individually,” she said.
As independent women, the ladies of Destiny’s Child did themselves proud.
During the hiatus, Beyonc was a multimedia monster. She starred in two feature films, Austin Powers in Goldmember and The Fighting Temptations, won a record-tying five Grammys (news – web sites) for her multiplatinum solo debut, Dangerously in Love, headlined a tour with Missy Elliott and Alicia Keys, got her own perfume, signed on as a Pepsi pitchperson and is readying her own fashion line.
Her cousin Rowland, meanwhile, released her own Grammy-nominated solo debut, Simply Deep, starred in the horror flick Freddy vs. Jason, had guest stints on NBC’s American Dreams and UPN’s Eve and became engaged to pro football player Roy Williams.
Michelle Williams, meanwhile, released two solo gospel albums, Heart to Yours and Do You Know, and starred in the Broadway production of Aida.
Although they each enjoyed solo success and despite rumors to the contrary, the bandmates always intended to reform at some point.
When asked when they would regroup in 2001, Rowland said, “You know how the Beatles broke off, they all did their solo projects and they came back together and they were even stronger.”
That’s not quite how it worked, Kelly, but we get the idea.
Julie Keller – E!Online