Destiny Fulfilled


Destiny Fulfilled is the fifth and final studio album by American R&B trio Destiny's Child. It was released on November 16, 2004, by Columbia Records and Sony Urban Music. A comeback release, it marked the return of Destiny's Child after the group went into hiatus, which allowed each member to release solo albums. Unlike their previous material, this record saw each member equally contributing to the songwriting and production. Destiny's Child further worked with frequent collaborators such as Rockwilder, Swizz Beatz and Rodney Jerkins as well as several new producers.
For the album's theme, the members drew inspiration from the conversations they had during the first week of recording when they discussed about the happenings in their lives while being apart. Composed mostly of mid-tempo songs and ballads that are subsequent continuations of each other, altogether telling one complete story, Destiny Fulfilled is an R&B album. It was released to generally mixed reviews among music critics who criticized its mid-tempo ballads and lyrical content. The album was commercially successful; it reached number two on the US Billboard 200, and has since been certified triple Platinum in that region. It was also successful in different countries worldwide receiving certifications in Australia, Canada, Germany and the United Kingdom among others.
As part of the album's promotion, the group performed songs from it on numerous award ceremonies and televised appearances in the US and Europe. They further embarked on the tour Destiny Fulfilled... and Lovin' It in 2005 with 67 dates across four continents worldwide. Destiny Fulfilled spawned four singles—the lead single "Lose My Breath", "Soldier", "Girl" and "Cater 2 U". After the tour, the group disbanded.

Background

While recording their third studio album Survivor in late 2000, Beyoncé announced that Destiny's Child would eventually go on a hiatus that would allow each member to release a solo album, which they hoped would further increase interest in the group. The idea of solo releases emanated from the group's manager, Beyoncé's father, Mathew Knowles. Kelly Rowland further explained in an interview that Destiny's Child has been present in the media for a long time and they wanted to "give the public eye a rest from DC for a minute". During that same interview, she acknowledged that the trio would return to the studio in fall 2003 to start with the work on a new album.
Two members of the group, Beyoncé and Rowland each released one album, while Michelle Williams released two. While each member achieved domestic success, Beyoncé's had been regarded as the most successful with the release of Dangerously in Love, which enjoyed international commercial success and acclaim. This, along with their other ongoing projects, led to speculation over the disbandment of Destiny's Child. Amidst rumors and speculations, Rowland announced in 2004 their return to the studio to record what would become their fourth and final album. The group claimed that the reunion was destined to happen, and that their affinity to each other kept them together.
After this album, the group planned to part ways after their fourteen-year career to facilitate their solo careers. Beyoncé has noted that their destinies were already fulfilled; however, Destiny's Child claimed that naming the album Destiny Fulfilled was not a coincidence. Beyoncé has said that "the group felt it still had something to offer musically" with the album before adding: "We did this record for ourselves, not to sell a million the first week out... That doesn't mean as much to us as just the fact that three friends got back together to do another record. That was our destiny.". Rowland commented: "We were like, 'You know what, we're getting older and we want to end on a high note.' We want to give our fans a great final record". Beyoncé, also commented regarding the finality of their career: "Who knows what will happen in three, five or 10 years? The main thing is that we maintain our friendship and that we do it because we want to – not because it's a good business move."

Production and recording

Production of the album began in summer of 2004 with Destiny's Child taking help from frequent collaborators including Rockwilder, Swizz Beatz and Rodney Jerkins. The group worked on the album within a period of three weeks. Jerkins, who had worked with Beyoncé for her solo album Dangerously in Love, concerned how he would manage the production, saying, "How is this going to work?' Cause Beyoncé, she blew up solo, so how's it going to work in a group together?". He stated that once he got inside the studio, however, his skepticism vanished as he saw the group's "excitement being back in the studio together", calling the process "natural". The members of the group stated that the first week of recording was spent solely on conversations about the happenings in their lives while being apart from each other as they hadn't spent quaility time for a long period. This further inspired them to record the conversations and use it as the main theme of the record.
Differing from Survivor in that previously Beyoncé had taken an active role in writing and producing, Destiny Fulfilled saw each member contributing inputs culled from personal experiences and individual opinions and points of view not dependent from the others'. In most cases, producers of the album would send them a CD containing a track that would be the group's basis in the songwriting process; without the producer's supervision of which part to sing, that formed a new direction of their style different from their previous records. The traditional approach where each member sang one verse and chimed in the chorus was replaced; in some songs in Destiny Fulfilled, their vocals were alternated in every line of the lyrics, a technique similar to hip hop artists. Destiny's Child took the role of executive producing alongside their manager, Mathew Knowles. Beyoncé, who vocally produced the songs, commented that it was important for her to make sure their voices were audible and identifiable. Taking it as one of her goals, the group decided to focus on mid-tempo songs and on few dance numbers and ballads—which they considered people cannot sing with. Beyoncé elaborated "We wanted to make sure that the songs would be something that we were proud of 10 years from now, 20 years from now. We wanted it to be something that people can really feel an emotion to. Up-tempo songs can do that, but they more make you wanna dance." As Rowland was recently engaged in the time of the writing of the album, it further influenced her songwriting. She also cited that being apart from the group affected the album as well: "All of us have been in three different places ... so there's a lot to talk about, a lot that's gone on, personally. I think it's important to talk about that on this new record, to put what we've been going through separately into the new record."

Composition

During an interview with MTV, Beyoncé stated that the songs put altogether tell a complete story and noted that each song was a subsequent continuation to the next one. She concluded, " this whole journey of this group of women trying to find love. And truly they find it because they love themselves and find it in themselves. It's friendship, it's love, it's maturity and growth, and it's everything that we wanted it to be." For the music of the album, the group tried challenging themselves, working with different arrangements, trying to create an original sound; to succeed in this, they were influenced by The Emotions, Jodeci and SWV mixing elements of their music. Destiny Fulfilled is predominantly an R&B concept album tracing a woman's relationship journey. Critics further found elements of soul music, dance and hip-hop. The album is mostly composed of mid and slowtempo balladry following the opening two songs; Caroline Sullivan of The Guardian felt that the ballads showcased "the girliness in the trio, musically and lyrically". Eric Henderson of Slant Magazine found elements of middle of the road music in the ballads.
The album opens with the up-tempo dance song "Lose My Breath", a track detailing a man full of empty promises to a woman. It is musically complete with military, marching-band drums and keyboard stabs and the backing track contains various sound effects. "Soldier", the second track with T.I. and Lil Wayne, the only featured artists on the album, contains elements from Southern hip hop and Crunk&B. Unsatisfied and unfulfilled with the lover from the opening song, the protagonists ask for a decent soldier, further singing about finding a gangster. After finding the soldier, the third song, the R&B number "Cater 2 U", lyrically is about submissively serving the man considered as such. Inspired by him, the protagonists sing about doing various things to make him happy musically accompanied by synthesizer as the song builds a crescendo.
The fourth song "T-Shirt" is complete with inorganic drum sounds, guitar and backwards loop as the trio sings about sleeping in bed with their man's T-shirt, "craving his presence, and inhailing his scent". "Is She the Reason" is an R&B ballad which was noted to have a similar chord progression to materials by The Beatles, which lyrically speaks on being in competition with another woman for her mans love & attention. It contains a trumpet-laden sample from Melba Moore's song "I Don't Know No One Else to Turn To". The next song, "Girl" was noted for its Motown influence and a theme talking about friendship. "If", complete with strings, lyrically talks about men who don't appreciate their female lovers until their relationship ends and they realize their mistakes. "Free" was described as a "soul classic from 1975" with critics also noting elements of 1970s funk music, as the trio speaks on being "set free" after being in a relationship where her lover never tending to her desires like she does for him. The midtempo number "Through with Love" was noted for having an "angry" nature as it talks about a break-up. It contains an undulating piano line as the members of the group sing with restrained vocals and later religious redemption with elements of gospel. In "Love", "capital L kicks the daylights out of the forces of fear, doubt and disappointment", as the group "thank God for love". They further sing about how people "can't truly love another until love God and then ". They further proclaim that they have found love and are "madly in it".

Release and promotion

The track listing of Destiny Fulfilled was revealed on October 15, 2004. The album was first released in Japan on November 10, 2004. It was released on November 16, 2004, in North America via Columbia Records. Although the original release was intended to be one day earlier, Columbia Records was concerned about "potential for Internet leaks and 'burned' CD counterfeits" that could "lead consumers to experience inferior and incomplete versions of the album" which led to the postponement of Destiny Fulfilled.
The group performed "Lose My Breath" on ABC's 2004 National Football League "Opening Kickoff" special after its online release on September 9, 2004, to break their yearlong hiatus. On October 25, 2004, they appeared at the Radio Music Awards in Las Vegas performing the song with an a cappella jazz opening. The following month they performed three songs from their previous albums and finished with "Lose My Breath" on The Oprah Winfrey Show where they also sat down for an interview with Oprah Winfrey. On November 8, 2004, the trio appeared on Total Request Live and performed the song along with "Say My Name". They went to the German entertainment TV show Wetten, dass..? on November 13, 2004, and performed "Lose My Breath". At BET's 106 & Park Destiny's Child performed "Soldier" on November 15, 2004. They also performed the song on CBSs The Early Show on December 8, 2004. In early February 2005 they gave another performance of "Soldier" at the British show Top of the Pops. At the 2005 NBA All-Star Game on February 20, 2005, they sang both "Soldier" and "Lose My Breath". They performed the latter song again at the 2005 ESPY Awards on July 13 with the ceremony being aired on ESPN four days later. "Cater 2 U" was performed on June 28 during the 2005 BET Awards in Los Angeles.
When the advanced release date of the album was announced, the group confirmed the initial dates of their worldwide tour Destiny Fulfilled... and Lovin' It in connection with Destiny Fulfilleds promotion. Promotions of the tour were aired over the radio and television across the United States and the group further collaborated with McDonald's, which served as its sponsor. The tour's set list included songs from Destiny Fulfilled as well as Destiny's Child's previous albums and songs from the solo albums of each member performed individually. Numerous costume changes occurred throughout the show; the concert exhibited products from Beyoncé's clothing line from the House of Deréon, a company she co-founded with her mother Tina Knowles. A performance from the tour was filmed in Atlanta on July 15, 2005, and the DVD Destiny's Child Live in Atlanta chronicling the concert was released on March 28, 2006.

Singles

The album's lead single, "Lose My Breath", premiered on AOL Music on September 9, 2004 and it was released on September 21. Its high-mark debut at number 30 on the Billboard Hot 100 prior to its release gave the album an early boost. The single peaked at number three on the chart for the week ending November 6, 2004 giving the group their ninth top ten single. "Lose My Breath" topped the Hot Dance Club Songs chart for the week ending January 8, 2005 and was later certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America on April 28, 2005 selling 500,000 copies in the US. It was also successful across Europe, peaking at number one on the European Hot 100 Singles chart for the week ending December 4, 2004 spending four consecutive weeks on top. It managed to top the charts in Belgium, Ireland, Italy and Switzerland and it further appeared in the top ten in almost every other chart. The American Broadcasting Company used the song as the music for their introductory montage at the 2004 NBA Playoffs and through the first few weeks of the 2005 NBA Playoffs.
"Soldier", released on December 7, 2004, peaked at the third position on the Billboard Hot 100 chart becoming the band's tenth top ten single on that chart. It further became the second single from the album to top the Hot Dance Club Songs chart for the week ending February 26, 2005. The RIAA gave it a gold certification for selling 500,000 digital copies in the US. "Soldier" further peaked at number four on the UK Singles Chart, number 3 on the ARIA Charts in Australia and appeared in the top 20 in many European countries. The third single from the album, "Girl" was released on May 2, 2005 in the UK and on May 17 in the US. It was successful on the ARIA Chart peaking at number five and number six both on the UK Singles Chart and the New Zealand Singles Chart in addition to appearing in other European charts. In the US, it peaked at number 23 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart becoming the lowest charting single there from the album. The fourth and final single from Destiny Fulfilled was "Cater 2 U" released in the US and Italy only beginning on June 14, 2005. It peaked at number 14 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number three on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs further being certified gold by the RIAA.

Other songs

"Got's My Own" was released a promotional single on May 3, 2005.

Critical reception

Destiny Fulfilled received mixed reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted mean rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 52 based on 17 reviews. Dimitri Ehrlich of Vibe magazine complimented the production of the album, saying that it "showcases advanced production values" with "impressive" songwriting and vocal abilities and concluded that it "offers divine satisfaction". A writer of Billboard felt that Destiny Fulfilled worked as "a testament to Beyoncé's evolving multiple talents". Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic praised Rowland's and Williams' abilities as vocalists and their contributions to the choruses, but felt that Beyoncé "steals every song on Destiny Fulfilled" further commending her for sounding "larger than life even when she's quiet"; however he concluded, "as a whole, the album winds up sounding too reserved and heavy-handed, which makes it a disappointment". Andy Battaglia of The A.V. Club wrote in his review that "Destiny Fulfilled sounds distant and detached" further criticizing its mid-tempo ballads for sounding "uninterrupted at best, uninspired at worst". Kelefa Sanneh of The New York Times commented that it is "a surprisingly perfunctory disc that never quite justifies its existence". Alan Ranta of Tiny Mix Tapes doubted Beyoncé's lyrical sincerity, saying, "the success of this album depends once again on the complete suspension of die-hard fans' disbelief that Beyoncé 'Your Ad Here' Knowles could ever actually truly love another human being as much as she loves herself and her possessions."
Caroline Sullivan of The Guardian commented that the lead vocals of the songs were likely to be sung by each member equally, noting that it made the album a "democratic" one; however she criticized them for squandering "the extent of their talents" on the album. Tom Sinclair of Entertainment Weekly also noticed its "overall air of democracy at work" and noted that Destiny Fulfilled "often moves at a molasses-like pace, weighted down with a preponderance of exquisitely executed but ultimately dull ballads". Jenny Eliscu of Rolling Stone magazine echoed his comments, saying, "In all but a couple of songs, the verses are divided into three sections, with Beyonce leading things off, followed by Rowland, then Williams". She noted that after a couple of upbeat songs, "the album slumps into an endless string of overwrought R&B ballads where the only saving grace is ... these ladies can harmonize like nobody's business." Eric Henderson of Slant Magazine has commented that the ballads of the album build into "the same sort of standoffish sexual supply-and-demand bartering that has marred their worst tracks". Most of the critics questioned why Beyoncé had to return to Destiny's Child after achieving the most success among the members of the group. Henderson lambasted Beyoncé to performing again with the group with the "full intention" of taking advantage to bolster her "divette" status to superstardom. In May 2006, Destiny Fulfilled was listed at number 24 on a list titled "The 50 Worst Albums Ever!" compiled by Q magazine.

Accolades

The album won in the category for Favorite Soul/R&B Album at the 2005 American Music Awards where Destiny's Child also won the Favorite Soul/R&B Band award. At the 2005 Soul Train Music Awards Destiny Fulfilled received an award for Best R&B/Soul Album while "Soldier" received Best R&B/Soul Single. The album was nominated in the category for Best Contemporary R&B Album at the 48th Grammy Awards in 2006 but it lost to Mariah Carey's The Emancipation of Mimi. Its singles "Soldier" and "Cater 2 U" further received nominations in three different categories at the same ceremony. The previous year, "Lose My Breath" was nominated in the category for Best R&B Vocal Performance by a Duo Or Group at the 47th Annual Grammy Awards.

Commercial performance

In the United States, the album debuted at number 19 on the Billboard 200 for the week ending November 27, 2004 for amassing sales of 61,000 copies prior to a whole tracking week. In its first official week of sales, Destiny Fulfilled sold over 497,000 copies, with an increase of 713% compared to its early sales; the album's chart position rocketed to number two on the Billboard 200 for the week ending December 4, 2004. In the same week, it debuted at number one on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart becoming the group's second chart topper following Survivor in 2001. After being removed from the top position for three consecutive weeks, Destiny Fulfilled returned to number one for the week ending January 1, 2005. On January 14, 2005 it was certified triple Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America for shipment of 3,000,000 copies. It emerged as the seventh best-selling album and third best-selling R&B album in 2005. As of October 2009, the album has sold 3.1 million copies in the US according to Nielsen SoundScan. It was ranked at number 133 on the decade-end chart of the best-selling albums in that country for the period between 2000 and 2009. The album peaked at number 3 on the Canadian Albums Chart and was awarded Platinum certification by Music Canada selling 100,000 copies.
In the UK, Destiny Fulfilled debuted at number five on the UK Albums Chart on November 27, 2004 which also became its peak position in that country. Having spent a total of 21 weeks on the chart, it became the group's third album to enter the top ten in the UK until 2005 and the fourth one in their entire career. On November 19, 2004, the British Phonographic Industry certified it Platinum for selling 300,000 copies. On the Irish Albums Chart, Destiny Fulfilled debuted and peaked at number 6 on November 18, 2004 becoming Destiny's Child third consecutive top ten album in Ireland. It was also successful in other European countries, peaking at number 3 on the German Albums Chart, further being certified Platinum in that region. In France, Destiny Fulfilled peaked at number nine in its first week on November 14, 2004. It was last seen on the country's albums chart at number 163 on September 3, 2005.
On the Australian ARIA Albums Chart, Destiny Fulfilled debuted at number 11 on November 28, 2004, a position which later became its peak. Spending a total of 31 weeks through 2004 and 2005 ascending and descending the chart, the album was certified Platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association for shipment of 70,000 copies in that region. In New Zealand, Destiny Fulfilled peaked at number 21 on April 25, 2005 and the Recorded Music NZ awarded it with a gold certification for 7,500 copies sold. In Japan, the album debuted and peaked at number four on the Oricon chart due to the success of "Lose My Breath" which reached number one on the singles chart there. The album has sold over 625,000 copies there and was certified double Platinum by Oricon making it Destiny's Child's biggest success there to date. It won in the category Rock/Pop Album of the Year International at the 19th Japan Gold Disc Award in 2005 organized by the Recording Industry Association of Japan. Destiny Fulfilled was named the eighth best-selling album of 2004 worldwide by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry.

Disbandment

In a visit at the Palau Sant Jordi in Barcelona, Spain on July 11, 2005, Rowland announced before 16,000 spectators that Destiny Fulfilled... and Lovin' It would be Destiny's Child last tour together, revealing their formal disbandment. After their final North American leg, the group parted ways. In a statement released to MTV, the band said that the tour had provided them the opportunity to depart from Destiny's Child on a "high note". They also talked about the moment when the group started their musical endeavor and their realizations of pursuing individual careers after working together for several years. Destiny's Child thanked fans for their support while not closing the chance of seeing them continuing each member's goals in music, film, and television. In another interview they explained that their disbandment was planned during the making of the album. While in the studio, they discussed individual aspirations and realized that remaining as a group would prevent them in pursuing those interests. Rowland revealed that they wanted to break up while they were still successful and "friends ". Beyoncé, however, emphasized that Destiny Fulfilled would not be their last album and disclosed the idea of a possible reunion.

Track listing

Credits adapted from the album's liner notes
Notes
Sample Credits
Credits are adapted from the Destiny Fulfilled liner notes.
Production

Album

Chart Peak
position

Year-end charts

Decade-end charts

Certifications