15 Years of ‘Destiny Fulfilled’
Another day, another iconic girl group celebrates a milestone anniversary. Today in 2004, Destiny’s Child released their final studio album, Destiny Fulfilled.
In 2002, the trio announced that they would be going on hiatus to pursue separate solo endeavors. It came as a surprise to some, but the group had openly discussed solo plans as early as December 2000, months before the Survivor album dropped.
Michelle would go on to release a successful gospel album; Kelly also released an album and had one of the biggest hits of 2002 as a feature on Nelly’s “Dilemma”; and then there was Beyoncé, who embarked on a solo career that has become one of the most illustrious in the history of show business.
After Beyoncé’s solo success, the writing was essentially on the wall for the group. In fact, many wondered if there would be another Destiny’s Child album, but the group stayed true to their word and got together one last time to give us Destiny Fulfilled. Eight months after its release, however, the group announced that they were disbanding during the Barcelona stop of their Destiny Fulfilled… and Lovin’ It tour.
Before we can discuss anything else, let’s talk about how they let McDonald’s put its slogan in the name of their tour. The 2000s were a dark time.
Lamentation about cheating men was the most prominent theme on Destiny Fulfilled, with five of the album’s 11 tracks touching on this subject. Elsewhere on the album, we have the ladies singing about sex for the first time, with “T-Shirt” being the most naked in its references. Pun totally intended.
Destiny Fulfilled doesn’t quite measure up to The Writing’s on the Wall or even Survivor, but the album is solid and many of its tracks have aged really well. Also, we get to hear more of Kelly and Michelle on lead vocal duties than we had on previous albums.
Picking a favorite track was fairly easy for this album. “Through with Love,” co-written by Sean Garrett, Mario Winans and all three members of the group, is the album’s winner by far. The track is sonically different from anything the group had ever done and yet consistent with the theme of the album and adjacent to the girl power messaging that the group was known for. The decision to not make it a single remains a burning question, but those who know know. Check it out below.
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