Before Beyonce became this iconic figure, she was a part of the group Destiny’s Child. Destiny’s Child released their self-titled debut album back in February of 1998. The album was a success after selling over a million copies. The following year, they released their second album called The Writing’s on the Wall. The Writing’s on the Wall turned them into megastars after selling over seven million copies in the United States. Bills, Bills, Bills, Bug a Boo, Say My Name and other tracks helped them sell over 13 million records worldwide. Destiny’s Child did a lot of touring which added to the success of The Writing’s on the Wall. Less than two years later, Destiny’s Child hit us with their third album called Survivor.
Destiny’s Child faced the controversial departure of original members LeToya Luckett and LaTavia Roberson, who were replaced with Farrah Franklin and Michelle Williams. Soon afterwards, they commenced production of their third studio album, tentatively titled Independent Women. Franklin departed the group five months after joining. Independent Women Part I was subsequently released as a single from the accompanying soundtrack for the film Charlie’s Angels (2000). The song became a global commercial success and the group’s third US Billboard Hot 100 number one single. Survivor was the first single released from the album. Survivor was inspired by a joke that a radio station had made about the fact that three members had already left the group. It was made to compare the group to the reality game show Survivor. Survivor was a commercial success, peaking at number two on the US Billboard Hot 100.
The song won the Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals at the 44th Annual Grammy Awards (2002). Its accompanying music video won the 2001 MTV Video Music Award for Best R&B Video. Survivor also won a 2001 Soul Train Lady of Soul Award for Best R&B/Soul Single, Group, Band or Duo. In 2017, Billboard ranked the song at number 40 on their list “100 Greatest Girl Group Songs of All Time”. Additionally, BET named it the 10th-best song of the 2000s. Bootylicious became their second single released from the Survivor album. Bootylicious debuted at number 66 on the US Billboard Hot 100 on June 9, 2001. Nine weeks later, the song reached number one, becoming the group’s fourth and final number-one single in the United States. It remained on the chart for 19 additional weeks. Bootylicious earned them another platinum plaque.
Emotion was their third single to be released from the album. The song was heavily played on radio stations during the aftermath of the September 11 attacks and eventually became a tribute song to the family of the victims. The song was heavily played on radio stations during the aftermath of the September 11 attacks and eventually became a tribute song to the family of the victims. Emotion continued Destiny’s Child’s streak of top 10 hits in the United States, peaking at number ten on the Billboard Hot 100. Despite its success, Emotion didn’t reach platinum status like their previous two singles. Nasty Girl became the group’s fourth and final single from the album. The track was another good record but didn’t top their previous three singles. Survivor was a global commercial success; the album debuted atop the US Billboard 200 with first-week sales of 663,000 units.
Survivor was Destiny’s Child’s first and only number one studio album on the chart. Survivor was a major success by selling almost five million copies alone in the United States. By 2004, it had sold over 10 million copies worldwide, being among the best-selling girl group albums of all time. The album was nominated or won several awards. The success of the album also began the process of Beyonce starting her solo career. Two years later, Beyonce would release her Dangerously In Love album. Below are my top 5 tracks from the Survivor album. After that, check out the track listing and stream link for the Survivor album.
Top 5 Tracks: Independent Woman Part 1, Survivor, Bootylicious, Emotion, and Dangerously in Love
Survivor Track Listing
- Independent Woman Part 1
- Survivor
- Bootylicious
- Nasty Girl
- Fancy
- Apple Pie a la Mode
- Sexy Daddy
- Independent Woman Part II
- Happy Face
- Emotion
- Dangerously in Love
- Brown Eyes
- The Story of Beauty
- Gospel Medley
- Outro (DC-3) Thank You
