Entertainment

Most Destiny's Child Fans Didn't Know This

by S. Atkinson

May 1 marks the 15th anniversary of the seminal Destiny's Child album, Survivor and Entertainment Weekly have released an oral history to celebrate the album's anniversary. "We spoke to some of the key players, including Michelle Williams and to some of the producers," says the Entertainment Weekly presenter in the video clip at the top of the interview. The interview's packed with some serious fact tidbits, too. Sound engineer Dan Workman reveals that the high expectations were very much focused on Beyoncé and Kelly Rowland. We learnt that Beyoncé pulled a Britney when she had some hair extensions put in and "It was super uncomfortable wearing the headphones with the extensions, so she went into the ladies’ room and just cut them off. She came out [with short hair], and she didn’t care at all. She was among friends and family." We also learned that the girls are truly just like us, and their love of food knows no bounds, which is nice because sometimes I forget Beyoncé is actually human. You know, what with how perfect she is.

Williams said: "We were just writing and eating, writing and eating in the studio. Chips, candy, smoothies, ordering a lot of Boston Market rotisserie chicken, the sweet potato casserole, corn bread." But even though the interview drops truth bombs right, left and center, there's one moment that really seems the most revealing of all.

At one point, D'Wayne Wiggins, who co-wrote and produced their song "Fancy," explains:

They took their time to pick lyrics and make sure they had the right clever words. They taught me the word krunk. Beyoncé can pick songs. It’s like picking a lock. They shared the energy, they supported each other, and they would just take a song and dissect it and put it back together again. For “Fancy,” it took [only] about 30 or 45 minutes to change the hook.

This might not seem like a big deal on first read, but look at it this way: Beyoncé and the girls were all aged between 20 and 21 years old at this point. There were rumors about catfighting, powerplay and all the sort of gossip that gets spun when there's a bunch of women being forced to work together. But Wiggins was there: his testimony suggests that they weren't a bunch of young women who couldn't stand each other, they were pretty much the perfect band, supporting each other and working together. Furthermore, they were intensely, innately talented: Whoo, at such a tender age, can rewrite a hook to a song that has so much going on melodically in less than an hour? Check it:

So, just because Beyoncé has the best solo career on the planet, don't forget: Destiny's Child wasn't holding her back. Destiny's Child was her training ground for greatness.

Images: Giphy