PASADENA, Calif. — R&B/pop girl group Destiny's Child, who went from being a quartet to a trio after Farrah Franklin left the group last month, said on Tuesday they're going to remain a threesome.

"We're gonna keep it as a trio," lead singer Beyoncé Knowles said, shortly after she and bandmates Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams arrived here for The Source Hip-Hop Music Awards.

"We're stronger vocally than we've ever been," Rowland said. She and Knowles are the two remaining original members of Destiny's Child.

Destiny's Child manager Mathew Knowles, Beyoncé's father, said shortly after Franklin's departure that the members hoped to find a replacement by the time their next album hits stores early next year.

But the group, which is touring with pop star Christina Aguilera, apparently has decided that a fourth member isn't necessary.

Franklin's exit from the group followed only five months after she and Williams replaced original members LaToya Luckett and LaTivia Roberson. The lineup changes have stirred speculation about the fate of Destiny's Child.

"There's nothing but positive things going on in Destiny's Child now," Beyoncé Knowles told reporters. "We're here to stay."

Clad for the ceremony in matching gem-studded white outfits, the three group members stood with their arms around each other's waists, as if to illustrate unity within the group. Destiny's Child were nominated for R&B Artist of the Year, but a brawl in the crowd led police to curtail the ceremony before their category was announced. A list of winners that surfaced Wednesday showed the award going to "Thong Song" rapper Sisqó. The Source Awards will air on UPN on Tuesday, after the missing award presentations are restaged and inserted into the ceremony footage shot at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium. (Sonicnet.com's parent company, Viacom, also owns UPN.)

Destiny's Child have the lead single on the upcoming "Charlie's Angels" soundtrack — a song called "Independent Woman, Pt. 1," which Beyoncé Knowles wrote and produced.

"I think the title says Destiny's Child exactly, because that's who we are — independent women," Rowland said. "But it's for any strong woman, whether you're a single mother or a young woman just getting started on her life."

Even beyond its message, Knowles said the tune is perfect as the film's theme song, because "Charlie's Angels are three, and Destiny's Child are three."

Destiny's Child's second album, The Writing's on the Wall, has sold more than 6 million copies, and it's at #12 on the Billboard 200 albums chart. "Jumpin', Jumpin' " (RealAudio excerpt), the group's latest single, climbed to #3 on the magazine's Hot 100 Singles chart.

Destiny's Child are making stops at shopping malls to sign autographs as they tour the United States with Aguilera.

The group's tour manager told MTV News that 2,500 fans showed up for autographs at the first two mall appearances in Chicago on Saturday and Cincinnati on Monday.