Destiny's Child May Get A New Member Next Year
Another child may be on her way to Destiny.
When Beyoncé Knowles, Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams reconvene next year, the independent women will likely be joined by another singer.
Destiny's Child manager Mathew Knowles said Thursday (June 26) he's considering adding his other daughter, Solange, to the group. ([article id="1473432"]Click here for photos from Beyoncé's album release party.[/article])
Solange has been in the group before, when she temporally filled in after Rowland broke two toes in the fall of 2000 (see [article id="1428039"]"Destiny's Child Has Tough Backstage Break"[/article]). She's also opened for Destiny's Child as a solo act and collaborated with Beyoncé and Rowland in the studio.
If Beyoncé's sister joins the group, it won't be the first time Destiny's Child have been a quartet. The group started with four members -- Beyoncé Rowland, LaToya Luckett and LaTavia Roberson -- in the early '90s. In early 2000, Luckett and Roberson were controversially replaced by Williams and Farrah Franklin, who left five months later.
Mathew told the Los Angeles Times on Tuesday he was definitely adding a fourth member, but later told MTV News he was just throwing the idea out there to see what kind of reaction he would get. "And judging by what I've heard, it seems like a good idea," he said.
Destiny's Child will likely test the waters with Solange by collaborating on a song for a soundtrack later this year, he said.
In the meantime, Solange is recording her second solo album, which is due early next year. The project will include a duet with Bow Wow, who is co-starring with the singer in a movie due around the same time (see [article id="1470919"]"Bow Wow, Solange Going On 'Vacation' With Cedric, Vanessa Williams"[/article]).
Mathew said Destiny's Child will reconvene at the start of 2004, while Beyoncé said last week it could be next September. However, no matter how successful her solo venture is or whatever else might happen in the interim, Beyoncé said the group will definitely not split.
"The point is I love Kelly and I love Michelle, and we're friends and I love performing with them on the stage," she said. "We support each other. And I love being in Destiny's Child. That's why I've been in Destiny's Child for nine years. I don't care how many records I sell. I'm still doing another album with them because I enjoy being in the group and I enjoy being in the studio. And the only way I won't [record with them] is if we aren't friends anymore, and I don't see that happening."
While Beyoncé promotes Dangerously in Love and Rowland stars in "Freddy vs. Jason" (see "Freddy Vs. Jason: A Match Made In Hell"), Williams will record her second gospel album.
"It's going to be different," Williams said at Tuesday's BET Awards (see [article id="1473259"]"BET Awards Night Belongs To 50 Cent, B2K, Jacko And ... Alien Ant Farm?"[/article]). "I'm working with a lot more producers that I want to work with, so I'm very excited about that. I'm working with a producer by the name of Tommy Simms who [co-]penned the song 'Change the World' for Eric Clapton, so I'm kind of going for a more earthy, inspirational type."
Williams, who has songs already finished, is also working with her brother, producer Aaron Williams, and writing much more of her own material, which will cover more about relationships, including looking for love.
"Just about stuff people my age are going through," she said. "I know my market is gospel, but at the same time, just because it's gospel doesn't mean I can't talk about a breakup or a heartbreak or whatever has happened, you know, from a woman's perspective and how God has helped me through that."
