Destiny's Child: The Writing's on the Wall

"'She invited us to her 35th birthday! We were so excited!' trills Beyoncé (pronounced Bay-onsay) Knowles, founder member and lead singer of Destiny's Child. She's reminiscing about the first time they met Whitney Houston, in 1998. 'We scrambled up all our money, got us some outfits. We were the only group that came dressed as a group. Everybody was sayin': "Y'all are like the Supremes."' When Knowles and Kelly Rowland (second singer) shook Houston's hand, they both burst into tears. These are the things that R'n'B dreams are made of. But there was to be more. Destiny's Child took off, and this year, in their youthful exuberance, the trio asked Houston to appear with them at the US MTV Awards. 'We were gonna say: "We've found the fourth member,"' Knowles says gleefully. Then pauses. 'But it didn't work out. Never mind. She's an inspiration to us all.' It's not surprising that R&B's queen diva declined the offer of playing fourth fiddle to the biggest teen girl group in America (she's got a lot on her mind these days). But it's that combination of naivety and Southern sass that has seen the Texan girls clock up 6m sales of their second album, The Writing's on the Wall" (Lucy O'Brien, "Destiny's Child," Guardian, 4/24/13, originally published in Q Magazine, 2001)

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