Destiny Fulfilled (by Destiny's Child, Pop)

A few years ago, Destiny's Child, the super-popular trio of gorgeous girls with gorgeous voices decided to go solo: Kelly Rowland had a moment of fame with "Dilemma," her Nelly duet; Michelle Williams made a couple of Gospel albums; but the real success was Beyonce Knowles, who sold 4 million copies of her debut album and won five Grammy Awards. On DESTINY FULFILLED, the R&B girl group has regrouped. The CD begins with a female voice shouting "Hit me!" Meant metaphorically and musically, it's still jarring for a second, as the band rolls into "Lose My Breath." Sadly, the retro male-female messages all over the CD don't offer many coping tools for young women in bad relationships. "Soldier" gamely tries for street credibility with lyrics like "Better be street if he's looking at me.../known to carry big things if you know what I mean."

Of course it's nice to hear these young women together again. Unfortunately, no new ground is broken in the lyrics on Destiny Fulfilled. Most of the songs are filled with overwrought lyrics about how far these ladies will go to please their men. A low point is "Cater2You" in which the ladies promise to "keep my hair fixed," "keep my figure right," and "roll over" if their men come home late and find them sleeping. It would have been nice for young listeners if there had been at least a hint of feminine empowerment in the songs.

Released on: November 15, 2004
Label: Sony Music
Genre: Pop