#1's (CD - 2005)

Destiny's Child: Kelly Rowland, Michelle Williams, Beyoncé Knowles (vocals).

Personnel: Destiny's Child (background vocals); Byron Rittenhouse (vocals); Dean Parks (guitar); Kerren Berz (strings); Jochem van der Saag (organ, programming); David Foster (keyboards); Kevin "Shekspere" Briggs (midi); Vinnie Colaiuta (drums); Paulinho Da Costa (percussion); Erroll "Poppi" McCallo, Jr. (programming).

Additional personnel: Wyclef Jean (vocals); Lil Wayne, Slim Thug, T.I. (rap vocals); Rodney Jerkins, Byron Rittenhouse.

Audio Mixers: Dave Pensado; Dexter Simmons; Jean Marie Hurout; Warren Aiker; Charles "Prince Charles" Alexander ; Humberto Gatica; Chad Elliot; Richard Travali; Tony Maserati.

Recording information: 24; 2nd Floor Studios, Orlando, FL; 353 Studio, New York, NY; 7 Studio, Houston, TX; Cash Money Studios, New Orleans, LA; Chartmaker Studios; Chase Studios, Atlanta, GA; Darp Studios, Atlanta, GA; Digital Services Recording Studios, Houston, TX; Fox Studios, Los Angeles, CA; Henson Recording Studios, Hollywood, CA; Lobo Studios, Deer Park, NY; Pacifique Studio, North Hollywood, CA; Silent Sound Studios, Atlanta, GA; Sony Music Studios, New York, NY; Sound on Sound Studios, New York, NY; Sugar Hill Studios, Houston, TX; The Enterprise, Burbank, CA; The Record Plant, Los Angeles, CA; TK STudios, Honolulu, HI; Triangle Sound, Atlanta, GA.

Author: Destiny's Child.

Photographers: Fabrizio Ferri; Robert Erdman.

Arranger: David Foster.

An honest title for this disc would be Several #1's, a Bunch of Top Tens, and a Couple New Songs, but #1's obviously has a greater -- if false -- ring to it. #1's isn't formatted any differently than scores of other anthologies packaged in time for the holiday shopping season, but it's also timely in that it comes after four Destiny's Child albums, all of which produced a handful of hits and roughly twice as much filler. Few problems could be had with the track selection. Containing each of Destiny's Child's charting singles, with the exception of "Brown Eyes" and the inconsequential "8 Days of Christmas," the disc reaffirms that Destiny's Child released some of the biggest R&B singles of the late '90s and early 2000s. For instance, you didn't have to be a fan of R&B, or even music, to cross paths with the likes of "Survivor" -- an overblown song with a form of success that had more to do with its mega-anthem quality and opportunistic title (the show of the same title was extremely popular at the time). As strategic as Destiny's Child were, they still have enough substance in their discography to place them as one of the best R&B groups of the '90s and early 2000s. Though they didn't follow the previous top female R&B group, TLC, with nearly as much brilliance or finesse, they've left behind several singles that will be remembered for something other than their mainstream success. ~ Andy Kellman

Destiny's Child were the biggest female R&B group of the late 1990s and early 2000s, with a superstar status rivaled only by TLC. Despite the media circus surrounding the strife between the three core members of the group, Destiny's Child managed to rack up an astonishing string of #1 hits, all of which are collected on the appropriately named #1'S.

Early smashes like the smooth, rhythmically stuttering "Bills, Bills, Bills," the moody mid-tempo slow jam "Say My Name," and "Independent Women Part 1" (the theme to the film CHARLIE'S ANGELS) are here, of course, as are later hits like their cover of the Gibb brothers' "Emotion" and the sweeping inspirational ballad "Stand Up for Love," the anthem for World Children's Day 2005. With their seductive delivery, elaborate vocal embellishments, and call-and-response dynamics, Destiny's Child cast the mold for urban contemporary R&B at the turn of the century, topping it off with a slick production informed by hip-hop. An overview that shows the group doing what they do best, #1'S is a testament to their reigning influence and superstar status. minimize