By Melisa Tang

Earl's Court , London - 02 June 2005

Three ‘Independent Women’, four solo albums between them, and over 40 million sales as the multi-platinum Destiny’s Child. When these girls put on a show, they go all out, and this time was no different. The ‘Destiny Fulfilled… And Lovin’ It’ world tour would last for six months, visiting 70 cities across the globe, and playing to over one and a half million fans.

Earlier on, the support act for the UK dates was confirmed as Mario, but it was only a few days before the British leg of the DC tour began that the singer had to pull out, due to promotion commitments for his second single release in the US. This had been a bit of a let down for me, as I’d been looking forward to seeing him live, performing his sexy single ‘Let Me Love You’. I remained curious as to who would replace him, but to my surprise, there was no support act at all, just a short DJ set from Choice FM’s Dave VJ, before the main show commenced.

As the lights dimmed, the crowd began to hoot and scream in excitement, as the appearance of Destiny’s Child was now imminent. The large screen across the top of the curtains indicated the girls’ opening song, and as the words ‘Say My Name’ twinkled in the auditorium, the three familiar figures of the DC girls rose up from the front of the stage, going straight into the Rodney Jerkins-produced track. They followed this up with the ladies’ anthem ‘Independent Women’, before giving brief renditions of their earlier hits, such as ‘No, No, No’, ‘Bug A Boo’, ‘Bootylicious’ and ‘Jumpin’ Jumpin’. It was during this period that they introduced their six male dancers, each of whom gyrated accordingly (to the female fans’ delight!) when their names were lit up on the back screen.

A quick costume change and the girls were back on stage, but not before the audience were schooled on what the real definition of a ‘soldier’ was. When the curtains reopened, all the dancers were dressed in army attire, and as the beat for ‘Soldier’ started playing, Beyoncé, Michelle and Kelly jumped up from under the stage, strutting their stuff to the delight of their hundreds of fans.

It was then time for the solo sets, and Ms Kelendria Rowland was the first up, singing the No.1 Nelly duet ‘Dilemma’, which she flipped a little, giving us the female version to compensate for Nelly not actually being there. Michelle Williams was next, appearing at the top of the moving staircase in a floaty, pale pink dress. She performed the powerful ‘Do You Know’, the title track from her second solo album, showing everyone just how talented a singer she was, as fans swayed to gospel ballad. Lastly, Beyoncé Knowles took to the stage, in what was undeniably the most elaborate of the three solo sets, complete with light effects, dancers and a moving stage floor. The ‘Crazy In Love’ star kept the number of songs down to a modest three: ‘Baby Boy’, ‘Naughty Girl’ and ‘Dangerously In Love’ - although she did show off a little at the end with her vocal aerobics!

The girls soon regrouped, and ran through a string of tracks from their latest album, ‘Destiny Fulfilled’, including ‘Girl’, ‘Free’, ‘Through With Love’ and their new single ‘Cater 2 U’. One of the funniest parts of the whole show came in the prelude to ‘Girl’, when the still photos of each of the DC girls above the stage began to move. The heads began to talk to one another, and the highlight of the conversation went something along the lines of this (with full Southern accents):

Michelle: “When you’re close to your girls, you know when something’s up.” (Turning to the audience) “Isn’t that right, girls?”
Beyoncé: “Kelly, you know he’s no good for you.”
Kelly: “Listen, what goes on between me and my man, stays between me and my man.” (Turning to the audience) “Isn’t that right, fellas?”
Michelle: “Well, that’s not what you said three weeks ago! You said what was between you and your man was coming up a bit short!!” (Cue roars of laughter)

Kelly was given her second chance to shine when she sang a completely solo version of ‘Bad Habit’, but one more costume change into flamenco dresses would signal the start of the finale, with ‘Survivor’. The Latino twist to the 2001 hit song was rather refreshing, and was a pleasant surprise for the fans. Finally, the girls launched into the massive club smash, ‘Lose My Breath’ which had everyone on their feet and singing along to.

Even as the credits rolled on the big screens, the girls were laughing and dancing with one another, (Michelle even doing the booty shake to the encouragement of B and Kelly). They stayed up until the curtains closed right at the end, which is highly unusual for megastars like themselves. It just goes to show how down to earth and sincerely appreciative Destiny’s Child are of all their fan support. If rumours are to be believed and this is their last tour as a group, it’s comforting to know that they went out at the very top of their game, giving a show so entertaining and creative that all stars can learn from. Destiny’s Child is the biggest selling female group of all time, and with this world tour, they have secured their positions at the pinnacle of the R&B hierarchy.

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