Survivor is the third studio album by American girl group Destiny's Child. It was released on May 1st, 2001, by Columbia Records. The album features production by lead singer Beyoncé Knowles and J.R. Rotem, with additional production from Poke & Tone, Cory Rooney and Mark J. Feist. Four singles were released from the album: "Survivor", "Bootylicious", a cover of Samantha Sang's "Emotion", and "Nasty Girl".
The album was a massive commercial success, debuting at number one in over fifteen countries across Europe, North America and other continents. In the United States, the album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 chart with first-week sales of 663,000 copies, the highest first-week sales figures of any female group in the SoundScan era, and stayed at number one for two consecutive weeks. It earned Destiny's Child two Grammy Award nominations for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals, and Best R&B Album. Survivor was certified quadruple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on January 7, 2002. Billboard ranked Survivor at number 70 on the magazine's Top 200 Albums of the Decade.
The album has sold over 4.7 million copies in the United States[*] and over 10 million copies worldwide.
This is a weird one. Obviously it was a big album at the time, and Destiny’s Child benefits in hindsight from Beyoncé’s place in culture, but there is some really really cringey early 2000s culture on this album. From the opening, the soundtrack tie in to Charlie’s Angels with name drops for the actresses, it seems like this is the definition of commercialized nonsense.
I was kind of shocked by Nasty Girl, which weirdly embodies the early 2000s puritanical/slut-shaming culture of America and is absolute cringe, especially coming after Independent Women, Survivor, AND Bootylicious. It’s a really weird dichotomy of culture.
Overall it's just incoherent as an album. There's no overarching theme or message. It bounces back and forth between female empowerment, slut-shaming/pick-me attitudes, lusting after a man ("Spotted me my baby's father" lol), and back to female independence - and that's barely even halfway through the album! I guess its an important listen for the cultural context and place in Beyonce's history, but woof, other than some catchy singles I did not like it.
Like the missy elliott album I got, survivor is very emblematic of it’s time but it’s definitely much less dated than that album. Survivor still makes me feel like a bad bitch even though I’m a straight white man
This is like a 2 for me. Really not a fan of any particular song, unlikely to listen to any again.
However, Ani and I got a kick out of how many songs were like "man I fucking hate other women" and then the album ends with like spoken word thanking all the women who they feel close with. Hilarious energy would give it 2.5 if I could just for that.
Well, I guess this is how we’re going to cap off this week of absolutely torturous records from the 1001 Albums Generator…
A few years ago, in a belated review of Sonic Youth’s “Washing Machine”, Pitchfork compared Sonic Youth and Destiny’s Child - I guess in an attempt make Sonic Youth more relatable to their modern-day audience. Ironic that a website that wouldn’t have even thought about reviewing this Destiny’s Child record in 2001 and gave Sonic Youth’s 2002 record, Murray Street, a 9.0/10 upon release would end up making such a comparison, but we live in strange times.
I’m sure Pitchfork’s corporate overlords at Condé Nast don’t mind a few more mentions of Beyoncé and Destiny’s Child than usual - it fits a bit better with the upper class hipster fashionista lifestyle they try and sell than Sonic Youth’s grimey noise rock does.
Without further ado, I present to you the comparison they made, verbatim:
“Skip Tracer” is a showcase for Lee Ranaldo, the band’s second guitarist, who is given a spotlight or two as lead singer on most Sonic Youth albums. He’s something like the Kelly Rowland to Moore’s Beyoncé, beloved but in the background due to the band leader’s overwhelming star power.”
Until I sat down to listen to “Survivor” today, I never understood how apt that comparison was.
…Just kidding, that comparison is ridiculous and doesn’t serve either party very well.
Anyway, at this point, the generator has beaten me down enough this week and I’ve stopped listening to “Survivor” about 7 songs in to put on Murray Street - it’s a really great record, one of Sonic Youth’s best.
More sure of themselves than of their material, hence the frontloading. After the three hits, a pleasant ramble through vocal wham-bam more fleshed-out than the ideas.
"Is my vibe too vibealacious for you, babe"
Fuck this album, even the popular songs (all three were back to back at the very beginning) weren't very good. Afterwards, I felt like I was being tortured during a Crimean underground waterboarding. I would've given them the nuclear launch codes. The album was 1hr and 10min, which is 20 minutes longer than the average album, which was just fantastic. Not only was the music headache-inducing, it was also contradictory, with the girls bragging about being so "Bootylicious" and then going on to bash other women for being sluts in the very next song- "Nasty girl." this shit sucks. T6 - Apple pie a la mode is going on the playlist solely because it's the shortest song on the album.
1/5
Track 1: Independent Women, Pt. 1 (7/10)
Very much a product of it's time, enjoyable and the ladies are talented vocalists. The Charlie's Angels shoutouts didn't age well at all.
Track 2: Survivor (4/10)
I've never liked this song. Generic early 2000s r&b garbage.
Track 3: Bootylicious (8/10)
On the other hand, banger! The only Destiny's Child song I'll defend, it has a fun chorus, I love the Edge of Seventeen sample and it makes me feel fierce as a cis white male with no butt.
Track 4: Nasty Girl (1/10)
Oh okay, we're just gonna slut shame after 3 female empowering anthems lol what a tone deaf, terrible song.
Track 5: Fancy (1/10)
What the H happened here? Another song about hating women. This is kind of lame.
Track 6: Apple Pie À la Mode (3/10)
This song is kind of weird but I actually didn't hate it as much as the last two. It's just the ladies simping over a hot dude.
Track 7: Sexy Daddy (3/10)
Filler garbage I'll never listen to again. No substance and not catchy enough for me to care.
Track 8: Independent Women, Pt. II (2/10)
Very strange reprise. Could have been cut out to shorten the runtime cause this is one looooong album.
Track 9: Happy Face (6/10)
Pleasantly surprised by this one, it isn't great but it's uplifting and showcases their vocals beautifully.
Track 10: Emotion (3/10)
I liked the acoustic guitar. Not much else to say.
Track 11: Dangerously in Love (6/10)
Pretty love song. Kind of blends in with nothing standing out besides Beyoncé's vocal performance.
Track 12: Brown Eyes (4/10)
I just don't care about this album at this point. I'm in physical pain listening to how generic these songs are.
Track 13: The Story of Beauty (2/10)
I'm glad it's a female empowerment song rather than a female hate song but that beat is so bad.
Track 14: Gospel Medley (5/10)
I'm very anti-religious so I should hate this more but it's generally inoffensive and I'd rather listen to an a capella gospel medley with beautiful singing than another generic r&b song with crappy beats.
Track 15: Outro (DC-3) Thank You (1/10)
Thankfully this is the last track cause I don't think I can handle any more of this.
Overall: 3/10
This was genuinely so painful to listen to outside of a couple songs. Bootylicious is so good that it bumped up the rating. It's obviously a product of the early 2000's. Tonally all over the place and I can't stand the percussion on almost every track. Never gonna listen to this again.
Fav Song: Bootylicious
Least Fav Song: Nasty Girl
I know Beyonce is a big deal but I never actually heard her music. I guess it's the generation gap or maybe the younger generation has been dumbed down by technology, but there is not a lot of depth here. Apparently many people feel encouraged by the song Survivor, cancer survivors, etc. I am glad they have found some comfort with this. But the video is appalling, using sex to sell music. I wish that would go away!
A low 5, but it is mostly due to the off-balance elements off the group, the production, and the album. Otherwise, vital music for the beginning of the 21st century.
Le R'n'B est ce qui est arrivé de mieux aux États-unis depuis l'arrivée des conquistadors au XVIème siècle. Robert refuse toutefois de reconnaître ce genre de musique et préfère classer ces albums dans la pile Pop ou Hip-hop. Quelle honte...
Vous commencez à en avoir l'habitude, chaque nouvel album de R'n'B est l'occasion pour moi de m'enquérir de la santé mentale des fans de métal. Aux dernières nouvelles, ces derniers suent toujours autant dans leur T-shirt tête de mort et grattouillent régulièrement le dos de leurs innombrables clébards couverts de puces porteuses de maladies que l'on pense disparues. N'hésitez pas à me dire si la situation a évolué.
I don't need an hour of Destiny's Child but the first quarter of this record is hands down some of the best pop of its decade. A few tracks spread throughout the remaining quarters help prop up the rest for casuals like myself.
First I looked to see if it was possible to give an album zero stars, but you can't. This along with Taylor Smith (I know it's Swift) and countless others is what's wrong with the music of today
Who’d a thought an album with the Charlie’s Angels theme would appear on this list? Sure, it isn’t the original series theme, it’s still a pretty great song and even though I might be reviewing with the benefit of foresight - these women are national treasures. There’s a few songs I don’t exactly love (i.e. “Nasty Girl” seemed a bit shamey), but still a great album.
Turn of the century pop classic this has one of the best three song starts of any pop album. Obviously the trio of ladies are fantastic singers belting out iconic track after iconic track.
Continuing the "not my genre" trend. I'm not sure I've ever consciously heard a Destiny's Child song (I guess I must have, if one of these is from Charlie's Angels, but), because (a) the 90s and (b) R&B/pop.
It's good. It's really good. It's not like I have to tell anyone that, and I'm not even particularly surprised, but it's really good. Making me listen to albums like this is why I'm doing this.
Amazing from start to finish. All the songs were absolutely amazing. They were all so good and captured multiple emotions like the songs Emotion, Brown Eyes, and Independent Women. Great r&b album and very soothing to listen to I might add.
The harmonies, the vocal runs, the chaotic beats mixed with smooth melodies all result in one of the most enjoyable albums ever made. 5 stars for sure.
Who rule the world? Oh wait... wrong album. Say my name? Damn it, wrong again. Whatever, its all likable with strong bop after banger, laying the foundation for every major hit of the 2000's pop genre.
Somehow I never heard the whole album before and maybe now this is my favorite Beyonce?
On the first song, it sounds like the backup singers are singing "I farted" - that's pretty funny. Adequate BeeGees cover later on. I like the anthems way more than the ballads.
Lol what a wild ride this was. Pure early 2000s cringe but I really enjoyed it!
The album opens with a few bangers in a row. I'm instantly transported back to my younger years, brushing my teeth with my Destiny's Child singing toothbrush lmao
Some of the lyrics did not age well. And also got to laugh at them having Independent Women - yas slay queen, and then 3 songs later Nasty Girl - slut shaming lol. Sending mixed messages here 😂
Feeling very bootylicious after listening to this album
4 ⭐️
the messaging on this album is so confusing…following “bootylicious” with a song about some poor girl who’s apparently a huge skank honestly made me laugh like why would you say that… i really liked the outro when they were talking about how much they love each other though. peace and love on planet earth
obviously i love the hits and think they’re great especially to dance to but there’s also something that i can’t help but find inherently silly about sitting down and listening to a whole album of r&b/pop/dance music while i’m doing boring office work. THAT’S NOT THEIR FAULT of course but i was thinking about it. i think if i understood more about the process of making this kind of music i would appreciate it more.
fav tracks: independent woman pt I, bootylicious
This is one of those ones where I looked at the runtime and though how am I going to sit through an hour of this. I am about as far from Destiny's Child's target audience as you can get. I did end having a little bit of fun hearing some songs that were so in the popular consciousness back then but that's about as much as I got out of it.
The production on this sounds paper thin and has absolutely no oomph behind it. Its definitely mixed with the anticipation of being listened to in mono on the utterly awful radio and phone speakers of the time which I think is a massive cop out. At least give the kick drum some punch, its just a simple little EQ trick and would bring so much personality to the whole thing.
Ultimately its because of this being the early days of pop music being made by committee which is something I absolutely can't get behind. Beyoncé is credited as a songwriter on almost every track and you get the impression that was more of a business arrangement than anything. Outside of the 3 big songs there is absolutely nothing exciting on the track list.
A non offensive album but totally lacking in anything that appeals to me in music.
Første halvdelen e et nær perfekt popalbum, men så kommer det litt for mange ballader på rad mot slutten som trekk ned (sjøl om dem på ingen måte e dårlig hver for sæ, men når du har tidlig-2000-talls-girlpowerdansa dæ gjennom en rekke klassiske pophits blir det litt nedtur med «og nu kom gråtedelen, ja, æsj»). Men første halvdel trekk så godt opp at æ tror det blir full pott likevel.
(og så e det egentlig full pott på latteremojis på den ekstremt teite slutten kor dem bytte på å takke hverandre og gud og alt e bare fjollate)
Solid album. This is music I'm never putting on. But they are obviously talented with the vocals and I enjoy listening to them sing. Emotion is probably the highlight for me. This was recorded in 3 days. I don't care who you are, that's impressive.
A classic! Great balance across the entire record, bangers and ballads that make the most of each member's strengths. Listened to: at 5MW. Favorite tracks: Survivor, Fancy, My Heart Still Beats
When I think of the great feminist albums, it’s necessary to include Aretha’s Young, Gifted & Black, Helen Redding’s About featuring I Am Woman, maybe Madonna’s Immaculate Collection (debatable), Alanis’s Jagged Little Pill, Sarah’s Kaleidoscope Heart, and this album. Probably Gaga, too. The Dream Team of Beyoncé, Kelly Roland and Michelle Williams created a blend of classic female girl groups like the Ronnettes with the R&B chops of En Vogue for the modern woman. Survivor and Independent Woman Pt1 were anthems that still get radio play today. Bootylicious took ownership of their sexuality and was an anthem to body positivity. Listening to Gospel Medley made no surprises knowing that Michelle Williams went on to be a gospel queen, and it was interesting listening to DC’s Dangerously In Love vs. Beyoncé’s solo Dangerously in Love 2 years later. Favorite track today: Independent Women #2, which I don’t remember hearing but had a sassy breakbeat and I can only imagine how this sounded live (as I cis-norm male I imagine I would be running for my life again). Happy Face is great too. I liked their intertwining vocals and the grace of their singing. This album is a classic.
I’m at a 4.5 that I’ll bump up to a 5.
Honestly, I don’t really feel like I have that much to say in terms of fully justifying that rating – I’m a lot more prone to like this stuff than the average user of this site, and I’m unabashedly a sucker for late 90s / early 2000s pop like this, in all of its vaguely overproduced & self-important / self-indulgent glory. It’s what I grew up on, and it’s just my sort of style, I dunno. One of these days, I might absolutely tear into one of these types of albums, but only if it’s so aggressively bad or mediocre that it overrides any love I have for this stuff. It might be a toxic bias, but it is obnoxiously fun to me, and I won't apologize for it.
I do feel like I have to talk about the music, and I think there’s a bit of warranted praise in giving this the bump to a 5 – obviously, Beyonce steals the fucking show here in a way that foreshadows her superstardom (& by foreshadowing, I mean it’s about as subtle as a solar eclipse), but Kelly Rowland & Michelle Williams’ vocal harmonizations deserve some love too. When they take lead, they don’t really miss a step, and each track generally has a really nice flow to it that feels seamlessly smooth.
Instrumentally, this is my style of production, and while there’s not necessarily a lot of variety, each track does bring its own kind of mood that still feels sort of distinct. Lots of heavy melodies on the more ballad-y tracks; Brown Eyes, in particular, is from the same guy who did all of Mariah Carey’s big 90s hits, and his fingerprints are all over that – wouldn’t surprise me if that’s a reworked Mariah track. In terms of the hip-hop influence, this album sort of succeeds in its simplicity; Independent Women, Pt. 1 is the prime example here – it’s just a few orchestral-ish hits, strings & some drums, but it’s incredibly effective. By the way, shoutouts to the Edge of Seventeen sample on Bootylicious & the Tarzan Boy / Push It interpolations on Nasty Girl.
Lyrically, I think this album *really* hits on its choruses, which all noticeably feel really good when they come in the second time; I’m not sure what this phenomenon is, but every great pop artist has it, where the brain sort of subconsciously downloads the melody / flow of a good chorus the first time, and really vibes with it the second time. It’s in spades on this album, and that’s partially why I enjoyed it as much as I did. On the flipside, of course, is Independent Women Pt. 2, which is honestly pretty good save for the Tom & Jerry-sounding sample in the chorus, which just murders the vibe of the track in a bad way. As far as the verses go, they’re generally pretty good, though a few tracks are certainly a bit more basic & repetitive (or horny) than others, and a few of them feel a little overly petty by today’s standards.
That last track felt a little awkward knowing that Destiny’s Child basically went on hiatus right after this album’s promotional stuff, and it did rub me the wrong way, sort of like the self-indulgent track on Christina Aguilera’s album we got about a week ago, but at least it’s showing love to each other & not sort of proclaiming your presence forever while fans say your praises. As far as why I’m not at a flat 5, that sort of plays into it, but there are a few tracks that go a little too long, or overdo the production in a way that buries the vocals & lyrics in a way that didn’t click for me… but I enjoyed this a lot. It’s certainly not enough to bump it down to a 4, and I feel good about giving it a 5. As I said earlier, it might be a toxic bias for me; I can understand this getting a 3, or a 2 if it's THAT grating. I will, however, lament that some of the reviews on this site can’t find the same enjoyment that I can out of these turn of the century pop albums, but c’est la vie, I suppose.
An album I did not expect to enjoy outside of the title track. Production value and beats absolutely a product of its time that I look upon fondly every time I turn a radio on on a Friday to hear Fatman Scoop (PBUH) back announce the same 7 tracks by Outkast, TLC, and Destiny’s Child that he played last week.
Barely move, we've arrived
Lookin' sexy, lookin' fly
Baddest chick, chick inside
DJ, jam tonight
Spotted me, a tender thang
There you are, come on, baby
Don't you wanna dance with me?
Can you handle, handle me?
You gotta do much better
If you're gon' dance with me tonight
You gotta work your jelly
If you're gon' dance with me tonight
Read my lips carefully, if you like what you see
Move, groove, prove you can hang with me
By the looks I got you shook up and scared of me
Buckle your seat belt, it's time for takeoff
I don't think you're ready for this jelly
I don't think you're ready for this jelly
I don't think you're ready for this
'Cause my body too bootylicious for ya, babe
Enough said, really.
5/5
Classic turn of the century R&B sound. I knew a few of the songs in the beginning; the end got odd, with some Christian themes. Some of the lyrics wouldn’t fly today.
Good god. I did not remember how jam-packed this thing was with hits.
And to think that this DC3 unit only had been forged a mere month before recording - ridiculous talents. Of course Beyoncé is the star here but the production was top-notch for its age (maybe a bit dated right now) and the songs hold up (despite the passé Charlie’s Angels movie references).
Still, can’t fault this turn of the century gem.
Like many before me, and many to follow: I am, in fact, not ready for this jelly. Despite my lack of preparedness this album was great. Mega strong opening three songs, but the album gradually gets weaker as it goes on.
'You thought I couldn't see w/o you / Perfect vision / You thought I couldn't last w/o you / I'm lasting.' Before Beyonce was singing about 'irreplaceable' she was in the crew that sexified women's empowerment via juxtaposition: the trilogy of 'Survivor,' 'Bootylicious,' and 'Nasty Girl' perfectly exemplifies that possibility. That logic, which isn't irrefragable, has nonetheless had a profound impact on our music and cultural sensibilities: no Nicki Minaj, no Cardi B, no Megan Thee Stallion, indeed no Lil Nas X or Lady Gaga w/o this. Musically, it's not only pleasurable but deliciously experimental: off-kilter rhythms and cadences that pop and prowl ('Sexy Daddy,' 'Perfect Man') transform a record that already buzzes w/ attitude into a fertile aesthetic.
This is not a genre I spend any time in, like, at all. But this album is undeniably strong, showcasing great songwriting, beautiful and evocative harmonies, and Beyoncé's seemingly preternatural vocal sensibilities that that always feel right.
- Hätte nicht gedacht, dass ich es so gut finde
- Nicer R&B vibe wenn ich das richtig einschätze
- Ich kannte auch einige Lieder schon
Topsong: Survivor
Without this album, there would be no Beyoncé.
This was the springboard to that success with some absolutely perfect tunes.
Destiny Child took the baton of RnB/Pop from TLC and smashed it out of the park.
This album was a great listen. As far as Late 90's Early 00's R&B goes, this has to be my favorite that we have had so far.
Still funny that all of these albums near the 1 hour mark, but I had no issues with this one being that long.
A truly good standout R&B / Hip Hop album from one of the best acts ever in the genre(s). "Independent Women, Pt. 1", "Survivor", "Bootylicious", "Emotion" are all highlights.
There's a few funny production bits that surprise me...
"Emotion" to my ears actually clips a little bit, which is funny because in this era that was really avoided but in today's day and age there's so many producers that really push volumes.
There's times where I really want some reverb or depth, and I don't get it.. like on "Dangerously in Love", there are huge soaring vocal parts where Beyonce specifically is belting but the sound is so dry that I don't really feel it so much.
Throughout, there's also some interesting panned elements.. I'll be sitting listening to a track and enjoying it, but there will be some random production sound effect like a series of beeps that will hit me in the right ear for a short rhythm every 4 measures and I can't really decide why they decided to add in some things like that.
If I have a gripe it's that it's sound is dated, which is hard to be objective about and even more so 24 years later.
The flow of this album is amazing. Going from "Brown Eyes" to "The Story of Beauty" to "Gospel Melody" is really amazing. You get SO much with this record.
Hard rate for me. I'm going to give it a 4. I think it's a really solid record, but not quite as good as their previous one, "The Writing's On The Wall", which might be a 5.