Survivor

Generic sounding r&p/pop. What was so spectacular about this? 2/5

It won't be til her self-titled and especially Lemonade where we hit the inflection point of Beyoncé being a force of nature with songwriting to match. But there's plenty of her preternatural abilities on display in her performance serving these perfectly good pop songs. It's fun to revist the seeds of maybe the most important musician of the 21st century. That said, those first three tracks are doing a lot of heavy lifting to prop this album up to classic status. And why does "Independent Women," the first track out of the gates, keep the dumb shout outs to Lucy Liu, Drew Barrymore, and Cameron Diaz? That was already dated by the time the album hit the zeitgeist, and it pulls all the attention from what is otherwise a banger. Why not just make one version for the soundtrack and another for Survivor? And how could an album with a song like "Nasty Girl" qualify for this list?

Donc, c’est clair que ce n’est pas un album pour moi. Ce n’est pas que cette musique n’est pas bonne, mais cet album est trop long (à mon avis) et les chansons trop peu intéressantes et imaginatives.

Love individual songs but an album is too much of the same

There is some serious shite on this album! And some good tracks. Bootylicious rules! So does Independent Women pt1. Nasty Girl might have some dumb anti-female lyrics, but it's a good tune. Everything else is generic R&B crap. Way too long as well. 2/5

Not floating my boat.

It was ok Not really my thing.

I was adjacent the target audience of this album when it came out. Its release corresponded with the movie “Charlie’s Angels” which used a few of the songs. One of the last instances of the partnership between music and film that had artists release blockbuster singles. The album was huge. Apart from the opening tracks (3 to be exact) the rest of the album did not sit well with me. It often repeats itself verbatim. I was also a bit confused by a track that was calling a woman trash for leaving the house without clothes only a few tracks previously praising the independence of their womanhood. I feel like the messaging was mixed.

They’re good singers, but it sounds hollow. "Bootylicious" followed immediately by "Nasty Girl" lol. This has a whole aura of self-importance and judgement. The best song was their cover of "Emotion".

Ik ben niet de doelgroep. Ik heb hier dan ook niks mee en ik vind er weinig aan. Tuurlijk, de hitjes aan het begin zijn nog wel geinig, die herken ik nog van m'n schooltijd. Daarna wordt het echt uitzitten geblazen. Ik verwachtte van het album dat begint met 'Independent Women' meer girlpower-achtige nummers maar al gauw krijg je twee tracks die, voor zover ik het mee krijg, meer anti-vrouw dan pro-vrouw lijken te zijn. Wellicht zijn ze wel pro-vrouw maar dan gebaseerd op een ouderwets Christelijke beeld van wat een goede vrouw is ofzo. Weet ik veel. Voor mij vallen de maskers dan eigenlijk af. Terwijl het niet zo moeilijk zou moeten zijn om op een album van 50 tot 60 minuten geloofwaardig te blijven. En dan hebben we het nog niet over die bizar belachelijke outro track waarin God uitgebreid wordt bedankt dat 'ie zo'n geweldige vrouwen heeft gemaakt en waarin ze zelf bezingen wat een amazing angels ze eigenlijk zijn. Ik zou bijna boos op de één rammen maar eerlijk is eerlijk: Dit is toch nog wel 2 sterren waard vanwege de hitjes aan het begin van het album. En als ik moet kiezen tussen Mariah Carey of dit, dan toch maar dit.

I remember this album being really big when I was younger, but I have trouble getting into this style of music.

Front loaded with bangers the not much else

Interesting addition onto the list. I suppose it is impactful for the rise of beyoncé & the infusion of hip hop and r&b into pop, but with the gift of hindsight it's pretty much just normal 2000s pop.

I'm of an age where I have a nostalgic fondness for the singles from this album, but the rest of it is pretty rubbish. If it wasn't for Independent Women, Survivor and Bootylicious, I'd be tempted to give it a one as parts of it do make me genuinely angry. In particular, the complete lack of self awareness in sandwiching a song about how a promiscuous woman is nasty and should be ashamed between songs about their big booties' and going out dating and the very American lauding of wealth and consumption alongside loudly proclaiming their Christianity, are pretty tasteless themes on this album. Well done Destiny's Child, you can buy your own blood diamonds.

nope

Ça commencer fort. Puis... Prout

Pas pire cheapo. Ça vieillit aussi bien que d’la mayonnaise.

#131/1001. For me, there is two kinds of rnb. Those, in which the singers yodel and squirm, and those, which I secretely love. I really wished this was the latter. But no. Ränkistelyä ja jolinaa. I loved the mash-up of bootylicious and smells like teen spirit, and I thing both songs are equally great. But for some reason it is not on this album. I’m pretty confident I will encoubter Beyonce solo albums on this list later on. Let’s review those masterpieces then.

For today's 1001 albums to hear before I die, I got an album I had never heard of by a group I had only heard of from word of mouth. Today I got Destiny's Child's 2001 album Survivor. In case you didn't notice the very young photo of Beyoncé on the cover, this was her musical group before she went solo and really made a name for herself. I get that this project may be a big deal as it is one of Beyoncé and company's best work in Destiny's Child, but can we be a bit honest with ourselves and realize just how mediocre this project really is? There are some solid singles here, but other than that this is a pretty fine to decent Contemporary R&B project that doesn't do a whole lot in the grand scheme of things. This album walks a very fine line of being just fine to being decent and I think I am just barely leaning on the decent side of things. It runs out of ideas and really tries throwing anything at the wall, including the main "survivor" theme of this album back at tracks just so it can feel more cohesive and it just doesn't work. There are solid tracks here but not an album by any means.

I didn't realize there was a ton of cringe on this record. Favourite Track(s): Independent Woman, Pt. I Least Favourite Track(s): The Story of Beauty

Well, this was pretty bad. Songs like "Sexy Daddy" and "Nasty Girl" are pretty cringey nearly 25 years later. This album aged like ripe cheese. That being said, I can't give it a 1. It's saved from that shame and lifted into mediocrity by a few things for me: 1) Survivor was a banger in 5th grade 2) the Gospel Medley was actually nice. 3) related to (2) these women do have amazing voices. I'm glad they broke out of this to (especially Beyonce) have successful careers afterwards.

Música para pushers, de esos con pieles y diez anillos en su Cadillac saltarin. No es mi tipo de gente

Sometimes pop music can’t escape the time it was created. This is one of those times. The album is aggressively of the early 2000’s and has mostly not aged well. 2/5 Won’t listen again

i wonder what these ladies are up to now 2/5

I love the first two songs. The rest of the song on the album pretty much I skip, though unfortunately, I think it’s well-made, music and enjoyable for different crowd, just not for me. I don’t see myself revisiting anytime soon.

All the hits...but just not my cup of tea at all. i had to really struggle to sit through this. not unbearable, but below average for me. 2.5 stars

It's not unpleasant, their voices harmonise well. But that's about all I can say in it's favour. Not for me. 2

Straight out of the traps with the expected ‘bangers’. Had the other passengers in my car in a good mood at least. But once they were out of the way, the 2nd half of the album just descended into a beige mush.

Super slick American pop for the masses. Its pleasing to the ear, but nothing special.

Still not entirely clear what albums are being added retroactively coordinated with Dimery or at the whim of admin. Anyhow, this is fine but captures some of the difficulty I have with where soul and r&b went in the late 90s through roughly the mid-00s. First, there’s the perfectionism. Beyonce and co are nothing if not top notch vocalists and performers, but there’s such little life imbued in these takes either due to the treatment or genuinely impressive singing. It feels “air-brushed” within an inch of its life, not for any artistic statement, but to meet a certain market-ready standard. Second, the songs themselves, when they are audible beneath the production, prove to be little more than platforms for the above vocal mastery. I know, it’s a vocal trio, what do you want here, a GBV record? The Nicks/Eye of the Tiger rip stands out as a precursor to similar, but better austere tracks like Single Ladies, just the vocal hook and beat juxtaposed with the minimalist sample don’t do a whole lot for me.

Some bangers but mostly not.

Great voices. Some of the singles are legit. But really the album drags by the end

It's crazy how 20+ years ago, Beyonce was writing very similar lyrics - blending self empowerment with sexual freedom(?). I respect the craft and appreciate the empowerment, but I feel very neutral about the music. 2 star because it was a bit long

I’ve noticed that most of the turn of the century pop albums on this list seem to take a ‘some killer, lots of filler’ approach, whereby there are a handful of big singles that helped define the sound of the era, but not much of substance beyond that. And so it is here. I’ve never been a fan of the standard pop/R&B production of the time, while the lyrics are mostly well-meaning but sometimes misguided and usually kinda simplistic. And/or, y’know, I’m just not the target audience. But all the same I thought it was ok - I’ve heard plenty worse albums! 2.5

C'était marrant 10 minutes j'avais l'impression d'écouter NRJ en 2001. Puis après je me suis rappelé pourquoi je n'écoutais pas NRJ en 2001.

18 sange. Man burde have været mere kritisk. Det er de fire første hits og Emotion, der redder den her omgang fra en stjerne. Selvom Nasty Girl virkelig ikke er ældet godt, hvis man lytter det mindste til teksten.

I liked survivor but not really enjoying this very much. I can tell they are all talented but I can’t find a way to connect with this. Not for me

Zang gaat onrustig doorelkaar heen. Luistert niet fijn.

Nah

Listening to this with my girlfriend and we both said simultaneously, “All of these songs sound the same.” This was especially true when they were harmonizing together, and it just felt so repetitious. Towards the end of the album there was some variety, with ballads, gospel, and a Bee Gees cover. All in all it was not my thing, and an hour’s worth was a lot.

2/5. It's a good album. It's just not a genre or style that interests me.

I love the hits from this album. Beyoncé, Michelle and Kelly were on their best moment as a girl band. The album is pretty regular with a lot of fillers.

The last track of them just saying thank you made me really feel like that since I was so happy this boring mess was over.

I don't care if someone is a nasty gal. Good singles saves it.

So I knew the fist two songs, and they are OK; but then some, like Nasty Girl, just seam off. Definitely less that I had expected. 4/10

This album was way too long. It also was not fun, like if I’m listening to pop music I want to have fun. This is not fun music, it’s all either message songs that are dumb, or it’s songs that should be fun but musically are aggressive. The production is great though.

2 1/2 stars. Almost a 3. It’s a little to poppy for me. I did like the song Happy Face and a ballad. I doubt I’ll listen to the album again but might use Happy Face in a playlist.

Odd record, 90s r&b but clean lyrics and really tonally inconsistent. Weird to listen to sappy songs at work like “I know he loves me because he kisses me” (I hated Brown Eyes btw). Also weird to go from the R&B to the gospel medley and the back to “Dance Everybody DANCE!!”

Stevie Nicks, can you handle it? Emilia, can you handle it? I don’t think you ready… para lo que te va a salir el sample. Beyoncé ya estaba lanzada en su carrera solista, pero Kelly Rowland y Michelle Williams todavía no se daban por enteradas. Como niño criado en los 90 frente al televisor sin control parental, no estamos seguros de su destino: capaz, cuando se case con una mujer independiente, logre enderezar su vida… pero nunca se sabe. Capaz que le mete los cuernos y termina sacando un disco tiradera, usando las sesiones de terapia como limones de su limonada. Después de despedir a LeToya Roberson y LaTavia Luckett de la formación original —y de que el público especulara que esas sesiones de estudio eran un reality mediático promedio yankee— Beyoncé pone orden. Como toda virginiana perfeccionista, empieza a meterse en la producción y en las letras, rodeada de hombres, y como toda mujer independiente, le pone al disco un nombre en modo statement: Survivor. Se apropia del término que usaban para criticarlas y lo resignifica. Si no podés con ellos, uníteles… y desactivalos desde adentro con letras que mezclan resiliencia, autoestima femenina, ruptura de estereotipos y dinámicas de poder entre mujeres, mientras te enamorás de unos ojos marrones y sin llegar a tener que bust the windows out your car ni slash a hole in all four tires. Con un tracklist excesivamente largo, plagado de R&B contemporáneo, pop, dance-pop y funk, ya tenés lo necesario para convencer a la Real Academia Española de que incorpore la palabra bootylicious. La sociedad, mientras tanto, se conmueve con una balada no tan buena, pero lo suficientemente solemne para ayudar a procesar el trauma del 11-S. El timing de este álbum fue impecable: nadie apostaba a que sobrevivieran como grupo, pero les cerraron la boca a todos y los pusieron a bailar con hitazos radiales dosmileros. Un sample de Stevie Nicks que debe haber salido carísimo, al nivel del sample de Independent Women Part I a Emilia Mernes—quien, por cierto, comparte mi opinión: plata y sample tirados al pedo, porque no se justifican ni emocional ni estéticamente. Beyoncé necesitó dos temas enteros para justificar su salida de Destiny’s Child y declararse mujer independiente. Si tanto lo sos, ¿por qué necesitás dos canciones para explicarte? Vaya y sea independiente, sin preámbulos. Hay una conexión entre Nasty Girl y los partidos de fútbol, pero todavía no la encuentro. No es el mejor disco que vas a escuchar en tu vida… pero lo que vas a bailar este sonido que dominó los 2000s. Tu booty va a estar tan agresivo y personal que vas a necesitar toda la carrera solista de Beyoncé para calmarlo. Ser una diva dosmilera implicaba usar cosas con brillo, vestido arriba de pantalones, y reconocer quién de las tres estaba haciendo las armonías en las canciones de Destiny’s Child. Con 12 millones de copias vendidas a nivel mundial y una nominación al Grammy en 2002 —en simultáneo con la Argentina post-corralito— Survivor fue un statement pop: justo cuando Michelle Williams y Kelly Rowland salían del estado de negación y entraban a la crisis de darse cuenta de que Beyoncé no solo estrenaba novio (Jay-Z), sino también una flamante carrera solista

The musical equivalent of a paint-by-numbers picture - no heart, soul, or emotion, just music to make money rather than music to make art. Bollocks.

Me at the all you can eat: "I don't think you're ready for this belly!"

Most 17 tracks sounded the same.

Cue the 2000/2001 vibes. Kelly, Beyonce and the other one (Michelle?) can sing. And the independent woman song that was linked to the Charlie's Angels movie is fairly catchy, as are the next two songs. The album is top heavy and slumps after that. Including a depressing song at the tail end which is about sexual abuse (but the girl still being beautiful! Which I understand, but I feel there's more to address here). A gospel number addresses that they can sing, but not much else. And, I skipped out of the last song because it was just them being thankful to each other, not my thing. My big problem with the album is with the oxymoronic themes. 'I'm a strong independent woman and I will survive', but at the same time 'I'm sexy and my butt is too sexy for you, and I can get down with the rest of them'. I'm just not sure they've got a clear message. Perhaps I have the wrong end of the stick, I wasn't that engaged to listen to the lyrics to heavily. Perhaps I didn't understand. Perhaps it's a product of the times. 2 Stars.

This album gives vibes of hearing a couple of mainstream hits and thinking 'this band could become a guilty pleasure'. So you illegally download the album and listen to it through headphones. The album starts strong as you bop through the singles that you know and love, but then you get through the singles and hear the rest of the album, which you don't enjoy. You delete the album from your iPod that night, and listen to some Black Sabbath instead.

I've already heard this a million times since it used to be one of my sister's favorites but it's not something I'd willingly experience ever again.

The beginning of this was actually better than I was expecting. Mostly enjoyed it. Overall dragged on too long though.

This might have been the worst era of pop music ever

I was excited to see this come up this morning but it’s really not that good. Beyoncé’s talent is obvious but the song writing is terrible (I don’t think you’re ready for this jelly, every survivor lyric). Bootylicious still had me turning up the volume and I liked Independent women II. 2.5

1.6 F-Beyonce M-Kelly K-Michelle. I gotta say those Charlies Angels shout-outs are some of the most commercially sleazy things I have every heard. I guess I would use that to describe most of the album Dangeroulsly in love was the only standout for me in what was mostly an unlistenable effort. Interesting to see the Beyonce version on her solo album was a big hit but this one didn't really do anything. Both versions are very similar but the DC version is a bit more restrained, and it sounds like Beyoncé is in the background.

I appreciate where Beyoncé is today and enjoyed the Bee Gee's cover.

There are some good songs, especially the first three, with the prevailing theme of surviving (surprisingly), after a bad breakup. But it also seems to rely on Beyonce doing a little too much vibrato. There's not much variety between tracks. Not one of my top thousand.

I was a teen when this album came out and the hits were playing non-sop on TV music channels. At that time I liked 'Independent woman pt1', but I was bored by 'Survivor' and other hits. After a quarter of century this album sounds too dated. And I don't understand the contradiction of the lyrics, as the first songs are feministic which promote the independence of women, while 'Nasty Girl' is the opposite, it's criticism towards women who dress too freely. Overall the album doesn't have a clear theme and it's too commercialised. With almost 60 minutes it is also a too long album. Not a fan, 2 stars overall.

Good beats. Music hits. Not my lyrics

This album is emphatic in its message, but unfortunately can't figure out what that message is, leaving it a confusing mix of tracks. The music itself is OK, but feels dated now. It closes with what sounds like heartfelt messages, but after the massive commercial production of the rest of the album, it doesn't feel all that genuine. Favorite track: "Dangerously in Love"

This one's tough. I realize I'm not the prime demo for this one and Beyonce went on to become BEYONCE, but it doesn't super hold up after the first few songs that I already knew. THOSE are still bangers but the rest is uneven and overly long. It's not a bad album but I'm not sure it's one I really needed to hear before I die, maybe just the hits.

I understand why this is on the list but it just really isn't for me. A lot of the songs sound similar and even the hits have never clicked with me but that's just me.

Using 00s vibes are good for a minute but I don’t think it’s aged that well

Starts ok, the singles at the start are decent enough. I don't know if I would say I actually like them though, theyre just fine but I can see the appeal. The album falls apart after that point, this is so front-loaded Independent Women Part II felt like a weird, twisted parody of Pat I Although the blatant tie-in to Charlie's Angels with Independent Women Part 1 is ridiculous I kind of like the Edge of Seventeen sample on Bootylicious but the lyrics are so dumb Nasty Girl also gives a bit of whiplash with the puritanical tone following previously empowering lyrics and a track called Bootylicious. It feels all over the place and manufactured, trying to pander to two different crowds at once

Not much that I really liked here

There's no denying all three of them can sing, Beyonce kinda blowing the other two out of the water, but they can all hold a tune in what I assume is only a very lightly autotuned album, if at all. The issue with this is the the beats and lyrics are really dated. The whole style doesn't really hold up to modern RnB, or pop in general really. The instrumental kits sound like fisher price toys and everything is in this staccato half rapped style which just sounds too much like the early 2000's and nothing else. This went on for way too long and the only thing really keeping it from being a 1 is that the singing is more than capable. Even Kelly Rowland's excel spreadsheet texting application can't make her singing bad.

Did this album have 4 singles because they released another album quickly enough to move onto new singles or because this album only has 4 songs worth listening to? The hits land and were unavoidable at the time but the rest of this: yeesh. I'd give it 2.5 but am rounding down.

It drives me crazy when albums put the best songs right at the front, when they peak immediately and then the rest couldn't possibly be as good. That's what this does. This starts strong and then fades as it went, pretty steadily. I mean, you hit us with "Independent Women, Pt. 1," "Survivor," and "Bootylicious" right away. It's going to be downhill from there no matter what. That's not to say the three members of this trio aren't talented, they obviously are. The harmonies they produce here are at times stunning. Their voices individually are also beautiful. But when the second half of the album is a bunch of slower ballads that all sound kind of similar to each other, well... it's gonna get boring and repetitive pretty quickly. And then you end with a song that is so self-congratulatory and circle-jerky like the outro, and I just don't get why the album is structured this way. Like I dunno, maybe I'm in the minority here, but I don't need to hear an entire track of the three members of the group talking each other up and thanking each other. I get that they want the listener to feel more emotionally invested with a track like that, but I don't care and never could. Sorry not sorry. This started great, faded steadily, and ended with a snooze. Two stars. Very disappointed. Standout Tracks: Survivor, Bootylicious

Nice voices

Know the radio hits, but can’t stand Beyoncé.

#612. So many of these 90's pop albums are so hard to get through. This shit is so cheesy, how is this stuff what everyone thought was good back then? 2/5: I think I wasn't ready for the jelly.

Starts out well enough -- but Nasty Girl brings that big record-scratch slut-shaming moment that takes the wind out of the sails of the rest of it, which is perfectly serviceable background R&B. Still pretty amazing that Beyonce is still cranking out hits 20+ years later, tho. But as for this one, well...there was much more interesting stuff in the neo-soul groove in the early oughts. Unexpected banger: Emotion -- they've got the right chops to do the BeeGee's proper.

It was a 3 until all the god stuff at the end. It’s either Bootylicious or it’s my buddy jesus. Hard to pull off both on the same album.

Good voices, but not my kinda music. It's funny how it's a lot of booty, and also a lot of praying.

This is too much pop for me. A bit more soul-vibes would have done this album good. But then the group wouldn't have been as popular.

Rating: 4/10 Nah. Choice cut: Survivor

This album is simply cheesy and does not stand the test of time. Most of the songs sound the same, and I found myself skipping several before they were done. This is another album I can’t quite understand why it is on this list.

I was floating between a 2 and a 3… I settled for a 2 because even though there’s a few catchy hits, at the end of the day, if someone asked me, “hey wanna listen to this album from beginning to end?” I would say no.

some highlights, but overly long and inconsistent. surprisingly dated.

5/10 Look, they got bangers. But way more fluff than they should have. TLC would never.

Couldnt finish it

All I can say is meh. Catchy, groovy, but nonetheless meh.

Ts pmo

Not my jam

No, it's not offensive, and there is some soul in it, but it's also just a lot of showy pop fluff made to make a lot of money with silly lyrics and predictable song structures. I'd probably give it 2.5 stars, but I really can't give it 3.

Not my style

Terrible mawkish formulaic tripe

This is such a weird album. Like many other reviews before have said, it goes from celebrating female empowerment on one song to bashing and slut shaming women on the other (most clearly in Nasty Girl). The beats were okay but nothing to write home about. Moreover, this album is LONG. The first three songs are somewhat enjoyable but after that it just turns into repetitive and annoying slop.

This didn't need to be 71 minutes long.

yassss gurl

I don't there's anything directly "wrong" with this album or anything, but I don't think I care much for the way it approaches being "feminist" when its so shallow about it, or that the chill instrumentals do fall for some of the typical tropes of pop r&b in this era, or that it's an hour long when you could cut it down to 30 mins and be done. Beyonce stands out the most ofc but that might also come from the fact that I know her voice so much already so... yeah this one is a dud for me, not the worst thing ever but it edges too close to some of the stuff I've liked the least so far.

Survivor - Destiny's Child I was happy enough with giving a 3, until it got to the end and the committed one of my ultimate sins in music.. a song that's just a list of thank yous. That's what linear notes are for. It makes the song have no re-listen value and just annoys me more than it should 2/5

Not in my edition of the book! 2001. 2 stars. Starts of strong and fades badly into background music for ladies hairdressing salons. Great vocals, but far too long for what it is. It speaks volumes that the best track on it ("Bootylicious") is a straight rip of Stevie Nicks "Edge of Seventeen".

Kinda fun

picks: survivor, independent woman, nasty girl

Certainly an album that has music on it. It starts off relatively strong, by virtue of having all its hit singles up front, but the album gets worse and worse as it goes on. It's all servicable and enjoyable enough to keep it from a 1 star but there really isn't much to this album otherwise. I don't really care for Destiny's Child and this certainly didn't motivate me to look further into their music. The runtime is also a bit too long and the album overstays its welcome.

An album with 30 songwriters, 22 producers, 14 mixers, 22 engineers, 3 arrangers, 3 keyboardists, 4 guitarists, 4 stylists/make-up artists (!) and 1 vocal consultant. Don't get me wrong, none of these people did a bad job by any means (well, barring the lyrics for Nasty Girl perhaps). But boy, does it sound like none of them ever talked to each other about what they were actually creating for longer than approximately 30 seconds.

Pop Acts Stop Putting All Your Best Songs First Challenge: It can't be done. The opening four tracks are absolutely sensational, from a banger perspective, and then it's just some extremely 'will this do' work for the remaining 40 minutes? I mean, I do know why they do this, it's for money reasons, but don't they know that 24 years later some twee little Indie nerd will have to listen to this for a Project?

Absolutely needs to be on this list. But uh. I basically agree 100% with the top review it’s weirdly inconsistent in its message. Be sexually liberated but only in the way we find acceptable. Be independent and strong and also DESPERATELY want a man. Parts of this album sound like a million bucks and then others sound like a teenagers first demo. Weird.

Destiny's Child: "I'm a baddie with a sexy booty and you can't handle all this jelly" 😏 Also Destiny's Child: "Sluts are gross" 🤮

Survivor – Destiny's Child – 2/5 An old memory from childhood, but never really my style. It was hugely popular at the time, and I remember hearing it everywhere, though it didn’t leave a lasting impact on me.

..

Too religious

Sometimes it’s exactly what you expect. It felt like any other 2000s pop album with a few catchy radio songs among many filler tracks you will quickly forget. I struggled to get through the long runtime. It just was not for me.

noone survived.

This is a great example that just because something is popular, that doesn't necessarily mean that it's good. This was a rough listen. The first track sounds hilariously dated due to the Charlie's Angels tie in. You already know the first 3 tracks because they were played to death on the radio. If you expected the female empowerment to continue after those three you're going to be sorely disappointed. The next track is slut shaming, followed by another track hating women. Next they're simping over some guy. An album should be a coherent whole and this is all over the place. Add in that the backing tracks sound terrible when you focus on them rather than the voices. This isn't just something I didn't need to hear before I die, I never want to hear it again.

This is good for a song or two, but wears thin upon listening the whole way through. Favorite song was Survivor.

whatever

Not my jam, but I can see it being good

An incredibly front loaded album. Survivor is certainly an ubiquitous track from this era, but I don't think the rest of the album performs. I didn't hate it, but don't think this is a must listen *album* just for a few singles.

Destiny's Child set the stage for 2000s R&B. It's decent, but not my favorite album I've listened to. My main criticisms are that there isn't a clear throughline in the music and that there seems to be a lot of filler songs. Best Songs: Survivor, Bootylicious Worst Songs: Sexy Daddy, Independent Women Pt. II

oof, this aged way worse than i expected. besides some good pop production that definitely slaps, you really don't get anything great on this album. stylistically and theme-wise all over the place and just... so much weirder than i expected. 4/10

Glitzy, glamorous, and relatively boring to me. I don’t like early aughts R&B too much with the exception of D’Angelo. Standout track is: “Gospel Melody”

Found this to be an overproduced album. I don’t need yo hear any of this again.

Why is there an American pop album on my 1001 Britpop albums list? Is this thing broken? It's hard to ignore the cultural influence Destiny's Child (and the Spice Girls) had on pop in the early 2000's. However, unlike other major events in 2001, the world seems to have ultimately moved on from pop diva groups, and by consequence that makes this album feel extremely dated. Still, they managed to squeeze two unforgettable classics out of this thing, that's better than most popstars of the 90's-00's. Nothing in this album screamed out to me as jaw dropping or inherently original, though the first couple of songs are clear 2000's pop classics. I also feel Beyoncé is really carrying this album. There's plenty of gaps in production, and it's clear that Beyoncé was the glue for this group. That's probably why she's the only one who went onto superstardom post-breakup of Destiny's Child. Though, she did sell her soul to the Illuminati and feasts on juvenile adrenochrome to keep her youth, but I don't want talk about that bit. For self-preservation reasons. Overall, I think my sister would hang me from a tree if I gave this anything under a 3. So that's what it WAS going to get... UNTIL Gospel Melody. Minus 1 for that dreary abomination of a song, Jesus fucking Christ what an absolute slog of a song cunt. Listening to that song was like sour warheads in my mouth, and much like sour warheads, left me feeling a bitter taste for this album. There's few times I say this, but the CIA could very easily and effectively extract any secrets out of me by forcing me to listen to Gospel Melody. Strap me to a chair and play that shit on repeat, and by the second loop you'd break me. Fuck you, ladies. Apart from that, not bad, really. Enjoy your 2.

Destiny's Child spoke and thus, so began twenty plus years of hearing their music remixed in night clubs. Survivor and Bootylicious are bangers, evergreens that have entered the canon of nightlife music. Nasty Girl is fucking WILD to listen to. It is insane to have songs about female independence and empowerment and then have basically slut-shaming/internalised misogyny: the song FOLLOWING Bootylicious which was a hit back against the insane anorexic culture of the early 2000s after Beyonce had been attacked in the media for weight gain. Not to mention the story of SA that inspired The Story of Beauty, this album isn't just inconsistent in its theming, it's practically schizophrenic. Normally for this kind of album I would say "ah whatever, it's just trying to have a good time" a la my reviews for ZZ Top and Def Leppard but this is different. To have songs named Independent Women and Survivor which are so obviously about female empowerment makes this feel kinda gross. All that aside, I have always loathed production in early 2000s music, much like the period itself it is bawdy, bloated and tasteless. It's my own personal bias which I'll freely admit but prevents me from enjoying this album outside of the nostalgia factor of a select few songs on here. Outside of the big hits, I did not enjoy this. Highlight: Survivor, Bootylicious

I’d never listened to the full album before, but just as a side effect of having been alive in the early 2000s, I’ve heard most of it by osmosis. For the pure nostalgia value, it was nice; I don’t think I need to revisit it anytime soon, though. Aside from the hits, it felt like there was too much filler. 2.5

This isn’t my usual genre, but I gave it a fair shot. In short, the album starts strong but gradually loses momentum. It’s far too long, with too much filler weighing it down. Favorite song: The opening trio—Independent Women, Survivor, and Bootylicious—are the undeniable hits. Great pop tracks! Least favorite: Everything from track 4 onward, with Nasty standing out as one of the weakest. Album artwork: A cool cover, at least!

I can't imagine kicking off an album with 3 solid bangers that never get old, then having the rest of the album plod through with nothing of substance at all.

The only way I’d ever listen to this album would be because of this exercise. Tough listen. And that’s all I’m going to write about this one.

All the songs sound the same. The girls are talented singers. The songs kinda suck tho.

The unnecessary runs always make me laugh

- why -

In retrospect, Destiny's Child really seems like it was also the launching pad for Beyonce's career. It feels obvious as her father managed the band around a revolving door of group members, often with pretty bad blood between them. But really, this was the album that Beyonce first shined on, producing and writing most of the tracks. And arguably, it contains some of the most famous songs, including "Survivor" and "Bootylicious". All of the hits are tacked on right at the beginning. The singles were catchy and popular, and generally focused on women's empowerment and redefining beauty standards. That's really what makes the fourth track "Nasty Girl" particularly hard to listen to. The music is fine, but the slut shaming really undermines the message of the rest of the album and is a low point here. The rest of the album was an unknown to me going in. I expected a lot of filler, but there actually are some decent tracks throughout, particularly in the middle of the album. "Apple Pie a la Mode" and "Happy Face" stand out to me as good pop songs with a slight avant garde edge to them, though I suspect that they're generally skipped. The album ends with more ballady songs, which don't do much for me. Overall, "Survivor" has some serious flaws but just about works as a good pop album. It feels a bit harsh, but I think "Nasty Girl" knocks this down a point.

If you like this kind of music, it’s probably good. I don’t like this style of music.

I feel like this album is rated so low on this website because a lot of people using this album are using it to get away from music like this. Not to say this album is terrible but it's just not my taste in music. I don't get why so many people love Beyonce because from my perspective everything she's done is just mediocre. Am I biased because I hate the 2019 Lion King, of course, but this album is still not that good otherwise. It's too much pop and not much else which is not what I like in music.

Suprisingly interesting - but Beyonce..

Harmonizing cry-singing is the black soul equivalent to white guitar solos. Apart from this annoyance the first 3-4 Songs set the tone. Most of the following tracks sound like generic Justin Timberlake. Extra Point for the nice re-use of tunes from e.g. Salt’‘n’Peppa on „Nasty Girl“

Eh.

Some bangers up front. Pretty weak otherwise, lyrically poor

Meh.

Smooth R&B album from the group, some good singles that stood out. Not entirely my style but enjoyable and smooth.

As sacrilegious as some may find it, I’ve never been the biggest Beyoncé fan. This extends to Destiny’s Child too. It’s all the diva warbling that I’ve never really been able to get behind. This album was catchy and interesting in parts, but the overuse of vocal runs did leave me a bit bored. I get it, she’s a really good singer. But good singing does not a great album make. The first three tracks are the better ones of the album with the rest being a bit forgettable. Not my cup of tea. Sorry!

The singles are good, the rest is filler

Of its time.

Eh, not their best work

Destiny's Child has a couple songs that I'd call classics of their era of R&B. none of them are on this album. I can appreciate that this is an attempt at a pro-female, pro-empowerment statement from the group, but it feels extremely self-centered in ways that undercut that message. especially odious in this respect is "Nasty Girl" which, with its central lyrical theme essentially just being pick-me slut-shaming, basically invalidates this as a feminist record. plus, I hardly feel any group cohesion between these three women; this is basically a Beyoncé album with some contributions from two other singers who might as well be anonymous, given how subservient their contributions feel. "I'm a survivor", in many other contexts, would be a powerful statement, but then you remember that all Beyoncé's talking about surviving is a few lineup changes, something that almost every band goes through at some point. her vocal antics on many of these songs are legitimately in that Christina Aguilera tier of obnoxious (weirdly on brand with her current-day self-centered girlboss billionaire politics), and they feel so unearned given how little these songs have going for them compositionally and sonically. this is extremely plain R&B that's as deep as a puddle and sounding more and more anachronistic as time goes on. strong 4/10.

Not my thing

Well, a second day of 2000's female R&B. It is the second day of an album which is more modern (for this list) that feels just "fine" to me. The first song has a lot of Charlie's Angels references which does place me directly back in the early 2000's. I can feel the constraints being in this group put on Beyonce and it feels like the "I can live without you" songs are not just directed at men. Survivor does have a great keyboard riff on it, though I could have gone without the last 8 seconds of the song which are not played on radio, mostly because it is cheesy and needless. I find it interesting that Beyonce's first solo album was named after a song on this album that she also put on her first solo album (Dangerously in Love). Nasty Girl is a pretty misogynistic song if you ask me. Had a man performed it then I would imagine a great deal of controversy would have erupted. I can see why Back to Basics is on the list, as Christina Aguilera made a change to her sound and expanded her horizons creatively. I am a bit more confused as to why this album made the list. It's not even critically considered Destiny's Child's best album and critics just seemed to be "meh, it sold a lot of records" about it. It feels like the justification for inclusion is the number of records it sold but I don't think this album is in the same league as other R&B albums released during this time. This book struggles more with the inclusion of modern music. I don't know why Happy Face is on this album. It's very basic and should have been on the cutting room floor. When I thought the song was petering out, I looked and it had 2 more minutes. That's one minutes of moaning/screaming and the chorus being repeated over and over and over and over and over and over...followed by "I'm flying!" for another minute. It's a disqualifying song just on its own. I don't know what the purpose of the Gospel Medley is and the Outro is just the group thanking each other. There is, yet again, no reason to include this song. I can't imagine any person who listened to this album more than a few times ever listened to these last two songs. This isn't their best album and shouldn't be in the book.

Rnb og pop hits, men ikke det store indtryk som helhed

They are very talented, but I think Destiny’s Child is a “greatest hits only” kind of band for me.

The first two songs have held up surprisingly well. After that....eh. 2/5

Girl group.

I was kind of disappointed, to be honest, I hadn't heard this record, but I had heard of this record, and it really didn't do much for me.

Sounds like a parody

This one just didn’t click for me. Basic and boring R&B backing tracks with uninteresting melodies. At least there are a couple of cool samples.

Starts with a hell of a 3 punch - Independent Women into Survivor into (especially) Bootylicious But then it just doesn’t really go anywhere, the tunes disappear, and there’s this really weird production choice that has the girls singing over the top of each other in such a way that you can’t hear them properly. A disappointment

An album I had time to listen to a few times today and it got curiously worse every time I listened to it. Once you get past the hits it's very lazy by numbers pop/RnB. Outro is terrible.

I'm just glad I didnt start with albums like this, otherwise I wouldve given up in listening the much better ones down the line

Had a few hits but its far from a top 300 album. Most songs sound too much alike too repetitive samples, same rhythm and beat mostly. Great use of the harmonies really good voices on all 3 members. Too pop its not for me but I can see the production value and talent on this album. Most songs they over do the voice show off and it talkes away from the album flow. Looks like who has the greatest voice competition and it doesnt sound natural.

Hmmm. How do you say anything bad about Beyoncé? And her crew? Catchy stuff, no doubt, but empty of anything interesting for my ears.

Such a snapshot of music of the early 2000s- hooky songs that were played in every club, bar, and school dance. I’ve seen countless people sing these songs at karaoke. Have never listened to this entire album and probably won’t again though.

There's probably a great 12-track album here, and there are a couple of timeless pop classics. But can't look past how looong it is.

The album starts off with three solid hits, which is the only part that I enjoyed. After that, we get some of the worst lyrics I've ever heard (Nasty Girl and Fancy), exhausting vocal runs that go on forever (and I actually like Beyonce!), with some cheesy crap sprinkled on top (Apple Pie, Sexy Daddy, outro). The rest of the album is a real snooze fest, with the exception of Brown Eyes, which was somewhat enjoyable due to its predictable but well-executed 90s ballad sound. Really disappointed by this one; I expected better given the singles this album had. 2.5/5 stars

The beginning of this album had me kinda into it, the first few tracks were pretty great. Things went off a cliff from there, Nasty Girl was hilariously bad and kinda surprising as they were just singing about building women up and being independent and now you’re chastising women for how they choose to dress? Then later there is the odd decision to do an Independent Women, Part 2 which wasn’t good and then there’s a few more canned tracks to extend the pain. Then the ugly bow to top it all off is the cringey Thank You Outro which was so dumb it was kinda funny. At least this album provided some chuckles. This sucked 2 stars

Throwaway pop music.

Aika huonosti vanhentuneet aiheet kyllä tällä levyllä. 2/5.

Like most pre-teen girls, I loved me some Destiny's Child. As an adult listening to the full album, the hit singles (Independent Women, Survivor, Bootylicious, Emotions) are still a guilty pleasure, but the rest of the album is meh. The gospel/preachy songs are weird...

not really interesting at all thematically but talented nonetheless. fun 2000s vibe

I thought the gospel medley was nice. The rest just kind of irked me. Not necessarily terrible but this isn't for me at all.

I got what I expected: a dated pop album. Lost count of how many records from the era sound like "Survivor". I admit that the title track is a good song. A few others are just standard 2000s singles. "Survivor" started Beyonce's career for better or for worse. 2 stars for "Survivor".

Starts off with a couple of catchy tunes but turns to yawn very quickly

I always associate Destiny's Child with bowling alleys. It's probably because I was a kid when they were popular and went bowling a lot. Still, I've never dug into them much past the singles, and I find myself with a surprising amount to talk about. The production is nice but nothing insane when it's good, and odd when it's bad. It's turn-of-the-millennium RnB production, which I typically like, but the odd choices include the weird, almost carnival-esque sounds on "Independent Woman Pt. II", to the weird, beat-that-doesn't-align stylings on the outro track. Speaking of that track, it's weird to know that DC kicked two of their members out and then recorded a "friends forever" outro on this one. It's also weird since, aside from a few spots, Beyonce takes the lead for, let's generously say, 95% of the album. Lyrically, the album is also bizarre, from the slut-shaming "Nasty Girl" (which feels weird for Beyonce to sing about, honestly), followed by the "I dislike you" anthem that is "Fancy". "Sexy Daddy" also feels weird, but that could just be my Catholic upbringing flaring up again. Long story short, I find the singles solid (I especially like the sample flip of "Edge of Seventeen" on, of all things, "Bootylicious"), but there's absolutely nothing to dig in to past them here. It barely avoids the 1-start graveyard. Favorite tracks: "Bootylicious", "Independent Woman, Pt. 1"

This album seems confused on its own personality, and man if that isn't a turn off for any sort of R&B. Slut shame here, but my ass is too fat for you there. I need to be respected, but that guy is so fucking HOT. I don't carry an issue with any of the songs on there own, but as a whole package it is clear there is no actual message to any of these songs. Just what the songwriters came up with so the three could strut their stuff. Except, that isn't great either, as the album is so front loaded there is nothing to speak on in the last half-an-hour. You may as well skip it. The album is just a time capsule into the musical scene in the late 90s and early 2000s, and I see no reason to listen to it in any other aspect. The hits aren't even catchy compared to other R&B hits from the time, and it just leaves the album feeling soulless. Inoffensive, but soulless, and like a cash grab.

Talented artists. Just not my jam. Thought this would rate a 2.5 and get rounded up but by the end I was so tired of this...

Neither good nor interesting. How was this popular?

DC Survivor with early Beyonk as the lead comes in low 2s. The first nine songs are very similar, have lame-repetitive lyrics, and just aren’t good. Nasty Girl is a perfect bad example. The album improves a little from Happy Face on, but is still not good. Here’s to hoping she doesn’t make the 1001 list or the too long album list again (2.4*s).

I recognized the first few songs which were radio/MTV hits in the early 2000's. It was a fine 15 minute opening, but the remainder of the album did little to keep me hooked. Overall Survivor didn't resonate me and did little to stand out. I'm not the demographic and this isn't a genre I listen to so its overall a forgettable listen that gets filed in the "meh" department. Not sure there's anything on here that warrants this to be included on the list. 1.9 stars

4/10 - idk it sounds like Beyoncé. Some of the songs were too sexually focused in my opinion. The rest were just not that interesting.

Can’t help but feel like I’m not really part of the target audience here

Mid

What I liked about the album... "Survivor", "Emotion" (sorry, I'm a sucker for a well written Gibb/Gibb song), and "Dangerously In Love". I kinda dig the a capella harmonies on "Gospel Medley", I just wish there was more emotion behind it. It doesn't breathe. What I hated... Pretty much everything else. (5.3) ★★½

The hits are good, the rest is mediocre. 2 stars

First three tracks are solid, rest of the album is pretty forgettable. Not essential at all. 2.5 stars.

2.5

Very puzzling entry. Is it because Beyoncé is involved? Quite possibly. Best songs are the singles and Samantha Sang/Bee Gee’s cover. This album also showcases Beyoncé’s biggest flaw: her tendency to over sing. LOTS OF FILLER. 2.5 stars

This record was released 23 years ago...and this is the first time I've ever intentionally listened to a Destiny's Child album and it's also the first time I've ever heard two (+) consecutive Destiny's Child/Beyonce songs in a row. Honestly the only observation I have is how little r&b/pop music has changed since then. Easy to see the appeal for a certain demographic of young, impressionable females when it was released but I've already moved on

It’s got that trademark bloat of most pop albums in this era. Clean production and can hear its influence on all R&B after it but still not my stuff. Even this one isn’t even my favorite of destiny’s child and I’m ambivalent about the group as it is. Rating: 2.5

no thanks

The radio hits brought back early 2000’s memories but that’s about it.

⭐️⭐️

2/5

Boring club music, aside from the first ear-worm tracks.

Don’t care for R&B. They all have great voices, though, so I was able to enjoy some of it. The big hits from the album come off as annoying for me. Standouts: Nasty Girl, Independent Women Pt. II, and The Story Of Beauty.

This has so much more whooomph than Tay-to Swift or even Chirstina Al-see-ya-later. This is dynamic, raunchy and fun, it also features real ballsy vocals insteasd of just shouting in tune. And come on, 'Bootylicious' is just an all time banger. Trails off in the second half though, becomes a lot more over-produced boring soul, and the opening product placement is jarring. But a deserving pop nugget despite the conflicted "look at my bum / put some bloody clothes on woman' lyrics.

Track 3 - “watch me shake my booty” Track 4 - “eww look at that skank”

It starts off okay, but there's so much better in the genre. Like with country, the stuff that makes it on the radio tends not to be the best stuff. D'Angelo's Voodoo came out the year before and showed what R&B was capable of when someone was actually reaching for something. To highlight the contrast, Rolling Stone ranked Voodoo at number 28 on its list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. Survivor doesn't appear on that list. Survivor is the album critics skip over even within the Destiny's Child catalog. The album that made them famous isn't even their best work, let alone a benchmark for the genre.

Although the music isn't great, the top reviewers are definitely giving girl groups like Destiny's Child too much flak. The music, while technically generic early-2000s pop, is undeniably catchy - particularly the opening trio of songs, Independent Women Pt. 1/Survivor/Bootylicious. The sound is reminiscent of some mega-popular pop and R&B acts from the 80s and 90s, and clearly takes inspiration from these. The percussive rhythms are complex and engaging in the former part of the album, and the textures are really ear-catching. Unfortunately, there are a few reasons to lose interest after the first three songs. The fourth, Nasty Girl, is lyrically very off-putting. And, excluding a couple of highlights, most of the remainder of the album introduces absolutely nothing new to the party. It's a pretty long album, too, and this isn't to its benefit. The chord progressions are pretty cool in the first few tracks and in Fancy, but later on they become very generic. The drum machines rapidly grow old as you keep listening. Mini-skits appear at the end of some tracks, and I'm not a fan of those at all. (I also doubt I'm the target audience for this music. And my policy is that the best music can connect with people from all backgrounds.) 2/5 Key tracks: Independent Women Pt. 1, Survivor, Fancy

The singles on this are undeniable, but holy shit was making my way through the rest of this album a chore

Survivor starts strong with Independent Women and the title track and then fades fffasssst and it’s over an hour long and they don’t have enough for half that. 4.3/10

I’d love to rate this as low as possible, but I have to admit, there were a few tracks with some solid music production. That said, the vocals were hard to get into, especially when they’re all singing together—it just didn’t do it for me.

I'm not going to diss you on the Internet.

2.3 - I was into it at the start, but after the big hitters it really nose dived for me.

Not into this at all. This is from an era of pop music that I kind of purposefully missed when I was younger, and even though there are some pop artists that are similar that I really do like now, this isn't one that's going to stick. 2/5

Whoa, this album is weird. There's like some girl power shit, some "girl, put some clothes on" shit, and some "god fucking rules" shit. The singing is tight, but this is way more Girls5eva than I expected. 2/5

Not my favourite style of music.

Nope. Not a fan of this pop by the numbers corporate stuff.

This album is stocked full of early millennium nostalgia. A bit front loaded... Pretty much the last half could've been removed, overall bringing it down.

This is such commercial late 90/early 20s content. It sounds fine enough for what it's doing but this feels like the goal of releasing it was to make money and that's it. It's soulless and if this all music was I'd never listen to any.

You know the moment that a model stops does a look then walks away? This is like the audio equivalent of that over and over and over again. That or a Micahel Bay movie. Just a stepping stone to push Beyonce. Souless is a good word for it.

I just can't stand to listen to these early 2000s pop-records anymore - it's soul, it's rhythm, maybe even Hip-Hop (yuk!). And there is attitude in spades. But the parts don't come together to any coherent whole. And, as always, melody is completely AWOL. 1.5/5

The first three singles are iconic. The rest were generic

Quality but not made for me and not my style. The thank you song at the end was weird considering they broke up after this.

Wasn't horrible, just didn't enjoy this.

Uninteresting

This album makes no sense in terms of theme. Musically it's just a product of the end of the 90s where we were so use to singers not singing that when someone sang relatively ok we worshipped them. Beyonce has a terrific voice, but the endles and aimless runs are insufferable

For me it feels pretty standard girl group sound of the time. That’s not necessarily bad, but I spent do much for me. Beyonce would go on to make some of my favorite things. Destiny’s Child is just fine 2.5/5

Overall, it was fine but didn't inspire me. Definitely a couple jams but the rest was meh. Normally I would give a 3, but I am insulted by the insinuation that I can't handle "this jelly." They don't know me!

Question?

This sounds exactly like I thought it would. I didn’t need to spend an hour of my life listening.

ihan kivaa muutaman bisiin sitten niitä tulee muutama lisää ja sen jälkeen vielä kymmenen lisää... pikku vinkki tuleville albumintakojille: kun edetään niin kuuntelijan huomio vaikeampi pitää.. tässä vaiheessa pitää muuttua laulu vähän... älyttömäksi... voidaan mennä vähän kreisimpään suuntaan.. tässä vanilja jäätelöä kun nuoleskelisi tunti putkeen... vähän pettymys näiltä suklaisilta naisilta hehheh.... KIITOS LOORDI... hard rock halleluuuuujjaaaaah... halllelluuuuujaaaaahh.... haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaalllleluuuuuuuuuujaaaaaaaaa...... nastya girl

While I appreciate the underlying R&B nature and the hiphop influence, the pop urges dominate too much for me. The repetitiveness makes me lose attention, not carry me. Strings just bother me.

This started so well - the three singles really fired me up and were upbeat, fun and danceable. No wonder they were the singles. Then it just became very repetitive and dull and sounded tedious. From Brown Eyes onward I just felt nauseated. I wanted to like this more but I don’t even want it as background music. Those first three are bangers though.

Independent Women Part 1 and Survivor are great, catchy anthems and had me thinking the album might be a 4 or 5 but the rest of the album was disappointing. Although well sung and produced, the lyrics felt off. And the last song was just too much.

There were some startlingly bold and bizarre harmonic choices throughout this album. So, props for that. I just don't think they ever really worked in the songs' favor, and often just sounded plain bad. Also, the best songs on here were good rather than great. Bootylicious, for example. (I'd heard it before, but this was the fist time I gave it a serious listen.) It started off promising, with its meme-ready opening. And the chorus is kinda fun. But it never developed. (Compare it to the masterpiece that is Sisqo's Thong Song, which features one of the greatest key changes in music history, and I think you can see what I mean.) Finally, the lyrics on this album are all over the place, (from kinda-feminist to slut shaming) and never poetic. I often feel like I'm overly harsh on pop albums, especially pop albums from this era. And I tried to like this one. I just couldn't get there.

Definitely an inconsistent album, more lows than highs.

Wild the amount of success the first three tracks alone had! Such an exciting time in Hip Hop and RnB. After that, we dive into more b-side tracks like Nasty Girl, which has a nice midway ode (rip-off?) to Push-it by Salt-N-Pepa. As the album continues it struggles to match the pace of its openers. “Apple Pie A La Mode” isn’t any good and I found myself wishing the ambitious “Sexy Daddy” would end already. There is some redemption to be had with the “independent women” reprise, but not much. The outro where they dote on each other is sweet.

✅ this is okay. The singles are good, but all at the beginning of the album, and there's not much to sustain it after that. I saw another review that said it's about 20 minutes too long and I agree. It's jarring, given Beyonce's public image now, how much of the lyrics here are about other women being terrible. Not exactly a girl's girl album. I don't think this aged particularly well.

The best songs were at the end of the album, except for the outro. Independent Women Pt II and Happy Face were pretty bad. I don't care for the diss tracks either.

This is just some pretty basic, and dated, dance pop. I guess it’s significant as part of Beyoncé’s origin story, but it’s pretty dull when taken on its own.

First three songs are the best, all others are like worse versions of them. Also weird to heard Beyonce sing about tearing other women down. Didn't age well..

Nah

Wasn’t feeling it, at least I’d listened to it all the way through, it wasn’t the worst on this list at least

So many hits. So many bangers. Really strong 2.

One thing about getting older is that you realize not everything is tailored for you. I recognize their talent, especially Beyonce. But this music isn't for me.

😢

Their texts are feministics, at least for the time. Which I didn't remember. Still don't like their music though

Same problem I have with a lot of albums from the late 90’s, early 2000’s, there are so many songs that they end up just blending into each other. And oh my god, was this a long one.

Meh. Not my cup o' tea.

I wonder if this is the album that started the trend of the overdone vocal flourishes in pop music?

All sound very nice and smooth but so smooth that after first five songs I just could not handle it any more. Even though first one was the brilliant Independent Women. Stopped there, did not believe in any signs that this music would have any soul or energy.

I mean, if the Lord fully sanctions Beyoncé’s bootyliciousness, not to mention her use of crappy syncopated fake drum nonsense on just about every track, who am I to disagree? I’m not saying, dear parishioners, that there aren’t a few bangers here. However, I just don’t see myself listening to this bloated paean to avariciousness-masquerading-as-girl-power more than twice. Destiny’s Child forever! Or at least for about 18 months until Be can go single lady and dump the rest of y’all for some real dollars.

I may have missed the subtext here (or I wasn't listening) but having Independent Women Part 1, Survivor and Independent Women Part 2 separated by tracks such as Bootylicious, Nasty Girl and Sexy Daddy is a bit of a contradiction. 2 stars 'Cause my body too bootylicious for ya, babe

Definitely an album from the early 2000's

More a loose collection of singles than an album. Either way, not my style.

The singles were unavoidable in 2001, they weren’t great then and time hasn’t improved them

This music isn’t very timeless, it puts us back right into early 2000s, even with the opening track celebrity shout outs. I didn’t love or hate those songs overplayed on the radio then and I don’t love or hate them now. Listening to the whole album was kind of boring for me. I was also really surprised to hear basically a slut shaming song in what I thought was a very female empowerment group, seemed very strange to me.

First 3 songs great and then falls off other than Emoiron

I gave this a lot of listening as it's not a genre that I am used to listening to. The singing and production are great, and there are some very good pop songs, with only a couple of duds. This one's just between a two and a three for me.

The absolute highlight of this album is 4 tracks in when Beyonce interpolates weirdo italo hit "Tarzan Boy" by one-hit-wonder Baltimora, a track that totally rips but sadly that album won't appear on this 1001 list. I did not enjoy these tracks when they came out, but was never able to place exactly why. Now, looking through the lense of nostalgia, I have to say while I'm enjoying the fun and a few of the production details of the tracks moreso than I did back then, this album still could have been quite a bit better. In short, all the sentiments feel cherry-picked for sales rather than coming from somewhere deep down. The least disingenuous-feeling moment is the end where they have an outro song where they take turns complimenting each other for 4 minutes. It sold great and helped in launching a massive career for Beyonce so it obviously resonated (partially because it was marketed to death) but for every empowering moment of independence or self-actualization, there's a ton of petty, trite, disempowering moments. Product of the era, I suppose, but even back then, I remember recognizing how thunderous an effective track "Independent Women, Pt. 1" is and what a loss it is to water it down by the constant shout out to the mediocre movie it was attached to (Charlie's Angels). What could have been a legit feminist anthem feels like it was only made to be a prop in a movie trailer, which is disappointing. With all the producers and songwriters on this there ought to be more personality here, but I'm walking away not feeling like I know anything about these women as people except that "they are the best, they look great, they'll get the man.." ect. Compare that to the era's TLC who have 3 distinct inner world's they attempt to explore throughout every album. Who is Kelly Rowland and Michelle whatshername..? I know zero about them and all I know about Beyonce in that era is that she was "furiously independent". Not when it came to writing a song by herself-- her father and manager even worked to be sure credit was taken away from the actual songwriters in Beyonce's interview responses. All in all there's some cool production choices here, the singing is fantastic, and one can't help but want to root for them in the era this came out, but overall this is lacking in cohesion and concept. I want more out of these 3. Now, as a courtesy to anyone reading, if you, like me, are in need of a palette-cleanser, might I recommend a 1985 smash hit entitled "Tarzan Boy" by the almighty Baltimora. We can imagine that in a more perfect world, somewhere out there, Beyonce is still singing along.

Never really been a fan.

It’s ok. Some decent songs but the rest is completely forgettable. Does anyone else feel bad for Michelle and Kelly?

meh

This album is dripping with commerciality. The songs' messages jump from emancipatory feminist encouragement to praising one's own secondary sexual characteristics to slut-shaming, only to end up with the desire for male attention. On a musical level, there is little to criticize apart from the lack of memorability. Which is also probably a good thing. At least I won't be thinking of this anymore in the near future.

Big early 2000s vibes. Enjoyable but way too long and samey. First track and maybe one of the others stood out... I think it was Emotion I enjoyed.

The beats are cool on some of these songs, but this really is not for me.

All the reviews on here are spot on. Starts with 3 bangers, then goes nowhere.

I don’t see the appeal honestly. They all have beautiful voices- but they all belt out the notes at the top end of the registry and - well that’s just screeching. No balance, and frankly it’s unpleasant. It’s also hard to actually decipher the lyrics at that range, which turns out is a blessing since most of the songs are just celebrating slut culture. Beyoncé did well to leave this mess.

A disjointed and poor second half pulls the rating down

Very repetitive sound. Their voices work well together, but every song sounds the same (outside of three songs beginning with Emotion). 2 stars

I recognized many of the songs at the beginning of the album. Even though I recognized the songs, I would not say they are particularly good. I do not know the last time I had really even heard them. The rest of the album was not good at all. It was entirely way too long. The album is better than a two, but not really a three.

The cognitive dissonance I experienced listening to Bootylicious followed immediately by two bitch tracks dissing some other woman for being trashy and telling her men don’t want no “hot female” is truly staggering. I don’t know how you can so proudly declare that you’re women of integrity while scantily dressed and simultaneously slut shaming other women. The early 2000s truly were a hellscape razor’s edge of double standards and internalized misogyny that was impossible for women to navigate. The message from Destiny’s Child seems to be a jarring mashup of “do as I say, not as I do” and “it’s empowering to use your sexuality to make money, but ONLY if you’re in Destiny’s Child. Otherwise, you trashy and you need to get some clothes on girl”. This album is saved from a 1-star because it tried to be empowering, Independent Women is an anti-goldigging anthem that resonates, but hypocrisy abounds and the message became muddled quickly.

Pretty terrible

This album is so full of judgy weird like internalized misoginy I had no idea

The evolution from Nasty Girl to Partition is proof that human beings are capable of change. I'm a little surprised, but I'm gonna have to give this one a dislike!! (2) The first three songs are killer, defined a generation, etc etc but after that it's a reminder of the profound girl-on-girl misogyny of the early 00s and I assume the label also really preferred a Black, female, group to keep such a conservative base to their lyrics in order to balance out how risky they might have seemed for sales.

More like destinys butthole amiright?

Gonna get some hate here…. Beyoncé needed to leave Destiny’s Child if she was going to develop from this Star Search crap. The beats sound like they were produced by an 8year old on meth with a drum machine and a Casio keyboard (ex: Sexy Daddy, Independent, pt2). Due credit: Beyoncé co-wrote every song on the album. But as a lyricist, she had a lot of growing to do. If you want to write songs about overcoming and being independent and strong, the lyrics need to be better than “I’M TOUGH!” and “I BUY MY OWN THINGS!” At least not a full hour of that.

Probably a great r n b album.

2.7

This feels far too long. Some of the songs feel like they don't need to be there.That being said, İ never thought I'd say it but there some ok songs in this and I understand the appeal. Brown Eyes and Dangerously in Love gives Buoyancy a chance to show off her vocal prowess. This album is living proof that DC is definitely better than Moby.

Got halfway through. Just didn't need to hear any more, I was close to losing my mind

Not my vibe

Mehhhh, aj nije jedinica, ali skoro Najbolje pjesme: 1. Survivor 2. Independent Women, Pt. 1

Ritmos de soul y hiphop elegante. Buenas voces femeninas. Algo de ritmo. Le ha faltado algo más de intensidad

It avoids one star because the first three tracks are pop classics. But that is an awful album. They knew it as well as they just dumped the three singles as the start and then left the rest of the album to be filled by an AI with the instruction to generate insipid, inconsistent, dated r n b. I shudder at the thought of this.

Even with the nostalgia, I couldn’t get into this one.

I recognise all the hits, but I'm not into them. It is hilarious how you have a bunch of female empowering songs, followed immediately by a song slut shaming someone and telling them to put more clothes on. Hmm. It's a 'meh' for me overall, with one or two tracks that elevate it a bit. I can't relate to most of it and it doesn't really move or inspire me in any way. 'Happy Face' is probably the best and most interesting track for me, and that is by far the least listened to song on the album according to Spotify, go figure. I guess I'm really not the target demographic! 2.5 rounded down.

This album can’t decide if it should be open or puritanical about sex. The back and forth between lyrical slut shaming and championing the independent sensual women makes perfect sense given the time the album was made. Musically, it’s fine. Basic R&B with competent singing and corny interludes to make a huge industry band seem homespun. This album was absolutely massive when it came out but has aged very poorly.

1.7 - definitely remember several songs from this when it came out, but not my thing.

Not saying the album is bad… just not for me lol. I listened to it front to back twice, and I just couldn’t get into it. I guess I’m not very bootylicious 🫤

All feels a bit formulaic and odd now one of them is treated like a deity - the music here was fun, but isn't fun anymore unless you happen to be smashed off your tits in a shit club

Vissa bra bängers. Kanske lite för långt. Många filler biisin. Kan int helt relatera med alla lyrics men är ej target audience

Dit voelt gewoon als een bak met tracks, geen solide album

Survivor is a banger. But apart from that I wasn't into it, and nasty girl is straight up nasty

The hits deserve the attention: the rest is a mess of meandering runs over beats probably better used elsewhere. A mess.

Not my music by along shot, given it's popularity I've heard a few songs before. Biggest problem It's just way too long, I don't think fans listen to the whole album. 2.5 for me.

Seemed to have all the singles I knew up front. While the singles are fine and have some nostalgic value for me. This is a long repetitive record (that feels a little preachy).

This is really not my genre. I just don't like it, at all. I thought, maybe, this one would be the album that changed my mind a little bit. It starts off strong, the first 3 or 4 songs are all really good. Then it goes on for another hour of just repeating the same things over and over. And several songs talking about how much they love each other, which gets real annoying, real fast. I can't see ever playing this one again, even if the first few songs were okay.

Yeah... The late 90s and early 00s were a dark time for pop music. This had a couple okayish songs. I think the 2 is generous. No reason to listen to the whole thing again.

After the well know hits at the start of the album is progressively gets worse, couldn't finish it

messaging all over the place. Quality all over the place. Absolute shit show of a final track which knocked off a star on its own

I love the first two songs; the remainder is just too flat and long.

Favorite Tracks: Survivor Independent Women Gospel Medley

A couple of fun / nostalgic singles on here, but as an album this sort of sucks. It feels assembled rather than any type of genuine artistic expression. Listening to it is like eating a Happy Meal. I guess it's fine, but I can feel chemicals coursing through my blood with every new bit of ingestion.

Ok, it's nice to have this album on the list for historical reasons; it's still the birthplace of huge stars from the last decades. However, despite "survivor", It's a good album only if you are really into 2000s R&B.

Frontloaded with three great songs, then into a huge pile of bloat ended with a song about sexual abuse, a sung prayer to god and the three singers telling each other how great they are, outstandingly uneven album.

Тааак. Поп, 2001 Я первый раз слышу про эту группу. И что за тайтл сонг меня встречает? "девочки, будьте независимы, я вот купила себе часы - сама - дом в котором я живу - мой, я независима!". Ну, леди Destiny's Child, посыл прекрасный, только это не совсем так работает! Что по самой музыке -- это прям такой лёгкий рнб поп нулевых, можно было б в ряд с pussycat dolls поставить. Окей, трек в честь которого назван альбом -- Survivor -- я знаю. "This song is a shout out to people who left toxic relationships, bullied, came out of depression, survived any form of cancer, harmful addictions" -- дэм сан, только потому что в припеве они говорят "я выживу я двинусь дальше я приложу усилия"? Я о чём. Я о том, что лирика КРАЙНЕ простая. Она долбит в лоб. Мотивы крайне простые. Голоса крайне простые. И вот эта самая survivor которая "девоньки (а может и не только девоньки) не сдавайтес" идёт ровно перед bootylicious. То есть треки такие: "я добьюсь всего сама", "я смогу я превозмогу", "у меня большая попа". Это типа... такой плотный однородный список? Оно одно равно другому, что на одном альбоме один исполнитель их рядом поёт? Ну вот я к посылу и лирике докопался. Но при этом стоит сказать что альбом-то слушабельный. То есть они приятно накидывают своей попсовой сескуальности дешёвой. Но альбом ощущается непомерно длинным, и это плохой знак. Я почитал википедию. Наверное, нужно это делать до того как слушать албом. Понятно теперь, почему оно кажется таким.. .знакомым и вторичным. Лид сингер это Бейонсе. Нуу в таком случае всё вышенаписанное понятно и закономерно. В общем, ощущение что это альбом для "нормальных" девочек-подростков. Да, вам тяжело, но надо потерпеть и вы сможете. Надо стремиться, надо жить и выживать, надо быть благодарными за то что есть. Любите жизнь (и свою попу). Вот только любая девочка лет шестнадцати, которая это слушала на серьёзных щщах -- это самая бейсик бич которую вы видели. Не знаю, что-то такая агрессия. Альбом-то неплохой! Типа его можно слушать. Но при этом втф, меня чёт калит. Не знаю, два или один. Надо подумать Ладно, два. Типа не так это отвратительно чтоб единицу влепить. Чтоб единица была -- я вообще должен захотеть жесточайше вырубить альбом. Два.

It starts with familiar songs that everyone's heard before and that's not a bad thing. The rest though is just album filler. Really comes from an era where excellent singles were released to promote and sell dull albums.

The singles are pretty memorable, so I had high hopes for this - but sadly it's like so much pop music where the album is largely filler. Destiny's Child definitely belong on a list of 1001 singles, but putting them here is an odd decision. 2*

Pop music. It's fine.

Such an iconic female empowerment album. I have never listened to it front to back and honestly, I was underwhelmed. The first three songs were iconic for me growing up, but the rest of the album was very skippable for me. However, the amazing vocals and the nostalgia of the first few songs have me rating the album a little bit higher than a 1. 2/5

Wasn't aware how many of these songs I already knew, Destiny's Child going crazy with the singles here, there were a bit of songs that I felt were a chore to get through, most of the songs are at least 1 minute too long Enjoyed: Independent Women Pt.1 & 2 Didn't like: Gospel Melody Dangerously In Love

Lovely ladies, but not for me.

Nah

Ça partait bien, mais j’étais pu capabe rendu à la moitié

Expected to hate it, wasn't too bad actually, as a trio they harmonise really well which I find much more listenable than just Beyonce trailing off solo