9 命運(yùn)之子一獨(dú)立獨(dú)行的女孩兒(doc)
9. Destiny’s Child:Independent Women Though the occasional comparisons to the Supremes are hyperbolic1, to say the least2, the rise of Destiny’s Child has been similarly meteoric3. Destiny’s Child’s success has been fueled mostly by hard work and an indefatigable4 spirit. Almost a decade into its existence, the quartet5-- whose members are still in their teens--exhibits a solid professionalism comparable to that of veterans twice their age. The Destiny’s Child story begins in Houston, where 8-year-olds Beyoncé Knowles, and LaTavia Roberson met while auditioning6 for a local children’s group. Soon Knowles, Roberson, and Knowles’ cousin, Kelly Rowland, were spending their afternoons studying videotapes of the Supremes and the Jackson 5, trying to mimic the Motown groups’ choreography7. Two years later, LaToya Luckett hooked up with8 the ambitious grade-schoolers, and, with her addition9, the group discovered they had a special chemistry. Dubbing10 themselves Destiny’s Child, the fledgling11 quartet began studying voice and performing at civic events in the local area. The group’s first release under the auspices12 of a major label was the song “ Killing Time,” which appeared on the Men in Black soundtrack. A few months later, the composition appeared on Destiny’s Child’s self- titled debut CD, which was released February 17, 1998. Sporting13 a legion14 of high- profile musical enablers,Destiny’s Child featured a hit single, “ No, No, No,” . For the next several months, Destiny’s Child toured with Boyz II Men, K- Ci ＆ Jo Jo, and Uncle Sam. By year’s end, the hard work had paid off, as the group was accorded16 three awards at the 1998 Soul Train Lady of Soul Awards. To no one’s surprise, when the 1999 Grammy nominations were announced, Destiny’s Child’s name was listed in two categories: Best R＆ B Performance By a Duo or Group with Vocal and Best R＆ B Song. Moreover, the NAACP honored the quartet with an “ Image Award” in the category of Outstanding Duo or Group. Even as such accolades17 were rolling in, however, Destiny’s Child was in the midst of a burgeoning18 crisis. In March 2000, as the group prepared to shoot a video for its hit “ Say My Name,” Columbia Records announced that Roberson and Luckett had left the group. Moreover, the two co-founding members had already been replaced with 18-year-old Farrah Franklin and 19-year-old Michelle Williams, both of whom would join Knowles and Rowland at the Grammy ceremonies. Though details were at first sketchy19, it soon emerged that the root of the split lay in Luckett’s and Roberson’s growing discomfort in regard to20 Mathew Knowles’ management of the group. Knowles’ dual role, as manager and as Beyoncé ’s father (and Rowland’s legal guardian as well), constituted a conflict of interest, the two sought to “ disaffirm” their management contract. A summer and fall tour with Christina Aguilera is in the works, although those plans have now been complicated by Franklin’s announcement that she has left Destiny’s Child, a mere five months after joining the group. Franklin claimed that she was exhausted and dehydrated21, but no official reason was given for her resignation. The group’s record label, Columbia, released a statement saying Destiny’s Child will continue as the trio of Michelle Williams, Kelly Rowland, and Beyoncé Knowles. “命運(yùn)之子”：一群獨(dú)立獨(dú)行的女孩兒 盡管有時(shí)將“命運(yùn)之子”與“頂點(diǎn)”樂隊(duì)相提并論可以說有些夸張，但至少前者的興起和 后者同樣璀璨奪目?！懊\(yùn)之子”的成功大抵為勤奮和不懈使然。這支四人組合成立將近 10年，成員依然處于十幾歲的花季，但她們展示了可與兩倍于自己年齡的樂壇宿將們相 媲美的出色專業(yè)水準(zhǔn)。 　　“命運(yùn)之子”源于休斯敦。在一次參加當(dāng)?shù)啬硞€(gè)兒童樂團(tuán)的招考試唱中，8歲的貝昂茜 ·諾爾斯遇見了同樣年紀(jì)的拉塔維婭·羅伯遜。不久，諾爾斯、羅伯遜和諾爾斯的表妹凱 利·羅蘭就開始于下午時(shí)間研究“頂點(diǎn)”和“杰克遜5”的錄音，并模仿“動(dòng)力城”的舞蹈。兩 年后，拉托婭·勒基特與這群雄心勃勃的學(xué)齡少女相匯合。隨著她的加盟，這群女孩發(fā)現(xiàn) 彼此間有一種特殊的引力。于是自命名為“命運(yùn)之子”的這支初出茅廬的四人樂隊(duì)即開始 學(xué)習(xí)唱法，并在當(dāng)?shù)氐囊恍┦忻窕顒?dòng)中演出。 　　樂隊(duì)第一支公開發(fā)行的歌曲為由一家知名唱片公司贊助的《消磨時(shí)光》，它先出現(xiàn)在 電影《黑衣人》的配樂中。數(shù)月后，即1998年2月17日，該曲又出現(xiàn)在她們的首張以樂隊(duì)名 字冠名的CD中。一群張揚(yáng)鮮明的音樂人，“命運(yùn)之子”的主打歌為《不，不，不》。接下來 的幾個(gè)月里，“命運(yùn)之子”和“BoyzIIMen”、“K
9 命運(yùn)之子一獨(dú)立獨(dú)行的女孩兒(doc)