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.
尽管有时将"命运之子"与"顶点"乐队相提并论可以说有些夸张，但至少前者的兴起和后者同样璀璨夺目。"命运之子"的成功大抵为勤奋和不懈使然。这支四人组合成立将近10年，成员依然处于十几岁的花季，但她们展示了可与两倍于自己年龄的乐坛宿将们相媲美的出色专业水准。
"命运之子"源于休斯敦。在一次参加当地某个儿童乐团的招考试唱中，8岁的贝昂茜·诺尔斯遇见了同样年纪的拉塔维娅·罗伯逊。不久，诺尔斯、罗伯逊和诺尔斯的表妹凯利·罗兰就开始于下午时间研究"顶点"和"杰克逊5"的录音，并模仿"动力城"的舞蹈。两年后，拉托娅·勒基特与这群雄心勃勃的学龄少女相汇合。随着她的加盟，这群女孩发现彼此间有一种特殊的引力。于是自命名为"命运之子"的这支初出茅庐的四人乐队即开始学习唱法，并在当地的一些市民活动中演出。
乐队第一支公开发行的歌曲为由一家知名唱片公司赞助的《消磨时光》，它先出现在电影《黑衣人》的配乐中。数月后，即1998年2月17日，该曲又出现在她们的首张以乐队名字冠名的CD中。一群张扬鲜明的音乐人，"命运之子"的主打歌为《不，不，不》。接下来的几个月里，"命运之子"和 "BoyzIIMen"、"KCi＆JoJo"及"山姆大叔"等乐队一起做巡回演出。当年年底，努力终获回报，乐队被授予1998年"灵魂列车之灵魂女士"的三项大奖。
正如人们所料，1999年"格莱美"提名揭晓时，"命运之子"同获两项提名："最佳节奏布鲁斯乐双重或合唱表演奖"和"最佳节奏布鲁斯乐歌曲奖".此外，（美）全国有色人种协进会还为该乐队颁发了"优秀双人或组合奖"之"形象奖".尽管诸如此类的荣誉蜂拥而至，"命运之子"却陷入日益加剧的危机中。 2000年3月，正逢乐队准备为其主打歌《说我的名字》拍摄录像带之际，哥伦比亚唱片公司宣布罗伯逊和勒基特已离开乐队。另外，这两位乐队联合创始人已被 18岁的法拉·富兰克林和19岁的米歇尔·威廉姆斯所取代。这两名新人将在"格莱美"颁奖典礼上与诺尔斯和罗兰共同出场。
虽然详情起初不甚了了，但人们很快发现分裂的根源在于罗伯逊和勒基特对马修·诺尔斯执掌乐队逐渐不满。马修·诺尔斯的双重角色——经理人和贝昂茜的父亲（也是罗兰的法定监护人）导致了利益冲突，她们俩试图撤销她们所签的乐队管理合同。
与克里斯蒂娜·阿吉莱拉的夏秋季巡回演出在进行中，尽管富兰克林在仅加盟"命运之子"5个月后便宣布退出从而使这些计划复杂起来。富兰克林称她筋疲力尽，并且脱水，但其离开的正式理由还不得而知。乐队所属的哥伦比亚唱片公司声明说，"命运之子"将以米歇尔·威廉姆斯、贝昂茜·勒基斯和凯利·罗兰的三人组合形式继续存在。
注释：
1.hyperbolic adj.夸张的，夸大的
2.tosaytheleast至少可以说
3.meteoric adj.流星似的，令人眼花缭乱的
4.indefatigable adj.不倦的，坚持不懈的
5.quartet n.四人一组
6.audition vi.试唱
7.choreography n.舞蹈
8.hookupwith与…汇合
9.addition n.增加的人
10.dub vt.授予…称号，把…称为
11.fledgling adj.初出茅庐的
12.auspice n.[～s]赞助，支持
13.sport vt.[口]夸示，炫耀
14.legion n.众多，大批，大量
15.high-profile adj.高姿态的
16.accord vt.授予，赠与
17.accolade n.荣誉，奖励
18.burgeon vi.迅速生长
19.sketchy adj.概要的，不完全的
20.inregardto在…方面，关于
21.dehydrated adj.脱水的