Question…
Independent Women (Pt. 1), by Destiny’s Child (their 1st of two #1s)
1 week, from 26th November – 3rd December 2000
Towards the end of a year jam-packed with zeitgeist grabbing choruses, where does All the women, Who independent, Throw your hands up at me… rank?
That’s before we get to the I bought it bridge, or indeed the repeatedly deadpanned question line. It’s slick turn-of-the-century R&B, minimalist in its instrumentation, with plenty of space for Beyoncé and co.’s tight harmonies, especially in the nearly a cappella break. This was the first Destiny’s Child track to feature Michelle Williams, and the only one to feature Farrah Franklin (who was only in the group for a couple of months).
‘Independent Women’ comes from the soundtrack to a movie reboot of ‘Charlie’s Angels’, and we are given no chance to forget it. From the spoken intro introducing the actresses, to the Charlie how your angels get down like that… refrain, few other movie soundtrack chart-toppers have had such strong product placement. It could have backfired, or at least left the song stranded in a very particular place in time, but it hasn’t. In fact, lines like Cameron D, Invest in me have perhaps added to its nostalgic allure.
I earlier drew comparisons between the Spice Girls’ recent ‘Holler’ and US girl-groups like Destiny’s Child, but really it’s no contest. This is so polished, so confident; another example of how American acts were setting the tempo at this time. Britain could still produce good pop (Steps!), but whenever we tried to ape this sort of hip-hop/R&B uber-pop we just couldn’t pull it off.
What I’m noticing now, after repeated listens, is the irony of a song about women’s independence promoting a film about three (admittedly kickass) women controlled by an unseen older man. Plus, as others have pointed out before me, the independence of the women in the song seems to be measured by the fact that they can buy their own clothes, shoes, cars and jewellery.
I mentioned her in passing, but we should make more of this being our introduction to Beyoncé, who will go on to be one of the new millennium’s biggest stars, with a near twenty-five year span between this and her most recent chart-topper. And while this track is well-remembered, I’d argue that the two following Destiny’s Child singles have become even more embedded in popular culture (one of which will be shortly turning up at #1).
Before we finish, I have one final question. If this is ‘Independent Women (Pt I)’, then what of part two? Well, it’s an album track, much harder-edged, nowhere near as catchy. Case closed, Charlie.
The UK Number Ones Blog 
catchy, well-produced r’n’b pop with a bit of sass. Nowt wrong here at all, and a new high for Destiny’s Child whose earlier singles were a bit more variable in quality, and often leaned towards irritating on repeat listens. I still mourn going to a theme park in Orlando the day the first line-up was doing a PA in the Florida Mall around 1998. Bug A Boo and Bills Bills Bills and co just didn’t have quite enough pulling power to make me change plans away from roller coaster rides….
Oh see I love Bills Bills Bills and think it’s still one of their stronger singles. This one is good, but not up there with Bootylicious or Lose My Breath. Also under-remembered festive classic 8 Days Of Christmas and its now very dated lyrics 🙂
I mean, this song is absolutely iconic at this point. It’s a really solid slice of 2000s R&B, but it’s not my favourite song by them. I like “Survivor” and “Say My Name” better. And Beyonce…wow, not only is she a generational vocal talent, I remember as a kid, she was one of the first female popstars I was infatuated with. I thought she was the most beautiful woman on Earth. And even now, she looks amazing. I was pissed at Jay Z – as talented as he is, dude looks like Shrek – for cheating on her with Becky with the Red Hair. Always liked Kelly Rowland too, and I always felt bad the other members because barely anyone nowadays know who they are. Even now I had to go on Wikipedia to look up the names of the other members.
Aren’t Destiny’s Child the best-selling girl group of all time? It’s either them or TLC, though I know The Supremes are the most successful in terms of hit singles in the US.
I dunno how it was in the UK since I haven’t looked too deeply into the 2000s charts yet, but in the US, the 2000s is where pop music – and especially the songs that chart in the Top 20 on the Hot 100 and become chart-toppers – becomes extremely rhythmic-oriented. I was going through the Top 10 songs in the US charts during the 2000s and hip hop/R&B really took over that decade in the US. That’d last until the end of the decade. While there are genres such as post-grunge, nu metal, pop punk, pop rock, emo pop, dance-pop, country pop, adult contemporary and even some indie rock/pop that have hits in the US during the decade, you’ll be seeing a lot more R&B and hip hop dominate the Hot 100 during the 2000s. Considering the UK tends to receive a good amount of American popular music, I’m assuming this will reflect somewhat on the chart-toppers of the 2000s, especially in the middle of the decade.
Yeah this is definitely the sound of the next decade: Usher, Ne-Yo, Beyonce solo, various other R&B singers I can’t quite recall…
Apparently no, the Spice Girls are the best selling girl group worldwide, with Destiny’s Child quite down the list. Maybe a different story in the US though.
Oh I love this one! So much energy and sass! I took dance classes in high school at around this time and Destiny’s Child’s music was used a LOT in those classes. This one as well as Jumpin’ Jumpin‘ (don’t know if that one ever charted in the UK but I loved that one too).
Oh yeah I forgot about Jumpin’ Jumpin’ when I was listing my favourite DC songs in a comment below… It’s a good one, and it got to #5 in the UK.