Following a two-year hiatus during which each member released solo albums to varying levels of success, Destiny's Child reunited during the summer of 2004 to record their fifth and final studio album Destiny Fulfilled, which was released that November to widespread commercial success. To further promote the album, the group embarked on the world tour Destiny Fulfilled... and Lovin' It in April 2005. During its Barcelona show on June 11, Kelly Rowland announced the group's disbandment for after the tour's conclusion. However, before formally disbanding, they decided to release #1's, featuring their highest-charting singles alongside three new tracks.
Upon its release, #1's received generally positive reviews from music critics, who praised the included material as the highlights of the group's career. However, its title was dismissed by media outlets as most of the tracks had not reached the summit of a major record chart; Billboard later acknowledged the title as solely a marketing strategy. A commercial success, the compilation debuted atop the US Billboard 200 with first-week sales of 113,000 units, becoming the group's second number-one album. Briefly after its release, the album was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). It also peaked at number one in Japan.
#1's produced two singles. "Stand Up for Love" was termed "2005 World Children's Day Anthem" but was a critical and commercial failure, charting solely in South Korea nine years after its release. "Check on It–Beyoncé's collaboration with Slim Thug–peaked atop the US Billboard Hot 100, becoming Beyoncé's third solo number-one single, and within the top ten in 13 additional countries. Following the conclusion of promotional activities for #1's and the release of the video album Live in Atlanta, Destiny's Child formally disbanded in March 2006.
Following the conclusion of promotional activities for their third studio album Survivor (2001), Destiny's Child embarked on a two-year hiatus, which allowed each member to release solo albums. As each member achieved success with individual projects, speculations arose over the group's disbandment.[1] However, Beyoncé, Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams reunited during the summer of 2004 to work on their fifth studio album Destiny Fulfilled. The album was released in November 2004, peaking at number two on the US Billboard 200 and being certified triple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).[2][3] Its singles "Lose My Breath" and "Soldier" both peaked at number three on the US Billboard Hot 100 and achieved global commercial success.[4]
To further promote Destiny Fulfilled, Destiny's Child embarked on the world tour Destiny Fulfilled... and Lovin' It in April 2005.[1] During the concert at the Palau Sant Jordi in Barcelona, Spain on June 11, Rowland announced that the tour would be the group's final, revealing their formal disbandment.[5] It was announced that after the North American leg, the group would part ways, with each member continuing their music career as a solo artist.[1] During an interview, they explained that their disbandment had been planned while recording Destiny Fulfilled as they discussed their individual aspirations and realized that remaining a group would prevent them from pursuing those interests.[6]
On "Check on It", Slim Thug raps his lines backed by a bassline while Beyoncé's vocals, further described as "R&B pipes" by Bret McCabe from the Baltimore City Paper, received comparisons to Donna Summer.[14] Quick hooks are sung by Beyoncé against a dance beat.[15] The song lyrically takes place at a nightclub, with the female protagonist letting the male patrons know they are welcome to look at her body while she is dancing.[14] "Feel the Same Way I Do" was described as a similar to soul songs by American girl group The Supremes, instrumentally complete with "exotic" strings.[15][11] Jess Harvell from Pitchfork felt its sound was suitable for Mariah Carey's The Emancipation of Mimi (2005).[7] Its lyrical theme revolves around a woman who develops romantic feelings for a man with whom she has had a solely-sexual relationship.[16]
Marketing
On August 1, 2005, Kelly Rowland announced the release of Destiny's Child's first greatest hits album later that year during an interview with Billboard, adding: "We're definitely going to record another song for our greatest hits album for our fans. We're still thinking about it because we want it to mean something."[17]
In September, Destiny's Child's #1's was revealed as the album's title, along with a release date of October 25;[9] the title was subsequently shortened to #1's.[18] Following the announcement, Billboard questioned the criteria by which the inclusion of the songs would be determined, as the group had only four US Billboard Hot 100 number-ones–"Bills, Bills, Bills", "Say My Name", "Independent Women Part I" and "Bootylicious"–with "No, No, No" being a Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs number-one.[18] "Lose My Breath", "Soldier" featuring T.I and Lil Wayne, and "Jumpin', Jumpin'" additionally topped other component Billboard charts; the former two peaked atop the Dance Club Songs while the latter peaked atop the Mainstream Top 40.[19][20][21] Furthermore, "Survivor" reached the summit in Ireland, Norway and the United Kingdom, as well as on the US Dance Singles Sales and Rhythmic charts.[22][23][24][25][26] However, Keith Caulfield of Billboard later acknowledged its title as a marketing strategy, as the album's liner notes did not offer information on its tracks' chart positions.[27] Following the release of #1's, its second single "Check on It" peaked atop the US Billboard Hot 100, becoming the album's fifth actual number-one.[28]
The cover artwork for #1's was designed by Fusako Chubachi. It features images of each member, photographed by Robert Erdmann, positioned abreast.[29] Beyoncé's image was used for international CD single pressings of "Check on It",[30] while Williams' was used for the digital single of her cover of Al Green's "Let's Stay Together".[31] Alongside its standard edition, the album's DualDisc edition was also announced, including a bonus DVD with seven music videos and a trailer for the live album Live in Atlanta (2006).[9] In some countries, such as France and Japan, a traditional CD+DVD set was released in lieu of DualDisc.[32][33] Exclusively at Walmart, the album was packaged with another bonus DVD, titled Fan Pack II, which contained live performances, solo music videos and extra footage.[34] To promote #1's, Destiny's Child performed its lead single "Stand Up for Love" alongside "Survivor" on November 15, 2005 on the television show Jimmy Kimmel Live! as their final televised performance as a group.[35] The group performed "Stand Up for Love" again the same day at the Ronald McDonald House in Los Angeles to celebrate World Children's Day,[36] as the song was touted as the "2005 World Children's Day Anthem", with Destiny's Child as global ambassadors for the program.[10]
Singles
"Stand Up for Love" was released as the lead single from #1's on September 27, 2005. Termed as 2005 World Children's Day Anthem, it was used for a global fundraiser for Ronald McDonald House Charities and several other local organizations for children.[18][10] The song was widely panned by music critics, primarily for its "saccharine" production and lyrical content.[19][37] A commercial failure, it became Destiny's Child's first single not to enter any of the Billboard charts,[38] and would not chart anywhere until 2014, when it debuted at number 37 on the Gaon Digital Chart in South Korea.[39] The single was the group's final prior to their 2006 disbandment.[p] Its accompanying music video was directed by Matthew Rolston and features the members performing the song in different settings, including against a background displaying videos of children.[40]
Beyoncé's solo track "Check on It" was released as the second and final single from #1's on December 13, 2005,[41] to critical acclaim.[42][43] Originally recorded for the accompanying soundtrack to the 2006 film The Pink Panther, in which Beyoncé starred, its soundtrack inclusion was ultimately cancelled.[44] A commercial success, the song became Beyoncé's third solo US Billboard Hot 100 number-one single.[28] The digital single was certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in August 2022.[45]
Internationally, the song reached number one in New Zealand, and the top ten Austria, Belgium, Canada, the Czech Republic, Finland, Hungary, Ireland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Romania, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.[46][47][48] Its Hype Williams-directed accompanying music video features The Pink Panther-themed imagery, with Beyoncé performing the song in various pink outfits.[49] At the 2006 MTV Video Music Awards, the video won Best R&B Video.[50]
#1's received generally positive reviews from music critics upon its release. Andy Kellman from AllMusic wrote that the album was formatted the same way as other music scores and anthologies packed for the holiday shopping season. He further commented that its title should have been different and concluded by saying "the disc reaffirms that Destiny's Child released some of the biggest R&B singles of the late '90s and early 2000s."[51] Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine also criticized the title, as only four of its tracks reached the summit of the US Billboard Hot 100. However, he praised Destiny's Child's "impressive output, which includes some of the most recognizable R&B hits of the past bling/celly/status-obsessed five years".[19]BBC Online's writer James Blake called the album "more than decent" and added that the group's success in the music industry was a notable reason for a greatest hits release. However, he argued that it was too soon to include songs from their final studio album Destiny Fulfilled, as it was released only 11 months before #1's.[11] Jess Harvell from Pitchfork felt that it was a "smart" move not to arrange the tracks in a chronological order and felt it "has the odd knock-on effect of suggesting that their legacy may be based on a smaller body of work than imagined". Harvell finished the review by writing: "you can take #1's as pure product and not feel wrong for doing so".[7]
Despite classifying its title as "misleading" and criticizing the new material, Houston Chronicle's editor Michael D. Clark described #1's as "dolled up as beautiful and immaculate as" the group members and said it included the group's best singles.[15] John A. Hanson of Sputnikmusic felt that a greatest hits album was released "at the perfect time" as many of its tracks had been released long before and "they've lost the overplayedness, but its [sic] soon enough that they still have some sort of relevance". He concluded by writing "[it] hits you with recognizable hit after recognizable hit, and they are all pretty much as perfect as contemporary R&B-pop gets".[8] Describing the album as a "masterclass in what happens when a great band comes together", Yahoo! Music's Hattie Collins wrote: "Despite the low-points, this is a Destiny's Child must have collection of classics from one of R&B's most significant talents".[37] A more mixed review came from Fiona Mckinlay from musicOMH, who felt the album included many "skippable" songs and noted that the material from The Writing's on the Wall (1999) and Survivor (2001) were the collection's best. She further claimed the progress in the group's sound was evident on #1's, but offered the opinion: "As far as greatest hits albums go, Destiny's Child show themselves to be pretty ace, but still not quite the incredible force in R&B".[53] Aidin Vaziri of San Francisco Chronicle criticized the Destiny Fulfilled tracks and "Stand Up for Love", and concluded by writing: "surveying Destiny's Child's entire career on this set... it's obvious their hearts slipped away around the same time Beyoncé's solo album sold its first million".[54]
In the United States, #1's debuted atop the Billboard 200 chart dated November 12, 2005, with first-week sales of 113,000 copies according to Nielsen SoundScan; it became the group's second number-one album following Survivor (2001).[57][58] It also debuted atop the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, becoming their third number-one album on the chart.[59] In its second week, the compilation descended to number five on the Billboard 200, selling 85,000 copies and registering a 25% sales decrease.[60] It was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on November 30, 2005.[61] In Canada, the compilation was certified platinum by Music Canada (MC) on November 16.[62]
In the United Kingdom, #1's debuted and peaked at number six on the UK Albums Chart and atop the UK R&B Albums Chart on November 5, 2005.[63][64] Following the release of Beyoncé's fourth solo studio album 4 (2011), #1's registered a 111–54 leap on the UK Albums Chart dated July 9, 2011.[65] In the wake of the release of Beyoncé's eponymous fifth studio album (2013), it re-entered the top ten of the UK R&B Albums Chart on February 1, 2014.[66] The album was certified double platinum by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) in July 2021.[67] In Ireland, the compilation debuted at number ten on October 27, 2005,[68] peaking at number eight the following week.[69] Across mainland Europe, it peaked within the top ten in Belgium and Switzerland.[70]
Courtney Blooding – production coordination (track 1)
Kevin "She'kspere" Briggs – engineering (tracks 10 and 12), instrumentation (tracks 10 and 12), Midi & Sound (tracks 10 and 12), production (tracks 10 and 12), songwriting (tracks 10 and 12), vocal production (tracks 10 and 12)
^"Albums : Top 100". Jam!. November 13, 2005. Archived from the original on November 24, 2005. Retrieved April 11, 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
^"New Releases"(PDF). Music Week. October 22, 2005. p. 32. Archived(PDF) from the original on January 31, 2023. Retrieved March 22, 2023 – via World Radio History.
