#ThrowbackThursday: “No, No, No” by Destiny’s Child

by Sean Smith

Beyonce may not have been the biggest winner at this year’s Grammy’s, arguably that honor would go to Adele, but Queen Bey may just be the big winner of the week.

She kicked off the week with a much talked about performance on the Grammy stage on Sunday night, where she put on a spectacular nearly 10-minute set that included “Love Drought” and “Sandcastles.” The performance put a spotlight on the subject of motherhood. Fittingly, Beyonce was introduced by her mother Tina Knowles to the Grammy audience and the performance took place with the Lemonade singer visibly showing her latest pregnancy with twins.

Beyonce took home the Grammy on Sunday for Best Urban Contemporary Album, beating out the likes of Rihanna and newcomer Anderson .Paak. While she was not successful in bringing home the coveted Album of the Year category, during the presentation of that award she did earn her due. When Adele took the stage to accept the award for her album 25, the British-born vocal powerhouse gave Beyonce her due in her acceptance speech.

“This album for me — the ‘Lemonade’ album — was just so monumental and so well thought out and so beautiful and soul-bearing and we all got to see another side to you that you don’t always let us see and we appreciate that. You are our light. I love you. I always have. And I always will.”

Adele’s gracious and respectful words seemed to serve two purposes, whether they were intentional or not. First, it obviously was a gracious statement that gave credit to Beyonce for her critically acclaimed album Lemonade. Adele’s comments also served to temper any notion of an unspoken feud between herself and Beyonce, which had been swirling around the rumor mill for the last couple of years.

Merely minutes after the Grammy’s concluded on Sunday night, Beyonce again made news headlines. This time due to a surprising release of a new track that she is featured on. Former radio personality and current Snapchat superstar DJ Khaled released a new song late Sunday that features Beyonce and her husband Jay Z. The song is titled “Shining” and as of Tuesday is available for purchase via iTunes.

In the new track’s second verse Beyonce makes reference to the fact that she has been in the music industry for the past 20 years. This being the case as Beyonce formerly fronted the R&B group Destiny’s Child. The Houston based group first burst onto the scene in 1997 with the release of their debut single “No, No, No,” the lead single for their self-titled debut album released on February 17, 1998.

The original Destiny’s Child line-up was comprised of Beyonce Knowles, Kelly Rowland, LaTavia Roberson and LeToya Luckett. The Houston foursome released their debut single “No, No, No” on November 11, 1997. They actually released two versions of the track. A “Part 1” and a “Part 2.” The former being the original intended song, and a slower rendition of the track. The latter being a more fast-paced upbeat track produced by former Fugee Wyclef Jean, who also recorded a guest verse for the song.

The Wyclef produced “No,No, No (Part 2)” performed better commercially than “No, No, No (Part 1)” did both as far as radio airplay received as well as performance on the charts. “Part 2” reached as high as the #3 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 and topped the Hot R&B/Hip Hop Songs chart.

So with Beyonce Knowles having a big week and this week marking 19 years since the release of her former group Destiny’s Child debut self-titled album, this week we take a moment to remember that album’s lead single “No, No, No.” Enjoy.

Destiny’s Child

“No No No” (Part 1)

Columbia Records

Destiny’s Child Featuring Wyclef Jean

“No No No” (Part 2)

Columbia Records

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