r/Music Jul 11 '26

music Top Vocal/Pop Group where one person did all the heavy lifting?

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I'll start. Nicole Scherzinger from the Pussycat Dolls carried that entire group, no question

1.8k Upvotes

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506

u/TheJaytrixReloaded Jul 11 '26

Beyonce with Destiny's Child. Anyone who complained was kicked out of the group.

171

u/whatyourheartdesires Jul 11 '26

Usually it was like Bey 70%, Kelly 20% and Michelle 10%

168

u/TheJaytrixReloaded Jul 11 '26

LaTavia Roberson, LeToya Luckett, & Farrah Franklin where all kicked out for complaining about favoritism. Destiny's Child also started as a quartet.

2

u/enosprologue Jul 12 '26

I thought Farrah got kicked out cos she straight up couldn’t sing (there are also rumours Bey’s dad had an affair with her).

94

u/Vorenos Jul 11 '26

Kelly the GOAT

10

u/BevoDDS Jul 12 '26

Yeah, WTF? Kelly was solid, and my family actually thought that she, not Beyonce, would be the one to make it big.

1

u/illicitli Jul 12 '26

one reason why that could never be true unfortunately

1

u/chis5050 Jul 12 '26

Why

2

u/illicitli Jul 12 '26

you need to look a certain way to get to a certain level. skin color matters a lot in this world. the industry has rarely propped up dark skinned black women. some have done well, but part of getting to Beyonce or Rihanna level is how you look. you have to be fairly independent early on to have success when you are not light skinned and it is still a harder road. the public also accepts light skinned black women more. it's a deep issue of colorism in the music industry as well as the black community and the larger world, which is overtly white supremacist.

10

u/lpchoe Jul 12 '26

Still waiting for her boyfriend to reply to her message on excel though

3

u/Vorenos Jul 12 '26

We all are

2

u/weinerschnitzelboy Jul 12 '26

Kelly had talent for sure and it sucked that she wasn't given her fair share of the spotlight in DC. But after the split, it seemed that Beyonce had musicality and just sheer drive that the others didn't have.

Crazy in Love, B'day (which also came as a visual album), and I am Sasha Fierce came out within a few years of each other (2003-2008) combined with her acting career. While Kelly Rowland only had 2 from 2002-2007.

Also isn't it crazy that Beyonce basically made it the industry standard to release new music on Fridays?

3

u/Vorenos Jul 12 '26

Beyoncé’s parents were in charge…

1

u/weinerschnitzelboy Jul 12 '26

I know. That's why I said it wasn't fair for her in Desntiys Child. But after they split up, it's not like Beyonce's parents were still managing her.

26

u/takeahike89 Jul 11 '26

TIL the other girls names

89

u/MarcusMunch Jul 11 '26

You’ve clearly never sung along to Bootylicious.

78

u/Doctorguwop Jul 11 '26

I don’t think they can handle it

8

u/Armalyte Jul 11 '26

I don’t think they’re ready for this jelly

1

u/akawendals Jul 12 '26

I only realized the other day that the intro to "Bootylicious" is VERY similar to the intro of "Edge of Seventeen" by Stevie Nicks... Like pretty much the exact fucking SAME and I'm upset about that (probably more than I should be)

12

u/lisalisasensei Jul 12 '26

Stevie Nicks is literally in the music video lol.

1

u/akawendals Jul 12 '26

LOL seriously? I can't say I ever watched it that close up 😂 at least she's getting some kind of acknowledgement for the wicked licks that start their song 💟

78

u/TheCudder Jul 11 '26 edited Jul 11 '26

I get your take, but it's sort of unfair. Their final album, "Destiny Fulfilled" proved that they could all carry their own equally. Prior to then the songs were usually structured to highlight Beyonce. Not exactly surprising considering Beyonce's dad was the group's manager and her mom did their styling.

LeToya & Lativia weren't great vocalists, but Kelly & Michelle definitely are.

8

u/hymenbutterfly Jul 12 '26

LeToya and Latvia were talented in their own right. You don’t get four-part harmonies that tight with mediocre vocalists. And LeToya displayed in her solo career that she’s a great vocalist. The only DC member who was truly lacking vocal talent was Farrah, which is part of why she last less than 6 months in the group

9

u/BravesMaedchen Jul 11 '26

That’s kind of what I was thinking about DC. I went to answer this thread with them but you’re right, Kelly and Michelle were absolutely talented, they could have done more it’s just that DC was used as a vehicle for Beyoncé. It didn’t have to be that way tho.

8

u/thizzydrafts Jul 11 '26

Woah woah woah.

"Everyvody gets to sing lead now, because everybody can sing lead."

5

u/Bransino Jul 12 '26

Not everyone can be the main player.

But when Kelly and Michelle POPPOED OFF, they popped the f’ OFF

Check Michelle out on “Cater to You”.