What if Beyoncé's 'Act III' Is Destiny's Child?

The iconic trio of women who defined the American girl group for decades reunited at Beyoncé’s final tour stop in Las Vegas. Beyoncé, flanked by Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams in coordinated chaps — Destiny’s Mothers, really — performed hits like “Bootylicious” and “Lose My Breath.”

I wasn’t there, but I felt the seismic quake of those opening drums in “Lose My Breath” from a continent away. So it’s sort of like I was there, and not missing out at all.

The reunion marks their first time onstage together since 2018, when Beyoncé headlined Coachella with her industry-defining “Beychella” set. Prior to that, they popped up in Kelly Rowland’s “mannequin challenge” video on Instagram and Michelle Williams' Christian bop “Say Yes,” which features the iconic refrain: “When Jesus say yes/ nobody can say no.”

Wait, I do actually want to revisit the mannequin challenge for a minute, because it was in that era where Bey was wearing lots of sandals and off-the-shoulders dresses with the cool blonde ponytails and red lipsticks. It’s important we remember our girl group history:

Now, much has been made of what comes next now that Cowboy Carter has formally wrapped up on tour. From the beginning, rumors have maintained that “Act II” and “Act III” of Beyoncé’s creative trilogy would be country and rock respectively. This has mostly become fact considering Cowboy Carter was in fact a country album. But I’m still not sold on the idea that she will dip back into the exact themes of reclamation explored on the second album in the trilogy, which also served as a historical study following on the ideas of reinvention — literally renaissance — felt through Renaissance.

While I don’t think a proper Destiny’s Child album is locked and loaded, I can imagine a creative scenario where Beyoncé takes it back to her own origins as an R&B girl group powerhouse. It fits the thematic narrative told through the trilogy so far, of reinvention and cycles and lineage and the interweaving of personal and collective histories. Mostly, I’m greedy, and want more Beyoncé that sounds like Survivor, Destiny Fulfilled and Dangerously In Love. Just imagine what she could do with a modern rendition of “Hip Hop Star,” or my personal favorite Destiny’s Child tune, “Girl.”

The most likely scenario is that the next one is definitely a rock album, and if it is, at least we get more Beyoncé that sounds like her “Sex on Fire” cover, which I had the pleasure of showing to a group of distractingly uncultured gay guys recently.

Photo via Getty