Beyonce Knowles, Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams—they are three "Independent Women" better known to the world as Destiny's Child. These beautiful young ladies' voices have won them multiple awards from the Grammys, Billboard, MTV, BET, Soul Train and VH-1. They are even nominated for an Oscar for best song from a movie soundtrack. Destiny's Child are no one-hit wonders! From pop to power ballads, hip-hop, dance music and now holiday classics—they do and sing it all. They are currently the most popular female group in the world and there seems no way to stop this train from rolling! Their newest addition to the music world is their Christmas CD, 8 Days of Christmas, featuring classic holiday songs like "Silent Night," "White Christmas" and "Do You Hear What I Hear"—all done in that definitive Destiny's Child sound. My review of this CD is simply: another holiday classic for many years to come.
     It only took four months, to show you what determination can do. And one day before my deadline (talk about nail biting, big time), I had the chance to chat with Destiny's Child. Well, at least one-third: Michelle.
     InsideCx: Are Beyonce and Kelly with you? M.W.: No, I am by myself right now. I'm in L.A. recording; Beyonce is on a set filming a movie and Kelly, I think, is on another TV set, so we are all not in the same place, actually.
     InsideCx: I'm sure you have been asked this question a thousand times. You and Ferrah Franklin joined the group back in February 2000, replacing Roberson and Luckett. Shortly after that, Ferrah left. Those were transitional times for the group. What were your feelings then and how have they changed? Then, I was scared because I was new, and for all this stuff to happen, it was kind of a shock. But I knew that we could work out the problems. But now that I have been here and it's just the three of us, it's been heaven. It's been a blessing. So it's night and day from when that other stuff happened.
     InsideCx: How do you and the group give back today? Give back in not such a public way. I am from Rockford, Illinois, right outside Chicago. When I go home, I go to my church. I still support the churches and I go to talk with the youth. But this is stuff that is not publicized; it's just some stuff I do spontaneously, like, "I think I need to go here today ..." and just chill. I don't go to be recognized. I just go to encourage people and let them know that their dreams can definitely come true if they put God first.
     InsideCx: How hard is it to hold on to the image that Destiny's Child has created—the wholesome, perfect girl group? How do you get away, let your hair down and be wild? We are not goody two-shoes or anything like that, but to be honest, we are wholesome. I'm sorry, but we are! We are not at all the parties, at every industry party, drinking and smoking, just getting down and dirty. We don't do that. How we get down and dirty, we go to the hotel room, jump on the bed together and watch movies. I will go to their house in Houston, Kelly will cook something, or our assistant, Andy, will cook up some spaghetti, and us, Tina and Matthew go up into their mini-theater, watch movies and just have a ball.
     InsideCx: We have learned from the past, in other female groups, that there can be problems, dating back as far as the Supremes and up to TLC. What do you think will be the secret for Destiny's Child's longevity, and what have you learned from the past? The thing about Destiny's Child now is that all three members are strong vocally, we are comfortable where we are in where we are. We know Beyonce sings lead, so we have to be comfortable with that, you know what I mean? We can't be insecure. We know that the attention is going to be on Beyonce, but know that the other two will get our time. People are even starting to recognize the other two and their talents. So I'm quite comfortable. You have to be secure with one another. We have to communicate, and when something is bothering one of us, we nip it in the bud right there! It's communication and being honest with each other. Girl groups can be anal and they can be petty, you know. Girl groups need to think like guys think! One thing I love about men is they have disagreements, but five minutes later, they're cool. [The ones she knows.—G.] They're like, "I'm sorry, man," and then, before you know it, they are out shooting basketball together or going to parties with one another, chillin', and the thing has been long gone!
     InsideCx: And with women it's different? Women are emotional. It is not our fault. I mean, I am emotional, but I know when to be emotional and when to just look at things for how they are and go!
     InsideCx: How important is it for Destiny's Child to stay true to the basics? If this were the 1950s, the three of you would be doo-wopping all the time, but because you are huge now, how difficult is it for you to get together and just doo-wop, just have fun? We're together lots of times, all the time, every day. So a song can come on the radio and before you know it we are harmonizing with each other. We harmonize on anything—a commercial, a nursery rhyme—that's just what we do. Yesterday we were able to all get together, despite our individual schedules, and we rehearsed for all the Christmas stuff we've got coming up, so we had a great time yesterday.
     InsideCx: Destiny's Child has won just about every award there is, and has been labeled as the best female group in the world. After your first and second CDs, Destiny's Child seemed to be everywhere. There were even jokes on the radio about how saturated you were. It seemed like everyone was holding their breath for the third CD. How much pressure was on you for it to do as well? You just have to know that you are gonna put out good material and you can't fall into the pressure of recording a good album. Yes, we were once worried that "gosh, this album has to be as large as The Writings on the Wall, we've got to get that single that was like "Say My Name," we've got to get that out there." But once we recorded "Survivor," we knew [it] was the one. And that's why we named the album %Survivor%. It just has so much power and a presence of God that we just knew everything would be OK.
     InsideCx: Speaking of Survivor, have you had to overcome a situation that made that song really, really personal to you? I was just speaking to my cousin the other day; he has graduated medical school and is in his residency. He was saying how things have gotten so difficult for him that at times he would call home crying that he couldn't do it anymore. He will work 36 or 48 hours straight and things just got so hectic for him that he would pop in "Survivor" and, like, he was a survivor, that he was gonna make it and not give up, he wasn't gonna stop. And that helps us—me, Beyonce and Kelly. When we are so tired, we are survivors—we can get through this, we got a few more hours left—because it gets hard out here.
     InsideCx: In making the Christmas CD, what's the feeling like? When you are singing Christmas songs, you want to give presents, you want to cry, do you have a personal story about making the Christmas CD? All three of us, we just got into this zone. With all the things that have happened throughout the world, we were like, this is gonna be a great Christmas. People are gonna enjoy their families, they won't take anyone for granted anymore. We just wanted to get into the Christmas feeling, the fact that we are going to be with family. We are going to be able to give gifts. It is not so much about receiving gifts anymore; it's about giving and making everybody happy. That's what we wanted to do through this Christmas album. We wanted to make sure everybody was happy.
     InsideCx: It is a wonderful CD. The first track starts off with the harmless sounds of "Jingle Bells," then it breaks into this funky version of "8 Days of Christmas," where Beyonce sings about "On the 8 days of Christmas my baby gave to me a cool pair of shades and a diamond belly ring." I won't give away the rest of the days, but how much fun was it coming up with the other seven days? It was just soooo fun, because we don't have boyfriends, so it's not like any of them have given us these kinds of gifts [laughing], because NO MAN has given me a Mercedes CLK—that's my dream car and that's what I want. So we just went off base or what could possibly be a fantasy or what a guy could give. I mean, he can give us some shades, the diamond belly ring he can do, that's realistic. The Victoria's Secret underwear [laughing], because they are three for $29—they have a special now! By the way, Victoria's Secret used "Opera of the Bells" for their holiday commercial.
     InsideCx: If "Winter Paradise" doesn't make you want to hold someone's hand, I don't know what will. What are some of your other favorite songs on the CD? "Winter Paradise" is my ultimate favorite, and "This Christmas" by Donnie Hathaway, and really all of them, and my solo song …
     InsideCx: About your solo—you are really shining on "Oh, Holy Night." I think this is gonna be a classic! Well, thank you! My brother actually produced that; he did the music.
     InsideCx: With the climate of today, with September 11, what just happened with the plane crash, and with Destiny's Child doing what it can to bring awareness and relief around the world, how has this affected you personally and as a group? It definitely changed our lives. We don't take family or friends for granted anymore, because you never know when your time is up. You never know when—boom—you're gone. It can happen as quick as that—in a wink of an eye. And we know that God definitely has a plan and we can't doubt God or question God for these things because things happen for a reason.
     InsideCx: What's next for Destiny's Child? Would it be fair if I ask you what Beyonce and Kelly are doing? Or should they answer that on their own? Actually, it's fine with me. Beyonce is shooting the new Austin Powers movie; she is the leading girl and she is Foxy Cleopatra. Kelly is taping a sitcom for Nickelodeon and now I am in the studio recording my gospel album.
     InsideCx: Is there someone you want to give a shout out to in the article? Is there something you want to say to the world, your fans or anything? I just want to thank everybody for the continuous love that they have shown to Destiny's Child and tell everyone to keep their heads up in these trying times.