As I was driving on the freeway and heard "Say My Name" come on the radio, automatically my ears perked up like a dog's ears would, and my heart started racing fast, and the words were flowing like water out of my mouth. I could picture myself 60 lbs. lighter (leave me alone y'all!), with round glasses and my long curly haired ponytail (my high school look). I remember back in the year 2000, when "Say My Name" first debuted on the radio and TRL (Total Request Live on MTV), Mommy Dearest heard the song for the first time in the car and she said, "Who is this??? All they say is, 'Say my Nay'!!" Of course, I AUTOMATICALLY scoffed at her like the the Closet Queen I once was and said, "Mom!!! Don't criticize them!! They're amazing!" She just rolled her eyes at me, and she wonders where I got that from?!
I would BLAST this song in the car, on my discman, at school, and back then I was in the high school choir, so you know I was always wanting to sing it to all my friends. To this day, some of my acquaintances will post this video on my Facebook wall and say that this song always reminds them of me because of how obsessed I was with it. Truth be told, I always wanted a guy to SAY MY NAME, although, they normally opted for "Babe" or "Baby"...UGH!
Lets flow back when "Say My Name" became a hit back in the year 2000. Our Popstars back then were Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, *NSYNC, Backstreet Boys, and of course,
Destiny's Child.
ALL of the Popstars I named were of the same age range, with some minor older folks, so when I NOW look back at this video, it's hard to believe that Beyonce, Kelly, Michelle and Farrah were 18/19 years old!
Destiny's Child had just released their 2nd album, "The Writing's on the Wall" in the summer of 1999 with already 2 hit singles, "Bills, Bills, Bills" and "Bug-a-Boo" on their sophomore roster. When "Say My Name" was released in early 2000, 2 new faces were in the video along with 2 similar faces, making it a HUGE controversy for the famed girl group. The song was a hit, yet, would these new faces be able to carry on the Destiny's Child name? Talk about WORK WORK WORK! The ladies were EVERYWHERE appearing on television specials (most of which I recorded on VHS tapes), promotional tours in the U.S. and Europe, and holding meet and greets anywhere possible. Pretty soon we were all saying their names (literally), until, they became a trio in the fall of 2000. Then it was clear, that Destiny's Child was OFFICIALLY Beyonce, Kelly, and Michelle.
"Say My Name" granted Destiny's Child 2 Grammy Awards, an MTV Video Music Award, a Soul Train Lady of Soul Award, and a BMI Pop Award. SUCCESS to its fullest!!! Behind the scenes, this was I'm sure the HARDEST era for the ladies being that they were dealing with everything from lawsuits to bad press due to the lineup changes. Still, when I went to go see them open for Christina Aguilera in October of 2000, they gave an even BETTER show than Christina and one couldn't tell at all that they had drama around them. They turned it around and made it a positive attribute for themselves and us fans...ALL with their belief in their FAITH and GOD.
I will forever be reminded of my teenage hood when I listen to "Say My Name" and my obsession for what would later become my eternal gratitude to Beyonce, Kelly & Michelle when I got the opportunity to meet them in person 5 years later and simply say, "THANK YOU!"
Beyonce herself mentioned her gratitude last year to ALL the members of the group, so here's a GREAT BIG THANK YOU to Kelly Rowland, Michelle Williams, Latavia Roberson, LeToya Luckett, Beyonce Knowles and Producer/Songwriter Rodney Jerkins for this great song!
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