The Writing's on the Wall

The Writing's on the Wall
Studio album by Destiny's Child
Released	July 27, 1999
Recorded	1998–1999
Genre	R&B, pop
Length	66:21
Label	Columbia
Producer	Jovonn Alexander, Kevin "She'kspere" Briggs, D-Major, Chad "Dr. Cuess" Elliot, Missy Elliott, Donald Holmes, Anthony Hardy, Oshea Hunter, Rodney Jerkins, F-Fam, Beyoncé Knowles, Daryl Simmons, Platinum Status, Chris Stokes, Gerard Thomas, Dwayne Wiggins
Professional reviews
Allmusic link Entertainment Weekly (B) link
Destiny's Child chronology
Destiny's Child (1998) The Writing's on the Wall (1999) Single Remix Tracks (2000)
Singles from The Writing's on the Wall
"Bills, Bills, Bills" Released: June 15, 1999 "Bug a Boo" Released: December 21, 1999 "Say My Name" Released: January 14, 2000 "Jumpin', Jumpin'" Released: July 18, 2000

The Writing's on the Wall is the Grammy Award-winning sophomore album by American girl group Destiny's Child, released by Columbia on July 27, 1999 in the United States. The album featured production from Missy Elliott, Kevin "She'kspere" Briggs, Rodney Jerkins, and Beyoncé among others and featured guest appearances from Missy Elliott and R&B trio Next. The Writing's on The Wall spawned four singles, including the number one-hits Bills, Bills, Bills, and Say My Name, the Beyoncé-penned Jumpin' Jumpin' and the Top 40 hit Bug a Boo.

The album saw the group taking creative control from writing and producing their own tracks working closely with producer Kevin "She'kspere" Briggs and singer-songwriter Xscape member Kandi Burruss. Bills, Bills, Bills and Bug a Boo were among the first songs written and produced by the group.

The album debut at number six on the Billboard 200 chart on August 14, 1999 with first-week sales of 132,000 units and later peaked at number five on May 6, 2000. It earned Destiny's Child five grammy nomination for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals (twice), Best R&B Song, Best R&B Album, and Song of the Year. The Writing's on The Wall was certified 8x platinum by the RIAA on November 6, 2001. The album has sold over 12 million copies worldwide,and over 8 million copies in the United States

Chart performance

In the United States the album debuted at #6 on the Billboard Hot 100 on August 14, 1999 selling over 132,000 copies in its first week. It remained in the Top 20 for most of 1999 and had sold over 1.6 million copies by the end of the year according to Nielsen SoundScan and was certified 2x platinum in January, 2000. Nine months after its release The Writing's on the Wall following the huge success of its third single, the Billboard Hot 100 number one "Say My Name", returned to the top ten peaking at #5 on May 5, 2000. During its first year on the chart it spent 47 out of 52 weeks in the Top 40 or better and was the tenth best-selling album of the year 2000 selling 3.8 million copies during the year. The Writing's on the Wall spent 99 consecutive weeks on the Billboard 200 (from the summer of 1999 to the spring of 2001) and has been certified eight-time platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America on November 8, 2001 and has sold over 6.2 million copies in the United States according to Nielsen SoundScan.

Worldwide The Writing's on the Wall was a similarly huge hit and became one of the best-selling R&B albums of all-time. It achieved gold, platinum and multi-platinum status across Europe and was certified 2x platinum by the IFPI in early 2001 in recognition of 2 million albums sold. In Canada the album peaked within the top and was certified 5x platinum (500,000 sales), it was certified 3x platinum in the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Australia.The album has sold over 12 million copies worldwide.

Tracklisting

1. "Intro (The Writing's on the Wall)" (Beyoncé Knowles, LaTavia Roberson, Kelly Rowland, LeToya Luckett) – 3:27
2. "So Good" (Kevin "She'kspere" Briggs, Kandi Burruss, B. Knowles, L. Luckett, L. Roberson, K. Rowland) – 3:57 (Thou Shalt Not Hate)
3. "Bills, Bills, Bills" (E. Phillips, Kandi, B. Knowles, L. Luckett, K. Rowland) – 4:26 (Thou shalt Pay Bills)
4. "Confessions" (featuring Missy Elliott) (M. Elliott, D. Holmes, G. Thomas) – 3:46 (Thou Shalt Confess)
5. "Bug a Boo" (K. Briggs, Kandi, B. Knowles, L. Luckett, L. Roberson, K. Rowland) – 4:07 (Thou Shalt not Bug)
6. "Temptation" (Dwayne Wiggins, C. Wheeler, A. Ray, B. Knowles, K. Rowland, L. Luckett, L. Roberson) – 4:33 (Thou Shalt Not Give Into Temptation)
7. "Now That She's Gone" (Chris Valentine D. Boynton, T. Geter, L. Simmons, A. Simmons) – 3:57 (Thou Shalt Not Think You Got It Like That)
8. "Where'd You Go" (P. Status, C. Stokes, L. Roberson, L. Luckett, K. Rowland, B. Knowles) – 4:52 (Thou Shalt Not Leave Me Worrying)
9. "Hey Ladies" (K. Briggs, Kandi, B. Knowles, L. Luckett, L. Roberson, K. Rowland) – 4:01 (Thou Shalt Know When They Have to Go)
10. "If You Leave" (featuring Next) (T. Turman, R. L. Hugger, C. Elliot, O. Hunter) – 5:13 (Thou Shalt Move on to the Next)
11. "Jumpin', Jumpin'" (R. Moore, Chad Elliot, B. Knowles) – 4:21 (Thou Shalt Get Your Party On)
12. "Say My Name" (Rodney Jerkins, Fred Jerkins III, LaShawn Daniels, B. Knowles, L. Luckett, K. Rowland, L. Roberson) – 3:57 (Thou Shalt Say My Name)
13. "She Can't Love You" (K. Briggs, Kandi, B. Knowles, L. Luckett, K. Rowland, L. Roberson) – 4:16 [Thou Shalt Know She Can't Love You]
14. "Stay" (Darryl Simmons) – 4:24 [If Thou Can Wait Thou Shalt Stay]
15. "Sweet Sixteen" (D. Wiggins, J. Watley, B. Knowles, K. Rowland) – 3:00 Thou Shalt Cherish Life)
16. "Outro" (Amazing Grace... Dedicated to Andretta Tillman) – 4:04

International bonus tracks

17. "Get on the Bus" (featuring Timbaland) (M. Elliott, Tim Mosley) – 4:44
18. "Bills, Bills, Bills" (Digital Black-N-Groove Club Mix)
19. "Say My Name" (Timbaland remix) (F. Jerkins III, T. Mosely, R. Jerkins, L. Luckett, L. Daniels, B. Knowles, L. Roberson, K. Rowland, S. Garrett)

Special edition bonus track

17. "Can't Help Myself"

Reissue bonus disk^[1]

1. "Independent Women Part I"
2. "Independent Women Part II"
3. "8 Days of Christmas"
4. "No, No, No Part 2"

Credits and personnel

Charts

References