Michelle Williams, Beyonce and Kelly Rowland last reunited on stage at the 2018 Coachella Valley Music And Arts Festival, during Beyonce's headline slot. Getty Images
Michelle Williams, Beyonce and Kelly Rowland last reunited on stage at the 2018 Coachella Valley Music And Arts Festival, during Beyonce's headline slot. Getty Images
Michelle Williams, Beyonce and Kelly Rowland last reunited on stage at the 2018 Coachella Valley Music And Arts Festival, during Beyonce's headline slot. Getty Images
Michelle Williams, Beyonce and Kelly Rowland last reunited on stage at the 2018 Coachella Valley Music And Arts Festival, during Beyonce's headline slot. Getty Images

Destiny's Child look set to reunite for 20th anniversary


Farah Andrews
  • English
  • Arabic

Ladies leave your man at home, because Destiny's Child are making a comeback. It has been reported that Beyonce is in discussions with her bandmates, Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams, to reunite, with talk of a tour and possible new music on the table.

The last album the RnB trio released was Destiny Fulfilled in 2004, before each went on to pursue solo careers.

However, rumours of a reunion have been rife since the three got back together on stage for Beyonce's headline performance at Coachella in April 2018. The concert is featured in Beyonce's Netflix movie, Homecoming.

"Beyonce has been desperate to get the girls back together with her in the studio and she can't think of a better time than 2020, when they will be marking two decades as one of the world's biggest all-female groups," a music industry source told The Sun. 

"She saw the success of the Spice Girls tour and wants to replicate that – but far bigger and better."

It is thought that the reunion will include a major US and Europe tour in 2020, which marks the 20th anniversary of Williams joining the group, after LaTavia Roberson and LeToya Luckett left.

A fourth member, Farrah Franklin, joined at the same time as Williams, and features in the Say My Name music video, but she left the group five months after joining.

"Beyonce has been meeting with Kelly and Michelle and discussing what they can do ... It’s early days but they want to record new music and put it out alongside some of their biggest hits," the source continued.

"Then they want to do a tour which will be short enough for them to fit it into their schedules, but big enough to make sure all their fans can make a date to see them.

"As well as going around the US they want to play dates in Europe, including the UK.

"They are one of the very few groups where love for them has only grown since they went on hiatus in 2006, so the demand is massive."

As well as a band reunion, there have also been reports that Matthew Knowles, Beyonce's father, has been working on a musical about the band. 

"I want to pull back the curtain," he wrote on Instagram in April 2019. "I feel it's time to give the world an opportunity to hear, see and feel the victories and failures that I've had as a husband, father and manager who risked everything in pursuit of fulfilling dreams."

The full list of 2020 Brit Award nominees (winners in bold):

British group

Coldplay

Foals

Bring me the Horizon

D-Block Europe

Bastille

British Female

Mabel

Freya Ridings

FKA Twigs

Charli xcx

Mahalia​

British male

Harry Styles

Lewis Capaldi

Dave

Michael Kiwanuka

Stormzy​

Best new artist

Aitch

Lewis Capaldi

Dave

Mabel

Sam Fender

Best song

Ed Sheeran and Justin Bieber - I Don’t Care

Mabel - Don’t Call Me Up

Calvin Harrison and Rag’n’Bone Man - Giant

Dave - Location

Mark Ronson feat. Miley Cyrus - Nothing Breaks Like A Heart

AJ Tracey - Ladbroke Grove

Lewis Capaldi - Someone you Loved

Tom Walker - Just You and I

Sam Smith and Normani - Dancing with a Stranger

Stormzy - Vossi Bop

International female

Ariana Grande

Billie Eilish

Camila Cabello

Lana Del Rey

Lizzo

International male

Bruce Springsteen

Burna Boy

Tyler, The Creator

Dermot Kennedy

Post Malone

Best album

Stormzy - Heavy is the Head

Michael Kiwanuka - Kiwanuka

Lewis Capaldi - Divinely Uninspired to a Hellish Extent

Dave - Psychodrama

Harry Styles - Fine Line

Rising star

Celeste

Joy Crookes

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Publisher: Konami

Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PC

Rating: 4.5/5

GIANT REVIEW

Starring: Amir El-Masry, Pierce Brosnan

Director: Athale

Rating: 4/5

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Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.

The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.

Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.

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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”