Beyonce Puts Film Before Album


With Destiny's Child having split last fall, group member Beyonce is focusing on her role in the upcoming film "Dreamgirls" before she transitions back into recording mode. Discussions are under way about her possibly hitting the studio in May, with an eye toward a September release date via Columbia, but that hinges on when the "Dreamgirls" filming ends.

"I'm not going to write for the album until I finish doing the movie," Beyonce tells Billboard. "I've never been so excited about a movie in my life. I want to give 100% to this film, because I know I was born for this role."

The album will be the follow-up to 2003's smash solo debut "Dangerously in Love," which has sold more than 4.2 million copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

As for the chances of a Destiny's Child reunion down the road, the ladies aren't shutting that door. "We haven't said that we'll never perform together," Beyonce points out. "It's not 'the end' like we're never going to perform together or be on each other's records."

As previously reported, group member Kelly Rowland is at work on her second solo album with collaborators Rich Harrison, Sean Garrett, Beyonce's sister Solange and fellow Destiny's Child cohort Michelle Williams.


Williams' next studio project will get underway this month, with an eye on a summer release. "This album will still have an inspirational twist, but it will be R&B," she tells Billboard.>