December 14, 2001 – Destiny's Child are not disbanding, the group announced yesterday in response to rumors recently reported in the press. On the contrary, the girls are planning new albums, a world tour in spring 2002, and TV appearances in the U.S. and Europe.

"We are very much a group, very much together, and plan to be for many years," said Destiny's Child. "We've worked really hard to get to where we are and have been blessed with success and the incredible support of our fans. We're like sisters, we really love and understand each other and have such a great time that we can't even think about breaking up Destiny's Child. We just want to take a little time to work on some things that reflect our individual personalities and we're going to help and support each other with everything we do. We're going to see our fans on our spring world tour and start working on a new group album right after that."

Fans of Destiny's Child can look forward to upcoming projects from each of the group members. Beyonce Knowles appears as Foxy Cleopatra in Austin Powers 3: Goldmember, due in theaters on July 26. Michelle Williams has been recording an album of inspirational music while Kelly Rowland is working up material for an album showcasing her own hybrid of R&B/rock/soul.

Having sold more than 33 million albums and singles worldwide in little more than four years, Destiny's Child are one of the biggest-selling female groups of all time. They took home the Artist of the Year trophy at the 2001 Billboard Music Awards ceremony held in Las Vegas on December 4 and also won in the Hot 100 Singles -- Artist of the Year, Group/Duo, Hot 100 Singles -- Artist of the Year and Soundtrack Single Of The Year (for "Independent Women Part I" from the Charlie's Angels soundtrack) categories.

Destiny's Child have been nominated for Outstanding Duo or Group (for "Survivor") in the upcoming 33rd Annual NAACP Image Awards. The ceremony will air on the FOX Network, March 1, 2002. The group has also been nominated in two categories for this year's American Music Awards: Favorite Album, Pop/Rock (for "Survivor") and Favorite Band, Duo or Group, Soul/R&B. The 29th Annual American Music Awards ceremony will be broadcast live on ABC, January 9, 2002.

For the distinction of having more #1 records on the U.S. charts than any girl group in music history, Destiny's Child entered the "Guinness Book Of World Records" in November 2001.

8 Days of Christmas, the new Destiny's Child holiday album, was released by Music World Music/Columbia Records on October 30, 2001 and is currently climbing the Billboard 200 Album sales chart.