LeToya Luckett on Being Intimidated by Beyoncé’s Singing Voice in Destiny’s Child
LeToya Luckett makes it known that she’s more than just a member of Destiny’s Child, but she always credits the group for being a catalyst for the great things she’d go on to accomplish. Having Beyoncé as a childhood best friend and group member came with its perks. Luckett says Beyoncé was a natural-born leader and always willing to help. But Luckett says being in the group with someone as talented as the Queen Bey also made her intimidated and question her own talent.
The former Destiny’s Child member began singing and church
Luckett says she knew at the age of 6 that singing was her path. She grew up singing in church and was tapped by the choir director to travel internationally to perform in Japan at a competition.
From there, she began performing everywhere she could: local talent shows, productions, and even auditioning. While speaking on the R&B Money podcast, Luckett says she was at her peak confidence level at that time.
“My confidence was different back then,” she admitted. “I get shy on the mic now. [But then] you couldn’t tell me nothing. The one thing I knew I could do was sing. And I just wish I could get that confidence back. The one thing I wish I had was that confidence back.”
LeToya Luckett admits to being intimidated by Beyoncé’s singing voice and her other group members and dimmed her own light
Luckett says her confidence began to wither away once she joined the group at age 12. She says being around other talented singers made her question her own vocal ability.
“To hear the other voices around me, and especially, we’re talking about B, I don’t sound like that,” she joked. “Does that mean I’m not good? Or does that mean it’s just different? And you start questioning it because this isn’t me watching Whitney [Houston] on-screen anymore. This is someone in my face, and I’m hearing the power in her throat. And it didn’t turn into a competition, it turned into, ‘Wow, I’m looking at this person with this amazing gift, and I’m getting to experience it. How can I better myself?’”
As time went on in the group, Luckett says she never dreamt of solo stardom and played the position she was given. She was assigned the role of the soprano singer, and admits she only honed those skills while in the group.
She praises Beyoncé as an icon and a teacher
Luckett was fired from the group in 1998 amid management issues. She’s since resolved her problems with her childhood friends and remains a big fan of Beyoncé. The Dreamgirls star’s success comes as no surprise to Luckett as she bore witness to her greatness before the world did.
“It came from perfecting your craft and working. When some of us wanted to go to the movies, when we did have our off time, she was in the studio sitting there by herself, writing a record…It is no surprise to me that she is the icon that she is…her work ethic…I ain’t as monstrous, I’ve never seen anything like it,” she said of Beyoncé.
Luckett also praises her friend for sharing her gifts to help craft the talent of others. “Being around it made you feel guilty if you weren’t. ‘Like hold on, I’m not doing something right.’ She did it, she led by example,” Luckett added. “B used to sit in the booth with me while I was singing my parts. You know how normally, the lead singer, once they’ve done their role and you come in and sing your four lines and they go off and do whatever? B would sit in the booth with us on the floor in the corner and [coach us]. The support she would give us, even in the roles that we played in this, I’ll never forget that.”
