As their breakthrough second studio album The Writing's on the Wall (1999) became a rising commercial success, Destiny's Child faced the controversial departure of original members LeToya Luckett and LaTavia Roberson, who were replaced with Farrah Franklin and Michelle Williams, in February 2000.

Mere five months after joining, Franklin departed from the group in July, and "Independent Women Part I" was subsequently released as a single from the accompanying soundtrack for the film Charlie's Angels (2000).

[2] When the accompanying music video for "Say My Name" premiered in February 2000, Roberson and Luckett found out that they were being replaced with Michelle Williams, a former backing vocalist for Monica, and Farrah Franklin, an aspiring singer-actress.

[5] However, their roles were reversed as the group was offered to record material for the accompanying soundtrack to Charlie's Angels (2000), a film adaption of the 1976–1981 television series of the same title.

They re-recorded "Independent Women" and enlisted first-time collaborators Trackmasters to produce the track, altering the original's lyrics to suit the Charlie's Angels theme.

[14] The Anthony Dent-produced title track was inspired by a pun a radio station had made about the fact that three members had already left Destiny's Child, comparing the group to the reality competition television series Survivor.

"[12] D'wayne Wiggins, who wrote "Fancy" with Beyoncé and J. R. Rotem, said Destiny's Child would carefully select lyrics for the songs, adjusting them to suit the group.

[37] The "blinding Prince-like R&B-jazz odyssey" "Bootylicious" features a lyrical response to those who had criticized Beyoncé's weight gain, against a prominent guitar riff sample from Stevie Nicks' 1981 song "Edge of Seventeen".

[18] The "sunny day" pop track "Happy Face" promotes self-esteem; Sylvia Patterson from NME classified its genre as "cajun-R&B-yodel-pop".

[10] Its promotional activities commenced on February 28, when Destiny's Child performed the lead single "Survivor" for the first time at the 2001 Soul Train Music Awards.

[46] The song was subsequently performed on the April 6 episode of Top of the Pops in the United Kingdom,[47] with "Emotion" on Saturday Night Live on May 5,[48] on Late Show with David Letterman on May 10,[49] and with "Bootylicious" on Today on May 11.

[51] They subsequently opened the inaugural BET Awards with "Bootylicious" on June 19,[52] later performing the song on the August 3 episode of Top of the Pops and the September 7 Michael Jackson: 30th Anniversary Celebration show.

[47][53] In the meantime, the group had embarked on the co-headlining Total Request Live Tour with 3LW, Dream, Eve and Nelly with the St. Lunatics, which ran throughout North America from July 18 until September 21.

[55] Following the tour's postponement, Destiny's Child performed "Survivor", "Emotion" and "Gospel Medley" during the benefit concert United We Stand: What More Can I Give, led by Michael Jackson in tribute to victims of the September 11 attacks, on October 21.

[75][76][8] Its Matthew Rolston-directed accompanying music video showcases the group performing numerous of Michael Jackson's choreographies and features Stevie Nicks playing the guitar riff sampled from her song "Edge of Seventeen".

[77] A commercial success, it continued Destiny's Child's streak of US Billboard Hot 100 top-ten singles by peaking at number ten after being fueled by post-September 11 attacks airplay.

[84] In 2016, Rob Fusari, who produced several tracks from Survivor, revealed "Happy Face" was originally slated as the album's final single, but those plans were scrapped due to the song's lyrical content being deemed inappropriate in the wake of the September 11 attacks.

"[91] Ethan Brown from New York was less impressed, writing: "All fifteen tracks are one-dimensional disses and dismissals of scantily clad women, vengeful boyfriends, and the group's assorted doubters.

[31] Natalie Nichols from Los Angeles Times described it as a "generic hip-hop music box of ticking percussion, pulsing bass and uninspiring samples [which] barely allows [Destiny's Child] a moment to breathe, let alone stretch out".

[87] Despite criticizing its length, lyrical content and balladry, Alexis Petridis from The Guardian wrote that Survivor "has a rare individuality, and a hint of genius, hidden in its grooves".

Club shared Petridis' negative sentiments, concluding his review by saying: "if the group wants to survive the stormy seas of the pop world for more than a few years, it should call its stable of songwriting wizards ASAP".

[42] Laura Sinagra from Blender wrote: "Aside from disposable ballads and the sappy "Perfect Man," Survivor blasts haters, child molesters and "been-around-the-block-females," keeping the blood up as they whup ass.

Rob Fusari, who wrote "Bootylicious", recalled a dispute with Destiny's Child's manager and Beyoncé's father Mathew Knowles over the song's conception.

The portion of the lawsuit directed towards Beyoncé and Kelly Rowland had been dropped by the end of the year, with a mutual agreement prohibiting either party involved from making "any public comment of a disparaging nature concerning one another".

[2][137] Luckett and Roberson contended the line "You thought I wouldn't sell without you, sold 9 million" violated the agreement and filed another lawsuit against the group in February 2002, accusing Beyoncé, Rowland and Michelle Williams of making "deliberate disparaging, defamatory factual misrepresentations" in the song, as well as in their statements for the press surrounding the release of Survivor.

"[40] On the contrary, J'na Jefferson from Vibe declared the album "a seminal force in the female empowerment trend of the 21st century, serving as a love letter to body-positive, independent and fierce women all over the globe.

[142] Following the September 11 attacks, the lead single "Survivor" received new lyrical interpretations from the public, being called a "tool for national grief in a way to show solidarity and strength".

[21] As previously announced,[28] following the completion of promotional duties for Survivor, Destiny's Child embarked on a hiatus in 2002, in order for its members to release solo albums.

[150] Although Beyoncé Knowles' solo album was initially scheduled for October 2002, its release was postponed due to the success of Kelly Rowland's collaboration with Nelly, "Dilemma".

The song reached the summit of the US Billboard Hot 100, thus Rowland's pop rock-oriented solo debut Simply Deep was moved up to October from its original early 2003 release date.