Hence, the group took more creative control and enlisted an almost entirely different array of collaborators, including Kevin "She'kspere" Briggs, Kandi Burruss, Missy Elliott, Rodney Jerkins, and LaShawn Daniels, among others.

The music video for "Say My Name" saw original members LeToya Luckett and LaTavia Roberson–who had attempted to split with their manager Mathew Knowles–unexpectedly replaced with Farrah Franklin and Michelle Williams.

Luckett and Roberson filed a lawsuit against Knowles and former bandmates, and Franklin departed from Destiny's Child a mere five months after joining, leaving it as a trio.

[3] Changing their name to Destiny's Child, the group was signed to Columbia Records by Teresa LaBarbera Whites in 1996, after negotiations from Beyoncé's father Mathew Knowles, who became their manager.

[9] Commercially, Destiny's Child was a slow seller, peaking only at number 67 on the US Billboard 200,[10] but managed to earn a platinum certification from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) two years after its release.

[19] Beyoncé sought inspiration for her songwriting from the customers at her mother Tina Knowles' hair salon, namely their grievances and complaints over men, relationships, and financial hardships.

[15] Upon arriving to Houston, where the majority of The Writing's on the Wall was recorded, Briggs and his then-girlfriend, singer-songwriter Kandi Burruss, were told there was space for only one more track on the album.

[20] Being promoted to executive producer alongside Mathew Knowles, Briggs introduced skittering quadruple-time beats while encouraging stuttering vocal phrasing, both of which defined the sound of The Writing's on the Wall.

[21] Missy Elliott wrote and produced "Confessions", on which she made a guest appearance; the track was recorded at The Hit Factory in New York City (NYC) and The Enterprise in Los Angeles.

[18] D'Wayne Wiggins produced and co-wrote "Temptations" and "Sweet Sixteen", which were both recorded at the Digital Sound in Houston and the House of Music in Oakland, California.

[17][22][23] Its production incorporates sounds such as record scratches, bubbles, and breaking glass, while the instrumentation is based on sharp guitar riffs, complex percussion arrangements, and orchestral brass.

[29] "Say My Name", singled out by multiple publications as the album's highlight,[25][15] reprises the "thick, paranoid mix" of Jerkins' prior production "The Boy Is Mine", the 1998 duet between Brandy and Monica.

[25] The Writing's on the Wall closes with an a cappella cover of "Amazing Grace", which acts as the outro and is dedicated to the late Andretta Tilman, Destiny's Child's original manager.

[18] The cover artwork for the album was photographed by Hide Olda and depicts the members wearing white halter tops and facing directly into the camera.

[34] To support The Writing's on the Wall, Destiny's Child embarked on TLC's FanMail Tour as an opening act during its October–December North American leg.

[54] An accompanying music video was directed by Darren Grant and was a tribute to Destiny's Child's then-stylist Tina Knowles, as it depicts group members as hair salon employees frustrated with men.

[57][53] The Grant-directed accompanying music video shows the group members fleeing from aggravating boyfriends, and features cameo appearances from Kobe Bryant and Wyclef Jean.

[11] Internationally, the song reached the summit in Australia,[59] and the top 10 in Belgium,[59] Canada,[51] France,[59] Iceland,[60] the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway,[59] Poland,[61] and the UK.

[62] A Joseph Kahn-directed accompanying music video was a subject of controversy, as it saw LeToya Luckett and LaTavia Roberson be replaced–without their knowledge or consent–with Farrah Franklin and Michelle Williams.

Stephen Thomas Erlewine from AllMusic wrote that, regardless of "uneven" songwriting, the album was an improvement for Destiny's Child in comparison to their debut, further complimenting the production and selection of collaborators.

[24] Rob Brunner from Entertainment Weekly praised Destiny's Child for being able to surpass their contemporaries with an innovative sound, but dismissed the "banal balladry" of "Stay" and "Sweet Sixteen".

[75] Katherine St. Asaph from Pitchfork praised The Writing's on the Wall for its impact and influence on R&B artists, remarking that its musical style codified contemporary R&B trends at the turn of the millennium.

[112] The Writing's on the Wall peaked at number 23 on the European Top 100 Albums after being reissued,[113] and was certified double platinum by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) for selling two million copies across Europe.

In December 1999, Luckett and Roberson attempted to split with their manager Mathew Knowles, stating that he kept a disproportionate share of the group's profits and unfairly favored his daughter Beyoncé and Rowland.

[121] The Writing's on the Wall has been declared Destiny's Child's breakthrough album by numerous music critics, as it spurred their career and introduced them to a wider audience.

[117] Although members were agitated by the turmoil, Destiny's Child's success continued, with the years following the controversy seen as the most substantial stretch of their career,[118] and them becoming a pop culture phenomenon.

[119] Their third studio album Survivor (2001) and its title track are considered responses to the media for the scrutiny the group was placed under throughout the promotional era of The Writing's on the Wall.

[117][17] Tom Breihan from Stereogum shared those sentiments, adding that Beyoncé managed to successfully recognize sounds reshaping R&B aesthetics and acquire technical skills to recreate it in an idiosyncratic manner.

[123][117] In a 2019 interview with Vice, Burruss–one of the key contributors on The Writing's on the Wall–said the influence of its feminist themes was evident even two decades following its release, citing women's empowerment-themed efforts by artists such as Rihanna, Lizzo, and Megan Thee Stallion.

[13] Canadian rapper Drake was cited as one of the artists who sought vocal inspiration from the album, most notably on his 2013 track "Girls Love Beyoncé", on which James Fauntleroy sang the chorus of "Say My Name".