Girl Group Tips From An Ex-Destiny's Child Member: Steer Clear of Porn Stars And Multiple Knowles

If anyone knows a thing or three about why girl groups break up, it's Farrah Franklin. Since 15, the 29-year-old singer-turned-actress has experienced her share of ups and inevitable downs in her stints in all-female troupes Jane Doe, Destiny's Child, and Pheenix. Though the pile of disbanded girl groups grows increasingly tall and leggy acts such as Electrik Red and Rich Girl struggle to find mainstream existence, Farrah believes any girl group can last with a bit of sound advice... as long as it's not from a man named Matthew. —Tracy Garraud

STAY ANTI-PREGGERS
"Be wary of boyfriends and the whole pregnant thing, because a lot of times when you get in a group, if someone has a boyfriend, they’ll kind of dictate what’s going on with that group member. So you want to be very wary of relationships. One of the things with the first group I was in, we had a rule that no one could get pregnant for the first two years. That was pretty much the main one… all of them have kids now. The thing is, if we’re in a group and Julia goes and marries little Barack Obama Jr. we can’t make any money because Julia’s our main singer and we can’t do the Destiny’s Child thing. You gotta make stuff work [because] people want to see you perform."

DON'T PULL A KNOWLES
"Naturally, you’re going to look out for your family. There’s a lot of things I didn’t understand at 18 and there's a lot of things I knew, that [the girls] didn't understand. [Hiring family] gives a little favoritism. [In Destiny's Child] I felt like I was put aside… Matthew [Knowles] was our manager, then Tina [Knowles] did hair and styling, then our road manager was Beyonce’s cousin, then our assistant road manager was Beyonce’s other cousin, then we had an attorney that was Beyonce’s other cousin, and Solange that was traveling with us. Her whole family was on tour with them... If there was someone else I could’ve spoken to outside of the family, I think it would’ve been a lot better."

WATCH OUT FOR PORN STARS
"[One of Pheenix's girls did porn] in the past, but no one had any knowledge about it. There was so much money put into the situation and the types of endorsements we were looking forward to getting, unfortunately we would’ve been able to get those types of deals without her having done that. The main thing is that she wasn’t honest. Everyone has a past, but I found out from a friend randomly calling me, like, 'Yo, you need to come over, I can’t tell you I gotta show you.' Background checks are very necessary because there was a lot of money spent on that deal... a lot of producers, a lot of time and guess who has to pay that back? And I was helping with managing the group, executive producing and consulting. So how the hell do I not know who my members are? It makes me look like I don’t know how to handle my business. People are like 'If she’s doing porn then what is Farrah doing? Farrah went from Destiny’s Child to hanging out with porn members.'"

IF YOU'RE NOT THE BEYONCE, FALL BACK
"If you’re getting in a [Destiny’s Child] type group, then that’s what you’re getting into. But if that wasn’t explained to you and there were some other things that could’ve been talked about like ‘How 'bout some people are able to sing this part’… you have to really understand what you're getting into and what your role is. As long as everyone understands that then you can do well, but if you don’t understand that it can be confusing. Then later on you prove yourself even more and if they’re good people they’ll say 'Hey, I know this wasn’t what we talked about, but you seem like you’re doing your thing and you can do this now.'

It was so crazy, because although Beyonce is who she is today, we were friends first and I was already doing my own thing. I already had a $650,000 house. I already had a Beamer and Benz. To be honest with you, my cars were better than theirs. That’s how I was meeting them. My man was a manager for K-Ci & Jojo, so we were well off, plus I was working three jobs on top of that, including modeling here and there. So I didn’t feel like the playing field was too much different. I’ve been doing this since I was 4-years-old. I was always the captain of my team, but I’ve also always been the new girl, being the military brat. When I got in the group I was happy. I wasn’t even thinking about [being the star]. I’m 18-years-old and I’m in Destiny’s Child! I’ve delt with bitches my whole life and I’ve never gotten paid for it. So you think I’m going to come in a group, get paid and have a problem? Oh no."

TALK IS FAR FROM CHEAP
"Communication [is the number one reason girl groups disband]. People feeling like they can’t express their feelings and then it leaves a lot of things left unsaid and ill feelings that are bottled up. Most of the times, management has a lot to do with it because they’re the ones managing the group. I’m even helping people consult right now and the whole thing is communicating. I don’t care how mad you are, you gotta talk about it so you don’t harbor emotions because that causes big problems. People start having problems when there’s not a good understanding. [In Destiny’s Child] I read a lot. I didn’t have anybody I could really speak to aside from my man." 

Agree with Farrah's words? Any advice she should've taken herself? Is Beyonce the face of girl group evil? Spill your thoughts in the comments section below!

SEE ALSO:

• Farrah Franklin: A Different Destiny [PHOTOS]
• Ex-Destiny's Child Member Farrah: "[The Reunion] Has Not Been Presented To Me...I Read It On Blogs" 
• The Weakest Link: Your Favorite Group And Their Dead Weight