"We go back to the barn," Beyoncé said, using her mother's phrase for the garage they rehearsed in. "We get tighter. We get louder. And we never let them tell us 'no' again."
She didn't smile. She just walked off the stage, sat down next to her little sister, Solange, and asked, "Can we get ice cream now?"
When she hit the final note, the church didn't clap. They just stared.
One night, after being dropped by Elektra Records, the four girls sat on the curb outside the studio. The streetlights buzzed. Kelly was crying. LaTavia was silent. LeToya kicked a pebble.