The Black Eyed Peas

The Black Eyed Peas is an American hip hop group, consisting of rappers will.i.am, apl.de.ap, Taboo, and singer Fergie. Originally an alternative hip hop group, they subsequently added R&B and EDM influences. Although the group was founded in Los Angeles in 1995, it was not until the release of their third album Elephunk in 2003 that they achieved high record sales. Since that time, the group has sold an estimated 76 million records (35 million albums and 41 million singles), making them one of the world's best-selling groups of all time.^[1] According to Nielsen SoundScan, the Black Eyed Peas were the second-best-selling artist/group of all time for downloaded tracks, with over 42 million sales as of the end of 2011.^[2]

Their first major hit was the 2003 single "Where Is the Love?" from Elephunk, which topped the charts in 13 countries, including the United Kingdom, where it spent seven weeks at number one and went on to become Britain's biggest selling single of 2003. Another European hit single from the album was "Shut Up". Their fourth album, Monkey Business, was an even bigger worldwide success, certified 4× Platinum in the U.S., and spawning four singles, "Don't Phunk with My Heart", "Don't Lie", "My Humps" and "Pump It". In 2009, the group became one of only 11 artists to have simultaneously held the No. 1 and No. 2 spots on the Billboard Hot 100, with their singles "Boom Boom Pow" and "I Gotta Feeling", which topped the chart for an unprecedented 26 consecutive weeks. This album The E.N.D later produced a third Hot 100 number-one placement with "Imma Be", making the group one of few to ever place three number one singles on the chart from the same album, before being followed with "Rock That Body" and "Meet Me Halfway", which peaked in the Top 10 of the Hot 100. "I Gotta Feeling" became the first single to sell more than one million downloads in the United Kingdom.^[3]

The Black Eyed Peas were ranked 12th on Billboard's Decade-End Chart Artist of the Decade, and 7th in the Hot 100 Artists of the Decade. At the 52nd Grammy Awards ceremony, held in January 2010, they won three awards out of six nominations. In November 2010, they released the album The Beginning. In February 2011, the group performed at the Super Bowl XLV halftime show. The album's first two singles, "The Time (Dirty Bit)" and "Just Can't Get Enough", became international hits and topped the charts in many countries. The single "Don't Stop the Party" became an international hit as well.

History

1988–2000: Atban Klann, Behind the Front, and Bridging the Gap

The Black Eyed Peas date back to 1988, when eighth-graders William Adams (will.i.am) and Allan Pineda (apl.de.ap) met and began rapping and performing together around Los Angeles. The pair signed to Ruthless Records (run by Eazy-E) in 1992, catching the attention of Eazy-E manager Jerry Heller's nephew. Along with another friend of theirs, Dante Santiago, they called their trio Atban Klann (ATBAN: A Tribe Beyond a Nation).^[4] Will 1X (aka will.i.am), apl.de.ap, Mookie Mook, DJ Motiv8 (aka Monroe Walker), and Dante Santiago formed Atban Klann. Their debut album, Grass Roots, was never released due to Ruthless records founder Eazy-E's death.^[4]

After Eazy-E died in 1995, Atban Klann reformed and changed their name to Black Eyed Pods, and then Black Eyed Peas. Dante Santiago was replaced with Jaime Gomez (Taboo), and Kim Hill became a steady background singer. Unlike the "gangsta rap" sounds of Los Angeles-based hip-hop acts at the time, the trio performed with a live band and adopted a conscious musical and appearance style. After being signed to Interscope Records and releasing their debut, Behind the Front (1998) the group (and their accompanying live band) earned critical acclaim. One of the singles from the album was "Joints & Jam", and was featured on the Bulworth soundtrack. Singer Sierra Swan joined in 1998, appearing on the 1998 song "Fallin' Up", before she left in 2000. Their second album, Bridging the Gap (2000), produced the singles "Weekends" featuring Esthero and "Request + Line" featuring R&B singer Macy Gray. Hill left the band while producing the album, but was still featured on the album tracks for "Hot" and "Tell Your Mama Come" as well as in the video for "Weekends".

2000–04: Addition of Fergie and Elephunk

The Black Eyed Peas signing autographs in 2004.

Their third album Elephunk began development on November 2, 2001, but was not released until 2003. It was the first album to feature the vocals of current member Fergie. Nicole Scherzinger was originally approached to join the Peas, but was forced to decline because she was a member of Eden's Crush and was under contract. Fergie joined the group in 2002, introduced to will.i.am by Dante Santiago. Elephunk is also the first album that indicated and demonstrated the new, polished pop sound designed to attract mass audiences. In a positive review of The Black Eyed Peas' new-found style, Rolling Stone noted that since 2002, when the group "hired a blond bombshell named Stacy 'Fergie' Ferguson and gave up their pursuit of backpack-rapper cred, they have made a kind of spiritual practice of recording futuristic songs – a total aesthetic commitment that extends from their garish wardrobes to their United Colors of Benetton worldview."^[5]

From Elephunk came "Where Is the Love?", which became The Black Eyed Peas' first major hit, peaking at No.8 on the U.S. Hot 100, but topping the charts in several other countries, including seven weeks at No.1 in the United Kingdom, where it became the biggest-selling single of 2003. The single had similar results in Australia, staying at No.1 for six weeks. In an interview with TalkofFame.com, Taboo shared that Justin Timberlake's split with Britney Spears impacted the recording of "Where Is The Love?".^[6] The album subsequently spawned "Shut Up", which peaked at No.2 in the UK and topped the charts in many success and went Gold and Platinum in the U.S., UK, Germany, and other European markets. The third single from the album, although significantly restyled from the original Elephunk version, "Hey Mama" hit the top 5 in Australia and the top 10 in the UK, Germany and other European countries and reached No.23 in the U.S. The song received even more exposure in 2003 when it was featured in the first "silhouette" television commercial for the iPod. Their fourth single from the album was titled "Let's Get It Started". Let's Get It Started" won a 2005 Grammy for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group and also received two nominations for Record of the Year and Best Rap Song. In 2004, The Black Eyed Peas embarked on the Elephunk Tour, hitting many countries in Europe, Africa, and Asia.

2004–09: Monkey Business and first hiatus

The Black Eyed Peas' apl.de.ap and Fergie in 2005

Their fourth album, Monkey Business, was recorded through 2004 and was released on June 7, 2005. Much of the pre-production writing was performed on the John Lennon Educational Tour Bus while on The Black Eyed Peas tour of 2004. The album's first single, "Don't Phunk with My Heart", was a hit in the U.S., reaching number three on the U.S. Hot 100. The spot the song reached was the highest peak yet of their career in the U.S. (this was later broken when "Boom Boom Pow" peaked at the top spot of the Billboard Hot 100) and earned them another Grammy for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group. The song reached three in the UK, and five in Canada, and stayed at number one for three weeks in Australia. Some radio stations, concerned about complaints of obscenity, played an alternative version, "Don't Mess with My Heart". "Don't Lie", the second single from the album, saw success on the U.S. Hot 100, reaching No. 14, although becoming somewhat more successful in the UK and Australia, reaching a peak of No.6 in both countries. "My Humps", another song from the album, immediately achieved commercial success in the U.S. and fairly substantial radio play despite the sexually suggestive lyrics, reaching number three on the U.S. Hot 100 and number one in Australia, making it their fourth Australian number one single. However, many mocked the song for its poor lyrical content; John Bush, writing for AllMusic, described it as "one of the most embarrassing rap performances of the new millennium".^[7] Despite this, the album Monkey Business debuted at number two on the U.S. Billboard 200 albums chart, selling over 295,000 copies in its first week and was later certified triple platinum by the RIAA. Their next and last commercially released single from the album was "Pump It", which borrows much of its sound from "Misirlou", specifically Dick Dale's version; it peaked at number 8 in Australia but 18 in America.

The Black Eyed Peas performing on August 24, 2006

In September 2005, The Black Eyed Peas released an iTunes Originals playlist of their greatest hits, as well as some that were re-recorded especially for purchase through iTunes. The playlist includes popular songs such as "Don't Lie", "Shut Up", and a new version of "Where Is the Love?" It has small stories containing info and commentary about the songs and how the group first met. In autumn 2005, The Black Eyed Peas set off to tour with Gwen Stefani, as supporting act. In December 2005, they embarked on the "European Tour", which toured multiple countries in Europe. The European leg which opened in Tel Aviv, Israel, continued to Ireland, the UK, France and Germany. After heading to Europe and Asia, they toured the U.S. again, and South America. The Black Eyed Peas have starred in a series of web shorts for Snickers called Instant Def, appearing as a group of hip-hop superheroes. On March 21, 2006, The Black Eyed Peas released a remix album, titled Renegotiations: The Remixes to iTunes. It features remixed versions of "Ba Bump", "My Style", "Feel It", "Disco Club", "They Don't Want Music", "Audio Delite at Low Fidelity", and the standard version and video of "Like That". The following week, it was released on CD without the music video. Participants on the EP included DJ Premier, Pete Rock, Erick Sermon, DJ Jazzy Jeff, and Large Professor. In March 2006, The Black Eyed Peas hit the road again as the featured headliner for the 6th Annual Honda Civic Tour with supporting bands Flipsyde and The Pussycat Dolls. They again brought the John Lennon Educational Tour Bus on the tour with them to craft new songs for Fergie's solo debut album. In 2006, they went on tour with The Pussycat Dolls.^[8][9]

In 2007, The Black Eyed Peas embarked on the Black Blue & You World Tour, visiting more than 20 countries, including Macau, Sweden, Poland, Romania, Hungary, South Africa, South Korea, Malaysia, India, Indonesia, Israel, Singapore, China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Australia, Nigeria, Mexico, Thailand, Venezuela, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Argentina, Philippines, El Salvador and Brazil. This tour was presented by Pepsi, in conjunction with the new "Pepsi More" advertising campaign, featuring The Black Eyed Peas. They recorded the song "More" for the new Pepsi spot. On December 31, 2006, The Black Eyed Peas performed at the last stop on the Monkey Business tour, at Ipanema Beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil for more than 1 million people, being their biggest concert ever. The Black Eyed Peas performed at the UK leg of Live Earth on July 7, 2007 at Wembley Stadium, London. will.i.am performed a new song, "Help Us Out", at the event, which is now on his album, Songs About Girls, as "S.O.S. (Mother Nature)". They headlined the main Ocean Stage at the Summer Sonic Festival in Tokyo, Japan on August 11, and Osaka, Japan on August 12, 2007. The act consisted of the group performing their hits, as well as Fergie singing solo tracks from The Dutchess. will.i.am again sang songs from his upcoming album. Already having produced the bulk of the Peas' albums, will.i.am has begun his solo career in earnest by producing and collaborating with a variety of musicians, most notably Michael Jackson and also including U2, Sérgio Mendes, Carlos Santana, Too Short, Kelis, Cheryl Cole, SMAP, John Legend, Nelly Furtado, Justin Timberlake, Nas and Bone Thugs and Harmony.

2009–2013: The E.N.D, The Beginning and second hiatus

The Black Eyed Peas performing on October 7, 2009

The Black Eyed Peas joined by DJ David Guetta headline the Wireless Festival in Hyde Park, London, July 2011.

In early 2009, both Fergie and the group left A&M Records for unknown reasons, both Fergie and the group are still with Interscope Records.^[10][11]

The group's fifth studio album, The E.N.D ("The Energy Never Dies"), was released on June 9, 2009. The overall sound of the album has a more electro hop beat rather than the usual hip pop/R&B feeling of their previous albums. Following its release, will.i.am remarked that the album had been inspired by a trip to Australia, specifically the sound of The Presets' "My People". "The energy on the Presets' small little stage was crazy energy. That song My People – that shit is wild," will.i.am said, "That's the reason why this record sounds the way it does – my three months in Australia."^[12] In its first week, the album sold 304,000 copies and debuted at number 1 on the Billboard 200. In the United States, the album became the ninth album to top the one million mark in sales in 2009. The album spent 38 weeks within the top 10 of the Billboard 200. The E.N.D was the 7th best-selling album of 2009 in the U.S. It also debuted at number one in Australia, number two in New Zealand and three in the United Kingdom. Three additional singles, "Imma Be", "Alive", and "Meet Me Halfway", were released through the iTunes Store in the three weeks running up to the album's release.

The first single "Boom Boom Pow" was released on March 30, 2009 in the U.S. on iTunes. The single sold 465,000 downloads in its first week of digital release, the third-largest number of download sales in a single week overall, and the largest single-week and debut-download totals by a group in the history of digital-download sales, reaching No. 1 on the U.S. The single also reached the top spot in Billboard Hot 100 and Pop 100. being the group's first U.S. No. 1, holding the spot for twelve consecutive weeks. It also reached number 1 in Australia, Canada, and the UK. After the release of The E.N.D, the Black Eyed Peas released "I Gotta Feeling" (produced by David Guetta) as the official second single from the album. The single charted at number three and then went to number one on the UK Singles Chart. It debuted at number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 behind "Boom Boom Pow" and later surpassed it, taking the number 1 spot.^[13] The Black Eyed Peas joined a group of artists who have held the No.1 and 2 Spot on the Billboard Hot 100 simultaneously. From April 18, 2009, when "Boom Boom Pow" reached No. 1, through October 10, 2009, the last week "I Gotta Feeling" was at No. 1, the group was on top of the chart for 26 weeks, more consecutive weeks than any other artist.

On July 30, 2009, Billboard announced that the Black Eyed Peas set a record for the longest successive No. 1 chart run by a duo or group in the Billboard Hot 100's history. "I Gotta Feeling" hit its fifth consecutive week at No. 1, following 12 weeks at the top by the Peas' "Boom Boom Pow". Boyz II Men reigned on the chart for two 16-week runs in the mid-'90s.^[14] "Meet Me Halfway" was released as the third single from the album in September 2009. The single reached number one in the UK and Australia, making it their third chart topper from The E.N.D in both countries. It also peaked at seven on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, making it the group's third top-10 single from The E.N.D "Imma Be" was released as the fourth single in the U.S. on December 15, 2009, reaching number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for two weeks, becoming the group's third number one single on that chart. Heavy airplay in Canada caused "Imma Be" to reach number 5 on the Canadian Hot 100, their fourth consecutive top 5 hit from the album. "Rock That Body" was then released as the fifth single, and has so far reached number 9 on the Billboard Hot 100.

In September 2009, the group embarked on The E.N.D World Tour, visiting Japan, Thailand, Malaysia, Australia and New Zealand. In October 2009, they also were the opening acts for 5 concerts of the U2 360° Tour North America leg. The group performed at the Grammys on January 31, 2010. They performed a mash-up of "Imma Be"/"I Gotta Feeling". They won 3 out of the 6 awards they were nominated for including Best Pop Vocal Album for The E.N.D., Best Pop VocalPerformance by a Group for "I Gotta Feeling" and Best Short Form Video for "Boom Boom Pow".

On July 27, 2010, The Black Eyed Peas released a remix album: The E.N.D. Summer 2010 Canadian Invasion Tour: Remix Collection. It was released on iTunes in Canada only, during the Canadian leg of The E.N.D World Tour. It mostly features remixes of the singles taken from The E.N.D. It also features a remix of "Let's Get It Started" taken from Elephunk; the remix was also a bonus track on the deluxe edition of The E.N.D.

Their sixth studio album, The Beginning, was released on November 30, 2010, and received mixed reviews.^[15] The album's first single release was called "The Time (Dirty Bit)",^[16] and was revealed on October 20, 2010, through will.i.am's Twitter account. The music video was directed by Rich Lee, who had previously directed the video for "Imma Be Rocking That Body".

"Just Can't Get Enough", the album's second single, was released in February 18, 2011. The music video was released on March 16, 2011, and it was filmed in Tokyo, one week before the earthquake and the tsunami. The video was directed by Ben Mor. The group's third single was "Don't Stop the Party" and it was released on May 10, 2011. On the same day, a music video for the song was released on iTunes, along with the single. The video, which is directed by Ben Mor, features on stage and backstage footage of the group during The E.N.D. World Tour in 2009–2010. The video premiered on Vevo on May 12, 2011. On May 22, the group appeared on the 2011 Billboard Music Awards and won 1 of their 4 nominations, for "Top Duo/Group".

On the July 6, 2011 during a concert at Alton Towers in Staffordshire, The Black Eyed Peas announced they are taking an indefinite hiatus following the completion of their current tour, as they did between 2005 and 2009. will.i.am later confirmed the news on Twitter, adding that the break does not mean they will "stop creating".^[17] On November 23, 2011, the group made their last performance for The Beginning Tour in Miami with opening acts including Cee Lo Green, Queen Latifah.

2013–present: Upcoming seventh studio album and 20th anniversary

During an interview with NRJ, will.i.am in talking about his solo album also confirmed that The Black Eyed Peas would start recording sessions for their seventh studio album in 2013.^[18] In an interview on Capital Breakfast, will.i.am said that the Peas will reform in 2015 for their 20th anniversary.^[19] The Peas premiered a new song titled "Awesome" that was included in commercials for the 2015 NBA playoffs. The song did not include Fergie, with people questioning if she would be a part of the upcoming album. On the 20th anniversary of their debut, the Peas premiered a new song titled "Yesterday" through Apple Music.^[20] The song also does not feature Fergie.

Appearances

In November 2005, The Black Eyed Peas performed at the half-time show at the Canadian Football League's 93rd Grey Cup in Vancouver, British Columbia. On May 11, 2006, The Black Eyed Peas performed at San Fernando High School at the football field. On June 17, 2009 the Black Eyed Peas performed on the British TV chat show Alan Carr: Chatty Man. The group was interviewed and performed their single "I Gotta Feeling".^[21] On July 8, 2009, they made an appearance at the Isle of MTV in Malta.^[22] On September 8, 2009, the group performed live for Oprah Winfrey's 24th Season Kickoff Party, on Michigan Avenue in Chicago. An estimated 21,000 dancers in the streets performed a flash mob to the live performance of "I Gotta Feeling".^[23] The group performed at the American Music Awards of 2009 with the songs "Meet Me Halfway" and "Boom Boom Pow". They also won 2 out of 3 categories in which they were nominated; Favorite Rock/Pop Group & Favorite R&B/Soul Group. They lost their last category, Best R&B/Soul Album (The E.N.D.), to Michael Jackson.

On March 30, 2010, The Black Eyed Peas were the first group to broadcast a concert live in 3D.^[24] In June 2010, The Black Eyed Peas performed "Where is the Love?", "Pump It", "Meet me Halfway", "Boom Boom Pow", and "I Gotta Feeling" at the 2010 FIFA World Cup Kick-Off Celebration concert in South Africa. The concert had over 700 million viewers worldwide, making it the biggest event the group performed in. They also performed at T in the Park 2010 on the NME Stage on the Friday July 9 and Oxegen in Kildare, Ireland on Saturday July 10 on the Vodafone stage. In July 2010 The Black Eyed Peas performed "Boom Boom Pow", "Rock That Body" and "I Gotta Feeling" in Central Park as part of Good Morning America's free summer concert series. In December 2010 they appeared on the seventh series of The X Factor in the UK performing "The Time (Dirty Bit)". In March 2011, the Black Eyed Peas appeared on the American Idol elimination show singing "Just Can't Get Enough". Will.i.am noted at the beginning of the song that the song was dedicated to "our friends in Japan". On April 2, the group appeared on the 24th Annual Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards performing "The Time (Dirty Bit)" and "Just Can't Get Enough". The appearance received very good reviews and in the same night the group won the blimp award of the Favorite Music Group category.

Charity events

In December 2009 the group performed at a disabled children charity concert in Mexico, with other major artists in front of more than 50,000 people. Will.i.am said, "To cooperate in this kind of activity makes us feel good. Doing so comforts us and reminds us that although we are in a moment of fame should not forget those who need us most".^[25] On December 10, 2005, the Peas cover of the John Lennon classic "Power to the People", which was mostly recorded on the John Lennon Educational Tour Bus, was released by Amnesty International as part of the Make Some Noise campaign to celebrate human rights. The song was later released on the 2007 John Lennon tribute album, Instant Karma: The Amnesty International Campaign to Save Darfur. The same day, The Black Eyed Peas performed their version live on the UK television program The Record of the Year together with John Legend and Mary J. Blige.

At the release of video-clip for the single "Just Can't Get Enough" in early 2011, the group spent a short film to the whole country of Japan as that country had been recently hit by an earthquake and the group filmed the video a week before the disaster in the country.^[26] In July 2011, The Black Eyed Peas founded a school for New York teenagers where students of 13–19 years can learn video production and music using professional equipment.The Peapod Foundation, in collaboration with the Adobe Foundation, opened the music academy and media Peapod Adobe Youth Voices in Manhattan on July 19. The school will have its facilities in a building operated by the Urban Arts Partnership, which provides art-school programs for adolescents studying in areas of very low income. Young people will be admitted according to the recommendations of their teachers and their expressions of interest in the subjects taught, such as camera work, editing and graphic design.^[27] On September 3, 2011, the group performed a concert in Minot, North Dakota to benefit the victims of the 2011 Souris River flood that damaged over 4,000 homes and displaced over 12,000 people in Minot and along the Souris River.^[28] Fergie is married to Minot native, Josh Duhamel. On September 30, 2011 the group performed a free concert, "Chase Presents The Black Eyed Peas and Friends", for over 50,000 people in New York City's Central Park.^[29] The event raised over $4 million for the charity.^[30]

Other media

In June 2011 Ubisoft announced they are developing The Black Eyed Peas Experience, a dance video game for Kinect and Wii.^[31] On November 11, 2011, the video game was released internationally in association with Ubisoft.

Members

Current members

• Will.i.am – vocals, piano (1995–present)
• Apl.de.ap – vocals, drums (1995–present)
• Taboo – vocals, DJ (1995–present)
• Fergie – vocals (2002–present)

Former members

• Dante Santiago – vocals (1995)
• Kim Hill – vocals (1995–2000)
• Sierra Swan – vocals (1998–2000)

Discography

The Black Eyed Peas on The E.N.D Tour in tour at Madison Square Garden, 2009

Studio albums

• Behind the Front (1998)
• Bridging the Gap (2000)
• Elephunk (2003)
• Monkey Business (2005)
• The E.N.D (2009)
• The Beginning (2010)

Tours

Awards and nominations

See also

• List of artists who have had number-one singles on the UK Official Download Chart
• List of best-selling music downloads in the United Kingdom
• List of Billboard Social 50 number-one artists

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Black Eyed Peas.

• Official website
• Black Eyed Peas YouTube channel
• Black Eyed Peas Dipdive channel
• Black Eyed Peas bio and discograph
• Black Eyed Peas photo gallery
• Apl.de.ap (Black Eyed Peas) website
• Profile at Forbes