Black Eyed Peas

The Black Eyed Peas are an American musical group formed in Los Angeles in 1995, composed of rappers will.i.am, apl.de.ap and Taboo. The group's lineup during the height of their popularity in the 2000s featured Fergie, who left the group in 2018. They have sold an estimated 80 million records, making them one of the best-selling musical acts of all time, and were ranked 12th on Billboard's 2000s Decade-End Artist of the Decade Chart and 7th on the Hot 100 Artists of the Decade.

Originally forming as an alternative hip hop trio, they signed with Interscope Records to release two albums—Behind the Front (1998) and Bridging the Gap (2000)—before rebranding to a more marketable pop-rap act; their third album, Elephunk (2003), yielded the group's mainstream breakthrough. Its lead single, "Where Is the Love?" (featuring Justin Timberlake), peaked atop music charts in 13 countries, including the United Kingdom, where it spent seven weeks at number one and became the country's biggest-selling single of that year. Their fourth album, Monkey Business (2005), was met with continued commercial success; it received triple platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and peaked at number two on the Billboard 200.

The group's fifth album, The E.N.D. (2009), yielded their furthest commercial success; it peaked atop the Billboard 200 and spawned three Billboard Hot 100-number one singles: "Imma Be", "Boom Boom Pow" and "I Gotta Feeling". For one week, the latter two songs made the group one of the 11 musical acts to have simultaneously held the top two spots on the Billboard Hot 100, where they remained for a then-record 26 consecutive weeks. Two other singles from the album, "Rock That Body" and "Meet Me Halfway", peaked within the top ten of the chart. "I Gotta Feeling" became the first single to sell over than one million downloads in the United Kingdom. At the 52nd Grammy Awards ceremony, the group won three awards from six nominations. The group's sixth album, The Beginning (2010), released the following year, and spawned the Billboard Hot 100-top five singles "The Time (Dirty Bit)" and "Just Can't Get Enough". In February 2011, they performed in the Super Bowl XLV halftime show.

In 2011, the Black Eyes Peas announced they would be going on indefinite hiatus to pursue other activities, briefly reuniting in 2015. Fergie was announced to have left the group in 2018, and J. Rey Soul joined the group as a touring member that same year. Soul also appeared as a featured artist on select tracks on the group's seventh album, Masters of the Sun Vol. 1 (2018), which failed to chart. They followed this with the albums Translation (2020) and Elevation (2022), which delved into reggaeton and Latin influences.

In 1988, while attending two different high schools, William James Adams Jr and Allan Pineda Lindo met at the all-ages dance venue Club What? in Los Angeles. They formed a hip-hop dance and music crew named Tribal Nation. Adams took the stage name Will 1X while Pineda Lindo adopted the name apl.de.ap. Their friends joined the group – Dante Santiago and Mooky Mook, followed shortly by DJ Motiv8. Actor David Faustino opened an all-ages club named Balistyx in 1991 inside the old Whisky a Go Go, and Tribal Nation played there. Rapper Eazy-E caught their show and signed the group to Ruthless Records, changing the group name to Atban Klann. Their first album project, Grass Roots, was shelved at the end of 1993, never to be released. They released a promo song "Let Me Get Down" in 1994, billed as being produced by the Black Eyed Peas: the production team of DJ Motiv8 and Will 1X. Mooky Mook left the group in 1995, and Eazy-E died of HIV/AIDS. The group's contract with Ruthless was stalled, so Santiago also left the group. Will 1X changed his stage name to will.i.am.

In 1995, will.i.am and apl.de.ap formed a new group named Black Eyed Pods with Jaime Gomez (Taboo), and Kim Hill, a singer who featured on a selected number of their tracks. They later changed "Pods" to "Peas". 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 appeared as a guest on the 1998 song "Fallin' Up". 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".

In 2002, Stacy Ferguson was chosen as the lead singer, after being introduced to the band by Santiago. Their new album, Elephunk, indicated a shift to a polished pop sound designed to attract mass audiences. In a positive review of the Black Eyed Peas' new-found style, Rolling Stone noted that after 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."

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. It was more successful abroad, 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. The album subsequently spawned "Shut Up", which peaked at No. 2 in the UK and topped the charts 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. The fourth single from the album was "Let's Get Retarded". It 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 their international Elephunk Tour, touring many countries in Europe, Africa, and Asia.

Their fourth album, Monkey Business, was recorded through 2004 and was released on May 25, 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 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. "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, reached number three on the U.S. Hot 100 and number one in Australia. However, many mocked the song for its lyrical content. John Bush, writing for AllMusic, described it as "one of the most embarrassing rap performances of the new millennium". 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 3× platinum by the RIAA. The final single from the album was "Pump It", which peaked at number 8 in Australia and number 18 in the U.S.

In September 2005, the Black Eyed Peas released an iTunes Originals playlist of their greatest hits, as well as some that were re-recorded specially available for purchase through iTunes. 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 onto Ireland, the UK, France and Germany. After heading to Europe and Asia, they toured the U.S. again. The tour concluded in South America. In addition to touring, the Black Eyed Peas also headlined the halftime show at the Grey Cup on November 27, 2005.

The Black Eyed Peas 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. 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.

In 2007, the Black Eyed Peas embarked on the Black Blue & You World Tour, visiting more than 20 countries. 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 tour concluded at Ipanema Beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The Black Eyed Peas performed at the UK leg of Live Earth on July 7, 2007, at Wembley Stadium, London. They headlined the main Ocean Stage at the Summer Sonic Festival in Tokyo, Japan on August 11, and in Osaka, Japan on August 12, 2007.