Will.i.Am has confirmed that Fergie has left the Black Eyed Peas.
The singer joined the group as a lead vocalist back in 2002, but hasn’t recorded new music with the Black Eyed Peas in over five years, and last performed with the band at Coachella in 2015.
Entertainment news magazine Ahlan! reported that B.E.PÂ members Will.i.am, Taboo and apl.de.ap revealed the news ahead of their concert at the opening ceremony of the 2017 UEFA Champions League Final at the National Stadium of Wales in Cardiff.
According to the magazine, Will.i.am explained the “situation” by saying, “Since the beginning of Black Eyed Peas, we’ve always had amazing vocalists that appeared on the mic with us. People like Macy Gray, Esthero, Debi Nova, Fergie.”
Solo: Fergie has distanced herself from the Black Eyed Peas | WENN.com
“On Elephunk, there were several females that appeared on that album. Obviously Fergie was the featured female, but on songs like ‘Let’s Get it Started,’ it’s Noelle [Scaggs], and then Fergie, songs like ‘Latin Girls,’ it’s Debi Nova, and ‘Request Line,’ it’s Macy Gray. We’ll always work with good females.”
Meanwhile, a source told E! News that “Fergie has been phasing herself out” of the group, and is “just interested in working on her solo music.”
“Fergie reuniting with the Peas is pretty unlikely,” the source said.
In the interview with Ahlan!, Will.i.Am also responded to rumours that Nicole Scherzinger is set to replace Fergie.
“Nicole is on the new BEP project as well. I don’t want to go into details how she’s involved yet,” he explained.
Replacement: Nicole Scherzinger is working with BEP on a new project | INSTAGRAM
“As for replacing, what people know The Black Eyed Peas to be, nobody is replacing Fergie,” he said. “She’s working on her solo project at the moment, we’re on this brand-new experience, celebrating 20 years of Black Eyed Peas putting out music.
“We worked on a bunch of songs on her solo record, we’re proud that she has her label, but Black Eyed Peas are pushing it forward in terms of content, technology and experiences on our new project, Masters of the Sun.”
Will.i.Am is referring to Black Eyed Peas Present: Masters of the Sun—The Zombie Chronicles, a zombie alien invasion hip-hop graphic novel he co-created that will be released by Marvel in July.
