Black Eyed Peas pour it hot in Ottawa

OTTAWA — It didn’t take long for the party to get started at the Black Eyed Peas concert Sunday night at Scotiabank Place.

In fact, it was instantaneous, as each member of the California super group rose up through the stage floor to the pulsating beat of Let’s Get It Started, a sure-fire party favourite. Bathed in a green laser-like halo, they certainly kicked off the concert in grand style to the delight of the crowd of 15,200 who danced in the aisles, fists pumping through the air.

“Wassup, Ottawa?” came the cry from the stage, and the audience responded, giving back lots of love and admiration to the group which is surely one of the most entertaining concert attractions today. Pure energy, high-voltage music with catchy hooks and a sense of dramatic posturing makes the group fun to watch and listen to.

The quartet is in the midst of a world tour titled The E.N.D. (Energy Never Dies) that began last year and they show no sign of fatigue. And whether they are performing solos or together on stage as a unit they excel as performers and singers.

Stacy Ann Ferguson — better known as Fergie — is the centrepiece of the group, and she showed her vocal talent on Meet Me Halfway, her soaring voice piercing the rafters of Scotiabank Place, or getting funky on Don’t Phunk With My Heart. She even strutted down the catwalk that jutted out into the audience, showing that she can strut with attitude with the best of models.

Black Eyed Peas perform Halifax Rocks

On stage from the moment they stepped with their massive party anthem Let’s Get It Started, until they left with I Gotta Feeling, the Black Eyed Peas had about 25,000 fans on the Halifax Common in an absolute frenzy. The Grammy Award six time winning artists and No. 1 hit makers came as advertised on Saturday night as headliners for Halifax Rocks 2010. The group featuring will.i.am, Fergie, apl.de.ap and Taboo delivered their bass pumping hits that shook the foundation of the city greenspace. The stage show featured back up dancers dressed in robotic like costumes, a laser light show and large screens offering various cool visuals.“We don’t know when we’ll be back here, so let’s party,” will.i.am told the crowd. The jacked up audience happily obliged, boppin’ to the beat of every hit song. Prior to taking the stage, the Black Eyed Peas looked on as Weezer performed a lively 50 minute set. The peas on stage Several members of Weezer joined when it was time for them to close the show. During I Gotta Feeling, Fergie gave the mic to Weezer frontman Rivers Cuomo who belted out lines from the chorus.

E.N.D. Tour Has Staying Power To Black Eyed Peas

Sitting in an Athens hotel room on a humid summer day in early July, Will.i.am recalls the days when he and his fellow members of the Black Eyed Peas made a collective $150 per show and were ecstatic about it.
"We would jump up and down because we got paid, even though it meant we had to split it with each other and the band, meaning about $20 a piece," he says. "Then we got paid $2,000 for a show. And then I remember the first time we got paid a million bucks for an hour. I was like, 'Wow!' That was only four years ago."
Today, Will.i.am, Fergie, Apl.de.ap and Taboo have much more to be excited about. In a tough touring climate, the Peas continue doing sellout business. While other marquee acts are canceling shows and suffering from poor ticket sales this summer, the Black Eyed Peas are in the midst of their most ambitious concert outing yet, the E.N.D. world tour, promoting the album of the same name.
Through the end of June, the E.N.D. tour has grossed $47.7 million and drawn 740,000 fans to 54 shows, including 53 sellouts, according to Billboard Boxscore. North American summer shows will further boost those numbers, assuring that the E.N.D. run will rank as one of the most successful tours of this year.
CONTAGIOUS 'FEELING'The "E.N.D." album, released in June 2009 on Interscope Records, has sold 2.6 million copies domestically, according to Nielsen SoundScan, and 4 million outside the United States, according to Tom Land, international marketing director at Universal Music Group International. It has yielded a run of Billboard Hot 100 hits including "Boom Boom Pow" and "I Gotta Feeling," which commanded the top of the Hot 100 for half of the 2009 chart year.
Although the Peas have a wealth of hit singles internationally, "I Gotta Feeling" emerged as their signature tune for this campaign, according to Land. The track broke a U.K. record last month by becoming the first download to sell 1 million copies, according to the Official Charts Co. It peaked at No. 1 in Austria, Denmark, Ireland, Italy, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand. It also went top five in Germany, the Netherlands and Japan.

Leaving Black Eyed Peas Rumors and Fergie Laughs Off Pregnancy

When it comes to rumors about baby bumps and career changes, Fergie still has her sense of humor.
“Obviously I’ve left (The Black Eyed Peas.) I’m gone.” Fergie joked with Access Hollywood’s Shaun Robinson at the 2010 BET Awards on Sunday..
The singer also addressed reports that she and husband Josh Duhamel are expecting.
“I’m already pregnant,” she continued. “The baby is on its way tonight.”
Fergie’s band mate, will.i.am, urged their fans not to believe everything they read on Twitter.
“We can’t believe all the (Tweets.),” he told Shaun. “You don’t know if it was a twit that wrote that!”
Fergie, 35, said Josh was even fooled by the false reports.
“I was actually organizing a room with my mom, trying on old clothes, trying to purge and cleanse and Josh came in. He’s like, ‘I just got these Google alerts. It says you’re leaving the Peas and we’re having a baby,’” Fergie recalled.
Despite the online rumors of the pair’s split, Peas member Taboo, said, “Next week, we leave to Europe to do our festivals.”

Black Eyed Peas' Fergie admits to fancying Cheryl Cole

Bisexual Black Eyed Peas' singer Fergie says she fancies Cheryl Cole. Speaking about the Girls Aloud singer, she said: "I'd take her on a date and she knows it", before adding that whoever does end up with Cole "will be lucky". This comes despite continued rumours that Cole is involved romantically with Fergie's Black Eyed Peas' bandmate will.i.am (The Sun).
From the papers:
Noel Gallagher dined out at posh London eaterie Zuma with his missus Sara MacDonald and Russell Brand (various).
Kele Okereke says he's switched partying for keeping fit while on tour (The Sun).
Alan McGee says he thinks Oasis will reform within five years because the money they stand to get is too great to ignore (Daily Record).
Harry Potter actor Rupert Grint sang Beastie Boys' '(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (To Party)' at the launch party for the new film in Florida (The Sun).

Song I Gotta Feeling set to be first million-selling download Black Eyed Peas

The Black Eyed Peas hit single I Gotta Feeling is on course to become the first ever million-selling download in Britain.

The record is expected to pass the milestone by the end of the coming week.
The pop band have sold more downloads - some 3.3 million - than any other group in British chart history, according to the Official Charts Company.
Fergie, one of the band's singers, said: ''It's exhilarating to know we are so connected to our Peabodies.
''Hopefully the good vibes from that song will continue to brighten people's lives.''
The feat is another triumph for the group, which has notched up eleven Top 10 singles - including four number ones - and three Top 5 albums in Britain.
They have sold some 35 million albums and 41 million singles worldwide.
Official Charts Company figures show less than 1% of all Top 40 singles in chart history go on to break the million selling mark.

Children and work don’t mix, Black-eyed peas singer Fergie says

The lead singer Black Eyed Peas has admitted that when she decides to start a family, she’ll be bowing out of the musical arena. Speaking to OK! Magazine, Fergie said she would feel “too guilty” to continue her career as a mum.
“In my schedule there's no room to have a child. Even if I wanted to get pregnant, there’s no way I could perform on stage and be pregnant, I would feel too guilty,” the 35 year old said.
Fergie, who married Josh Duhamel last year, has hinted that she wants to try for a baby later this year when her tour finishes.
The star explained, “It’s kind of interesting now with the media, the way it’s getting to look all these women have careers…but also have babies. Once I have children, the kids come first”.