Fergie

Fergie's route to the spotlight wound through youthful television exposure, a rocky stretch alongside the aspiring pop act Wild Orchid, and then blockbuster multi-platinum success as a core member of the Black Eyed Peas, all of which paved the way for her buoyant and commercially dominant first record as a solo artist. Stacy Ferguson, who performs as Fergie, secured her initial significant opportunity as a child performer on Kids Incorporated, sharing that platform with Martika, Jennifer Love Hewitt, and Rahsaan Patterson. She appeared on the program from 1984 to 1989, after which the California native accepted occasional acting roles and became part of what would evolve into Wild Orchid. During her tenure the ensemble issued three albums, the debut of which sent “Supernatural,” “At Night I Pray,” and “Talk to Me” onto the Billboard Hot 100. Professional and personal difficulties prompted her departure from the group in 2001.

Two years afterward Ferguson rejoined the Black Eyed Peas as they recorded their 2003 mainstream breakthrough Elephunk. Now billed as Fergie, she appeared on every major single from the set, beginning with “Where Is the Love?” and extending through “Let's Get It Started.” The 2005 follow-up Monkey Business earned the group its second multi-platinum certification, propelled in no small measure by Fergie's vocals—shaped by the approaches of Mariah Carey and Missy Elliott—on tracks such as “Don't Phunk with My Heart” and “My Humps.” She leveraged that visibility into her own 2006 debut, The Dutchess, crafted largely with Black Eyed Peas colleague will.i.am. The album quickly achieved multi-platinum status, driven by five consecutive Hot 100 entries—“London Bridge,” “Fergalicious,” “Glamorous,” “Big Girls Don't Cry,” and “Clumsy”—each of which reached the summit or landed inside the top five.

Following a lengthy hiatus the Black Eyed Peas resurfaced with The E.N.D. in 2009 and The Beginning in 2010; both projects extended the group's Billboard and RIAA tallies, highlighted by the successes of “Boom Boom Pow,” “I Gotta Feeling,” “Imma Be,” and “The Time (Dirty Bit).” By the close of 2010 Fergie had also lent her voice to David Guetta and Chris Willis' “Gettin' Over You” and Kanye West's “All of the Lights.” With the Black Eyed Peas on pause she returned to solo endeavors, first contributing “A Little Party Never Killed Nobody (All We Got)” to the soundtrack for The Great Gatsby and then issuing several singles, most notably the platinum-certified DJ Mustard production “L.A. Love (La La).” These efforts preceded the arrival of her second solo album, Double Dutchess, which appeared in 2017.