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Who replaced Fergie in Black Eyed Peas? Shocked fans call new singer ‘horrible’

Black Eyed Peas, who started out in 1995, had singer-songwriter Fergie as main female vocalist until she exited in 2017 over creative differences

The iconic group Black Eyed Peas landed on stage to celebrate the Fourth of July as a part of ‘CNN’s Fourth in America Special’ event. The group consisting of rappers will.i.am, apl.de.ap and Taboo belted out their hit singles such as ‘Where is the Love?’ and ‘I Gotta Feeling’ among others. The trio, however, soon became a hot topic of discussion on the internet after social media users saw a new singer performing with the trio and realized that Fergie was missing from the scene.

Black Eyed Peas, who started out in 1995, had singer-songwriter Fergie as their main female vocalist from 2003 until she exited in 2017 over creative differences. Many social media users were left stunned as they could not spot Fergie on the stage and they soon rushed to Twitter to speak about the same. Speaking of the event, apart from Black Eyed Peas, the event called ‘CNN’s Fourth in America Special’ also saw artists such as The Beach Boys and John Stamos, Kool and the Gang, Nelly, Flo Rida, Foreigner, REO Speedwagon, Blues Traveler, Trisha Yearwood, Bebe Rexha and Billy Ray Cyrus, among others.
 
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Who replaced Fergie in Black Eyed Peas?

The singer who replaced Fergie is J Rey Soul, who officially joined the group in 2020. Rey Soul, whose real name is Jessica Reynoso, first got noticed by the band after she secured a spot as a finalist on ‘The Voice Philippines’ in 2013 with the Team apl.de.ap!

Rey Soul first joined the Black Eyed Peas in 2018 as a guest star on their seventh album ‘Masters Of The Sun Vol. 1’ and later traveled with the group during their world tour in the same year. Reynoso later got featured alongside Puerto Rico singer Ozuma in the Peas hit single ‘Mamacita’. She also contributed as a singer and a songwriter in the group’s 2020 album ‘Translation’ with appearances from global musicians such as Shakira, Tyga, Ozuma, Maluma and Becky G.

Why did Fergie leave Black Eyed Peas?

The drama apparently started in 2017 when she bid adieu to Interscope Records to form her own label, Dutchess Music, as part of a global partnership with BMG Rights Management. It was reported that she was not active in the group since 2015. It was also believed that Fergie wanted complete control over her second album's creative process, adding that motherhood was one of the major reasons her sophomore album took so long to complete.

Speaking about Fergie's departure from the group, will.i.am earlier told Billboard that they still keep in touch with her, saying, "We love her, and she's focusing on being a mom. That's a hard job, and that's what she really wants to do and we're here for her. It's really the way Fergie designed it, so we're respecting her design. We love Fergie, and we don't want anything but awesomeness for her." Apl.de.ap chimed in and stated, “Fergie is our sister, she’s always going to be our sister. But unfortunately, our schedule is displaced by (Fergie) wanting to be a great mom, and she wants to focus on that. And like Will said, we support her 100%." Taboo also added, "I feel we're giving birth to a new artist, J Rey Soul. I really want to give her ultimate praise and respect. What the fellows said, Ferg, she's doing the mom thing, but we have an amazing artist we're developing."

‘Whoever the new singer with the Black Eyed Peas is horrible’

A lot of social media users were left shocked over not seeing Fergie on stage as they rushed to Twitter to express the same. One user stated, “Does anyone know how to sing anymore? Black Eyed Peas need Fergie back. This is just so embarrassing.” Another posted, “Who is this woman singing with the Black-Eyed Peas? Is she the low-key Fergie replacement?” 
 
One user tweeted, “Who is the Fergie replacement in the Black Eyed Peas? Better question, why do I care?” while another said, “Maybe I’m super disconnected but when did black eyed peas get a new female member? I knew fergie left but didn’t know they replaced her.” The next one claimed, “Whoever the new singer with the black eyed peas is horrible!! She’s definitely no Fergie!” One individual trolled the group and said, “Black-Eyed Peas without Fergie is like mashed potatoes without gravy.” One user concluded, “The Black Eyed Peas do not sound the same and that girl isn’t even close to Fergie, nope. she’s running around onstage like she’s lost.”