The Real Reason Fergie Is No Longer In The Black Eyed Peas

The Black Eyed Peas first formed in the mid-'90s, but after Stacy "Fergie" Ferguson joined in 2002, their fame skyrocketed. The group — which consisted of Fergie, William "Will.i.am" Adams, Jaime Luis "Taboo" Gomez, and Allan "apl.de.ap" Pineda — released "Where Is the Love?" in 2003, which blew up and put them at the top of the charts. In 2009, their songs — including "Boom Boom Pow" and "I Gotta Feeling" off their fifth album, The E.N.D. — were played everywhere and stayed on the Hot 100 chart for "a combined 26 weeks," Billboard reported.

The musical group is celebrating and promoting the release of their newest album, Translation, which dropped on June 19, 2020, but what's the secret to the Black Eyed Peas' long-lasting success? "Just staying in the studio, being inspired by what is going on, being open-minded to reinvent and collaborate," Will.i.am told Access Hollywood in May 2020.

However, the group might look different these days as Fergie has been MIA since 2017, Distractify reported. Why is that? Keep reading, because we get to the bottom of it.

Don't worry, there doesn't seem to be any bad blood between the other Black Eyed Peas members — William "Will.i.am" Adams, Jaime Luis "Taboo" Gomez, and Allan "apl.de.ap" Pineda — and Stacy "Fergie" Ferguson. The group released new music in June 2020, but Fergie is noticeably absent from the album. "She's focusing on being a mom," Will.i.am told Billboard in June 2020, adding that they "love her."

"That's a hard job, and that's what she really wants to do, and we're here for her," Will.i.am gushed. "She knows how to contact us for a retreat or a breakaway."

Apl.de.ap also made it clear how much they all care for Fergie, who shares son Axl with her ex-husband, Josh Duhamel. "Fergie is our sister," he explained. "She's always going to be our sister. But unfortunately our schedule is displaced by [her] wanting to be a great mom, and she wants to focus on that. And like Will said, we support her 100%."

It's no surprise Fergie wants to spend time with Axl, since she frequently posts about their adventures on Instagram. In fact, Fergie admitted she felt mommy guilt while working. "If you're a mom and you have a career, it's the mommy shaming: 'You can't do that anymore, you're a mom!'" she said on the U.K. show Lorraine in 2017 (via OK! magazine). "What am I supposed to do? I love singing and dancing. It's who I am as a human."

Of course, when people think of the Black Eyed Peas, Stacy "Fergie" Ferguson immediately comes to mind. "The question always is 'How's Fergie doing?' and I get that," Jaime Luis "Taboo" Gomez told Billboard in June 2020. But fans are eager to know — does the musical group still chat with Fergie anymore? "We try to keep in touch," William "Will.i.am" Adams divulged. "We reach out every once in a while and say our hellos and happy birthdays and Merry Christmas and Happy Easter. She knows where we're at! We're at the studio."

When they were interviewed, Taboo, Will.i.am, and Apl.de.ap were gearing up to release their new album (which dropped on June 19, 2020), but the trio confessed Fergie "hasn't heard" any of the new tunes just yet. "She's going to hear it when everybody else hears it," Will.i.am explained. "I hope she likes it."

To this day, the Black Eyed Peas still keep Fergie at the forefront of their minds. "It's really the way Fergie designed it," Will.i.am said about the group. "So, we're respecting her design. We love Fergie, and we don't want anything but awesomeness for her."

After Stacy "Fergie" Ferguson left the Black Eyed Peas, the group brought in another artist: J.Rey Soul (real name Jessica Reynoso), who sings on the track "Mamacita" alongside Ozuna. "I feel like we're giving birth to a new artist, J. Rey Soul," Jaime Luis "Taboo" Gomez told Billboard in June 2020. "I really want to give her the ultimate praise and respect. What the fellows said — Ferg, she's doing the mom thing — but we have an amazing artist we're developing. She's part of this new album, she's part of 'Mamacita.'"

Will.i.am couldn't help but give J.Rey Soul credit for singing alongside the Black Eyed Peas when people usually associate Fergie as the only girl and main singer. "Imagine you're 23 years old... and you step out onstage and give it your all, and you sing your ass off," he explained. "Ozuna could have said, 'I don't know that girl. Put someone famous on.' But they judged her by what she could do, not what she has done."

Even without Fergie, the Black Eyed Peas are still thriving and Taboo is excited for what's to come. "We've come a long way since that time period [with Fergie]," he said. "We've done everything possible to keep motivated, keep ourselves never looking back but always looking forward and staying positive and optimistic."

While we definitely miss Fergalicious, we've got a feeling the Black Eyed Peas are just getting started — again.