Fergie

I fell in love with Stacy Ferguson when we were ten years old, when she was the cute little blonde on Kids Incorporated. Later she joined Wild Orchid and then eventually turned into a black girl and joined The Black-Eyed Peas. Eventually she went solo. I'm not so much in love with her anymore, but I appreciate her.

see The Black Eyed Peas

Information: Black Eyed Peas.com
Suggested First Purchase: The Dutchess

The Dutchess (2006) -- This album starts out great enough with "Fergalicious," which is a pretty good tribute to JJ Fad's "Supersonic" as well as some mix-ups to keep it interesting. This is followed by "Clumsy," utilizing samples from "The Girl Can't Help It," which presents Fergie's new persona (as Fergie Ferg) pretty well. Things get a little dull for the third song, but then it's made up for with "London Bridge," the single that was almost as ever-present as her "My Humps" from The Black-Eyed Peas. Since "London Bridge" seemed to be a tribute to the more recent Gwen Stefani song "Hollaback Girl," you kind of felt at this point in the album that The Dutchess [sic] might be the next Love. Angel. Music. Baby. But then things kinda go wrong from here. Most stuff is what I'd call slow-jams (even if they're not slow, they feel like it) or other forgettable songs. "Here I Come" stands out, but only because it's not just a tribute but more or less a remake of that song. And "Big Girls Don't Cry" is the only other song of note: sort of Wild Orchid-y (in a decent way), with lyrics that are ridiculous enough to make it likeable ("I'm gonna miss you like a child misses that blanket"), which is Fergie's charm when she does things properly. In the end, I'm not crazy about most of it but like a handful of songs very well, and I certainly think that people pick on Stacy Ferguson too much for no good reason. The album seems as good as most R&B to me. And the poor girl's been through the ringer (who else felt they needed Botox at age 30?) and I wish her success and happiness.