Fergie

Ferguson was a member of the female trio Wild Orchid, which she fronted with Stefanie Ridel and fellow Kids Incorporated star Renee Sandstrom. Wild Orchid released two albums, but after completing a third album, their record label declined to release it, and she left the group shortly thereafter. Her disappointment with Wild Orchid led to an addiction to crystal methamphetamine. In September 2006, Ferguson talked with Time about quitting her crystal meth addiction. “It was the hardest boyfriend I ever had to break up with,” she says. “It’s the drug that’s addicting. But it’s why you start doing it in the first place that’s interesting. A lot of it was being a child actor; I learned to suppress feelings.”[4]

In 2003, Ferguson took over the lead female vocal duties for The Black Eyed Peas, replacing background singer Kim Hill, who had left the group in 2000. Ferguson recorded five songs with the group before she was invited to join them permanently. Ferguson’s addition to the band, which had enjoyed underground success until then, helped them quickly grow into mainstream popularity.

After two hit Black Eyed Peas albums, Ferguson began pursuing a solo career. Her first album, released on September 19, 2006, was entitled The Dutchess. The album’s name is a misspelled variant of the former title of Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York, with whom Ferguson shares a surname and popular nickname. The solo deal does not mean the demise of The Black Eyed Peas, as Ferguson intends to remain with the group, alternating between the two duties. The Dutchess is similar in style to that of the Black Eyed Peas, as fellow Peas member will.i.am is the album’s executive producer. Ferguson has had four hit songs from The Dutchess, with “London Bridge” and “Glamorous” becoming number one singles. Her second single, “Fergalicious”, peaked at #2. “London Bridge” reached #2 on the United World Chart, while “Fergalicious” and “Glamorous” both made it to #4. “Big Girls Don’t Cry” has been confirmed as her fourth single.

In 2005, Ferguson urinated on stage during a performance at San Diego’s Street Scene festival. Ferguson later commented on the incident: “I had a few drinks before the show, but I didn’t think to go to the bathroom before we went onstage. We were jumping around…and my bladder just started.”5

Acting career
As a child actress, Ferguson appeared on the television program Kids Incorporated for several years with Renee Sandstrom, who became a fellow member of Wild Orchid. Ferguson’s well-scrubbed image on that show presents quite a contrast with the “ghetto-funk” image she has more recently begun to cultivate. Ferguson was the voice of Sally Brown in two Charlie Brown specials: It’s Flashbeagle, Charlie Brown (1984), and Snoopy’s Getting Married, Charlie Brown (1985). She also voiced Sally in the 1985 version of The Charlie Brown and Snoopy Show.

In July 2005, Ferguson had a guest role on the Rocket Power special, Reggie’s Big Beach Break, on Nickelodeon; she voiced a fictitious pop music star named Shaffika. Ferguson returned to acting in 2006, appearing in a minor role in the film Poseidon. She later appeared in 2007’s Grindhouse.