Fergie Is Back On The Charts With A Huge New Hit Single…Sort Of
Jack Harlow's No. 1 hit 'First Class' relies heavily on a sample of Fergie's single 'Glamorous.'
It’s been quite some time since the world has heard from Stacy Ferguson, more commonly known as Fergie. The Black Eyed Peas and solo superstar has been relatively quiet for several years since her last album underperformed, but now she’s back on the charts in a major way, even if it’s not immediately clear that she’s there.
Jack Harlow currently rules over the Hot 100, Billboard‘s weekly ranking of the most-consumed songs in the U.S. This is the list that people are referring to when they say they have a No. 1 smash or a top 10 hit, and this time around Harlow owns the roster with his new single “First Class.”
That tune debuted atop the chart a short time ago, giving the hip-hop and pop musician his second leader, following his 2021 collaboration with Lil Nas X, “Industry Baby.”
“First Class” relies heavily on a sample of Fergie’s single “Glamorous,” with Harlow and his producers grabbing just her singing the line “First class, up in the sky,” which repeats over and over in the chorus.
It’s a clever use of a familiar bit of a track that has already performed brilliantly, and some especially young fans might be discovering the original production for the first time. While “Glamorous” certainly isn’t exactly a forgotten classic, it was initially released in 2007, so it is now 15 years old, making it prime for a reworking.
Since “First Class” uses a line from “Glamorous,” all the credited songwriters on that tune earn credit for this new smash. So, in addition to Harlow and his own group of collaborators, Fergie, fellow Black Eyed Peas musician Will.I.Am and even rapper Ludacris are all back at No. 1, at least as behind-the-scenes songwriters.
Fergie has now charted seven No. 1 hits, an incredible sum for any songwriter.
She first rose to the summit when she tried her hand at going solo in 2006, and she quickly found herself on an amazing winning streak. Fergie’s first album without her Black Eyed Peas bandmates, the blockbuster The Dutchess, produced a trio of chart-toppers, all of which were co-written by the singer herself.
She sang and wrote the tunes “London Bridges,” “Glamorous” with Ludcaris and “Big Girls Don’t Cry (Personal).” When the Black Eyed Peas reformed and launched their album The E.N.D., it too spun off a trio of No. 1s—“Boom Boom Pow,” “I Gotta Feeling” and “Imma Be.”
After facing many delays, Fergie finally dropped her sophomore solo album Double Dutchess in 2017, 11 years after her first foray. The set failed to even reach the top 10 on the Billboard 200 chart, and only two singles — “L.A. Love (La La)” and “M.I.L.F.$” — became top 40 hits, though neither lasted long. The full-length was quickly forgotten, and Fergie has not released any new music for more than half a decade.
Now that she is back in the action, at least in one regard, Fergie might be inspired enough to get back into the studio to begin writing and recording, but fans shouldn’t hold their breath for new music.
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