Now I'm Wishing That I Didn't Wear These Shoes

You may have seen the Black Eyed Peas around somewhere over the past year, I imagine...at least if you weren't comatose or hiding out with bin Laden in his apparently un-findable cave, seeing as they were EVERY. WHERE. But hopefully no one is too burnt out with the edgy rap-pop group to reminisce about the summer a few years back when the fabulous female and lead singer Pea, Fergie, stomped onto the charts with her solo debut, starting with this classic bit of lyrical genius. OH SHIT!

London Bridge (Album Version (...

"London Bridge"

Fergie

The Dutchess

A&M Records, 2006

Trivia: Although The Dutchess is generally considered to have been only a moderate success at best, three of its singles hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100, including "London Bridge." Though I personally hold Fergie in rather high esteem, I can't help but be amused at some of the more egregious goofs contained in this album and its offspring. To begin with, the album title is misspelled and no reasonable evidence it was intentional; indeed, on the track "Fergalicious," guest backup singer and fellow Pea Will.I.Am spells out how delicious and tasty Fergie is, except that he misspells the latter T-A-S-T-E-Y. The chorus to "Big Girls Don't Cry" has a grammatical error so glaring that I subconsciously correct it any time I sing along; and then there's the fantastic fact that the supposedly titular bridge that appears throughout the video for "London Bridge" is in fact the Tower Bridge, a common mistake among those who've never been to London, which Fergie clearly had. But what can you do?

Since you've likely memorized The Dutchess by now, why not check out that album the Black Eyed Peas have been hawking all year that you haven't bothered to listen to because you're so sick of "I Gotta Feeling?" (Trust me, I know how you feel.) Because surprise surprise, it's really good.