The Black Eyed Peas knock themselves from #1 with “I Gotta Feeling”

I Gotta Feeling Black Eyed Peas

Writer(s): William Adams, Stacy Ferguson, Jamie Gomez, Pierre Guetta, Allan Lindo, Frédéric Riesterer (see lyrics here) Released: June 16, 2009 First Charted: May 31, 2009 Peak: 114 US, 16 RR, 16 BA, 110 DG, 16 AC, 4 A40, 12 UK, 116 CN, 17 AU, 1 DF (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): 10.0 US, 1.64 UK, 31.0 world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): 0.7 radio, 670.04 video, 1112.58 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: From April to July of 2009, the Black Eyed Peas spent an amazing twelve weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100 chart with “Boom Boom Pow.” The song finally slipped to #2 the week of July 11, 2009 – succumbing to the Black Eyed Peas’ “I Gotta Feeling.” The Peas became the ninth act in the history of the chart to accomplish the feat. JW They also became only the fourth group in history to hold down the top two spots in one week. Even more impressive is that “Feeling” outdid its predecessor. It spent a whopping 14 weeks in the pole position, making it one of the biggest #1 pop songs in U.S. chart history. On the Hot 100, only Mariah Carey’s “One Sweet Day” with Boyz II Men had spent more weeks at the peak (16). Prior to the Hot 100, Francis Craig’s “Near You” lodged 17 weeks on top and during the 1990s when some big hits never saw official release as singles, the Goo Goo Dolls’ “Iris” and No Doubt’s “Don’t Speak” racked up 18 and 16 weeks respectively. The combined 26-week run of the two Black Eyed Peas songs also made them the only act in history with as many consecutive weeks at #1. Only Usher spent more weeks on top within one calendar year – 28 weeks in 2004 – but it took four songs over non-consecutive weeks to do it. “I Gotta Feeling” ended up topping the charts in 21 countries. WK It became the first song in the United States to sell more than 7 million digital copies. As of June 2019, it was the most downloaded iTunes song of all time with 9 million. WK It was the most successful song of the 21st century until 2014 when it was passed by Pharrell Williams’ “Happy.” WK The song was written by all four members of the Black Eyed Peas. Member will.i.am said the dance-pop song was “dedicated to all the party people out there in the world.” WK Pop Matters’ Mike Schiller wrote that it “is one of those dance tunes that’s impossible to hate.” WK David T. Farr of The Observer-Dispatch said “it’s one of those songs you grasp onto right away and crank up as the beat goes on.” WK Resources: DMDB encyclopedia entry for Black Eyed Peas SF Songfacts JW Joel Whitburn (2010). Billboard Hot 100 Charts. Record Research, Inc.: Menomonee Falls, WI. WK Wikipedia Related Links: First posted 4/1/2021; last updated 6/24/2023.

The Black Eyed Peas hit #1 with “Boom Boom Pow”

Boom Boom Pow Black Eyed Peas

Writer(s): William Adams, Allan Pineda, Jaime Gomez, Stacy Ferguson (see lyrics here) Released: November 12, 2008 First Charted: March 8, 2009 Peak: 112 US, 15 BA, 110 DG, 16 RR, 21 A40, 51 RB, 12 UK, 19 CN, 16 AU, 21 DF (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): 6.9 US, 0.73 UK, 27.0 (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): 0.5 radio, 367.9 video, -- streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: With their lead single from their fifth studio album, The E.N.D., the Black Eyed Peas achieved a feat they hadn’t accomplished before – they topped the Billboard Hot 100 in the U.S. The song spent an amazing 12 weeks atop the charts – but it was only the beginning. The Peas didn’t have to wait long for their next #1 – the album’s follow-up single, “I Gotta Feeling,” followed “Pow” into the pole position, giving the Peas the rare distinction of knocking themselves from the top. “Feeling” proved even more successful, holding on to #1 for 14 weeks – giving the Peas a full six-month lock on #1! All four members – Will.i.am, Fergie, Taboo, and apl.de.ap – have solo raps in the futuristic-sounding, auto-tuned song. Boston Globe described the song and others from the album as “substance-free, grammatically suspect dance floor jams” which were nonetheless “booty-shaking pleasures.” WK Digital Spy’s Nick Levine called it “a fairly ridiculous robopop stomper” but also said, “Frankly who cares? Right now this just sounds cracking.” WK Rolling Stone said it was “an assault on the senses, and on good taste. And it’s the best thing The Black Eyed Peas have ever recorded.” WK Will.i.am acknowledge the song’s unusual and repetitive nature when he told Rolling Stone, “It has one note. It says ‘Boom’ 168 times. The structure has three beats in one song. It’s not lyrics – it’s audio patterns, structure, architecture.” SF He told Billboard the song “was made for underground clubs. Like, if I would’ve thought that was gonna be a radio song, I would’ve made it different…‘Boom Boom Pow’ is proof that if something’s dope, regardless of if it has that sprinkled radio vibe, that it should be played on the radio and the people are gonna like it.” WK People definitely liked it. They watched the video on YouTube more than 100 million times WK and scooped up 6 million copies of the song in the U.S. and another 2.5 million internationally. It was the best-selling song on iTunes in 2009. It was a big seller right out of the gate, hitting 465,000 downloads in its first week, making it the highest sum which had been achieved at that point by a group in one week. SF Resources: DMDB encyclopedia entry for Black Eyed Peas SF Songfacts WK Wikipedia Related Links: Last updated 4/25/2023.