Black Eyed Peas

New lyrics gave the tune a basketball theme, and the spot featured Carlos Santana. The revised song had great success as a single, especially popular on the iTunes music download service. To add to the credibility of the band, their first single "So Cold" has spent 37 weeks in the top 20 of the Billboard charts (as of February 3, 2005). The BEP's song "Let's Get Retarded" was restyled as "Let's Get it Started" for an NBA finals worldwide commerical. Since Jeremy Hummell left the band in 2004, Breaking Benjamin has hired Chad Szeliga as the band's new drummer. The Tagalog lyrics and backing melody were based on the the song Balita, an original composition of the 1970s Filipino folk rock group Asin. They also created an original cut for the immensely popular video game Halo 2. The Apl Song, with the chorus written in Tagalog, from their album Elephunk, tells the story of Apl.de.ap. On June 24, 2004, the band released We Are Not Alone, which featured the first single "So Cold".

During Black Eyed Peas' concert tour in Asia in 2004, Apl.de.ap's life story was featured in a weekly Filipino TV drama special called Maalaala Mo Kaya (Will You Remember), which explained his childhood with his poor family in Pampanga, Philippines, before sadly parting with them to live a better life in the US at the age of 14. Sticking to the genre's symbolistic downtuned guitars, which creates a haunting and overwhelming heaviness in their songs, they manage to keep their melodies prominent. The current line-up of the Black Eyed Peas as of 2004 (not including supporting band members) is: will.i.am, apl.de.ap, Taboo, and newcomer Fergie­. Breaking Benjamin's roots are clearly alternative rock/metal band, but they are definitely heavier than their peers. The third single from the album, "Hey Mama" hit the Top 10 in the UK, Germany and several other European countries, and reached the Top 30 of the US Hot 100. Controversially, a reference to "dropping bombs like we in the Middle East" was edited out of some versions of "Hey Mama". Ben Burnley says that he self-taught himself the guitar by listening to Nirvana's Nevermind. Indeed the band have enjoyed greater mainstream success in Europe than in the US with "Elephunk" going Top 10, gold and (sometimes multi-)platinum in the UK, Germany and many other European markets, yet ultimately failing to break the US Top 10, although it did go platinum there. The first single "Polyamorous" received much radio airplay, and propelled the band to stardom.

The album subsequently spawned "Shut Up", which failed in the US but peaked at UK #2 (despite being referred to by one reviewer as "The single most vacuous, pointless, vile and generally loathsome song in a generation") and topped the charts in many other European countries including France and Germany. The record had clear influences and touches of Tool, Korn, and Nirvana. From "Elephunk" came the anti-war anthem "Where Is The Love?", which became their first major hit, peaking at #8 on the US Hot 100, but topping the charts practically everywhere else, including six weeks at #1 in the UK where it became the biggest-selling single of 2003. Formed in late 2000, Breaking Benjamin signed up with Hollywood Records and released their first major-label record Saturate in 2002. She is the replacement of background singer Kim Hill who departed the band during 2000. Breaking Benjamin is a rock band from Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. Their breakthrough album Elephunk was released in 2003, featuring a new female vocalist, called Fergie, born as Stacy Ferguson who used to be in a teen pop band named Wild Orchid. We Are Not Alone (2004, Hollywood Records).

Their other album is 2000's Bridging the Gap (2000 in music). Saturate (2002, Hollywood Records). After Eazy-E died of AIDS in 1995 (see 1995 in music), Atban Klann reformed as the Black Eyed Peas and released a debut, Behind the Front (1998, 1998 in music) that earned the group (and their accompanying live band) critical acclaim. Jeremy Hummell (drums). The group is composed of Will.i.am, Apl.de.ap, Taboo, and Fergie. Chad Szeliga (drums). As Atban Klann, they signed to Ruthless Records (run by Eazy-E), but their album was never released because the positive and peaceful lyrics were too unusual for Ruthless. Mark James Klepaski (bass guitar).

The Black Eyed Peas are an American hip hop crew from Los Angeles, who have lately enjoyed massive international pop success. Aaron Fink (guitar). 2004 "Let's Get It Started" #21 US, #11 UK. Ben Burnley (vocals and guitar). 2004 "Hey Mama" #23 US, #6 UK. 2003 "Shut Up" #2 UK.

Justin Timberlake) #8 US, #1 UK. 2003 "Where is the Love" (feat. Macy Gray) #31 UK. 2001 "Request + Line" (feat.

2005 "Monkey Business"; due for release on April 4th. 2003 "Elephunk"; #14 US, #3 UK. 2000 "Bridging the Gap"; #67 US. 1998 "Behind the Front"; #129 US.