Exposing children to various musical genres is essential in developing their pitch and rhythm skills as well as understanding different cultures through half tones, time signatures, and timbres.
Pop music is known for being catchy and having memorable melodies, drawing audiences of all ages and backgrounds together in celebration.
Different Colors by the Black Eyed Peas
Black Eyed Peas dominated 2009 and early 2010 with chart-topping party anthems like “I Gotta Feeling”, “Boom Boom Pow”, and “Imma Be.” After 2010, they went into hiatus, only returning in 2018 with Masters of the Sun Vol. 1, an album featuring throwback hip-hop sounds as opposed to dance-pop style songs; performing at both Super Bowl XLV halftime show as well as headlining Grey Cup games.
Recognizing their party music could sound out-of-touch in such times, the Peas inserted a political message into their single “Feel the Beat”, featuring guest star Maluma. The track starts out by proclaiming: “Let music shine bright / The Black Eyed Peas stand in solidarity with all those fighting racism and injustice of any kind”.
Black Eyed Peas may not be aware of their surroundings, but instead are more concerned with creating catchy club songs than sending important messages. Even casual listeners understand that lyrics like, “Baby got a halo/I can never say no/cause she has a booty like J-Lo” do not inspire a generation of children to fight for justice and do not inspire change.
The Black Eyed Peas are masters at mixing musical genres and styles. Whether they’re rocking reggae beats, Latin rhythms or funk riffs – they make it all sound fantastic. However, this album suffers from too much sugar free bubblegum pop and an absence of meaningful lyrics, rendering it unsuitable for repeated listens by children.
Bite the Bullet by the Black Eyed Peas
The Black Eyed Peas are one of the biggest bands of the 2000s. Over their career of more than 15 years, the band have sold more than 80 million albums – becoming one of the best-selling groups ever! Although they had varied levels of success since forming in 1999, Fergie (Stacy Ann Ferguson) truly helped the Black Eyed Peas reach their stride.
Ferguson was instrumental in reigniting a massive revival for the Black Eyed Peas, reaching number one on both US and UK charts with their 2003 Elephunk album featuring her on vocals – their single “Where Is the Love?” even becoming three times Platinum certified!
After taking some time away, the Black Eyed Peas returned in 2009 with The E.N.D, featuring a more electronic dance sound and including hits like “Boom Boom Pow” and “I Gotta Feeling”. The album proved another huge hit for them.
In 2010, The Black Eyed Peas continued their success with the release of their sixth studio album, The Beginning. The record marked a transition away from funk towards mainstream pop music with guest appearances by De La Soul, Jurassic 5’s Chali 2na, Macy Gray and Macy Gray all making appearances. They later performed at both Super Bowl XLV halftime show as well as One Love Manchester benefit concert; teaming up with Snoop Dogg on “Be Nice” before striking gold with Latin collaborators J Balvin “Mami” and Ozuna “Girl Like Me”.
It’s My Life by the Black Eyed Peas
The Black Eyed Peas were one of the top chart-topping party bands of 2009 and 2010 with their series of chart-topping party anthems: “I Gotta Feeling,” “Rock That Body,” and “Boom Boom Pow.” All three singles reached number one for 26 consecutive weeks on Billboard Hot 100 chart; Monkey Business album earned them three Grammy awards and tour was cancelled; in 2015 however they premiered a song called “Awesome” during NBA playoff commercials that did not include Fergie so it was unclear if she would return or if this new song would remain with band.
Maluma joined The Peas on this track, creating an engaging club tune whose lyrics fail to add much substance in terms of meaning and moral standing compared with similar pieces by other groups such as Moby. Unfortunately, their message remains hidden within its music produced by Johnny Goldstein and Mucky with Maluma lending her vocal talents as guest artist.
The Black Eyed Peas first performed their song at the 2010 American Music Awards while donning futuristic costumes and performing in an enclosed chamber with glowing walls resembling an elevator shaft. Their version quickly became their most popular track on iTunes and peaked at number 1 in 14 countries worldwide; additionally they reprised it at 2017 UEFA Champions League Final with J Rey Soul replacing Fergie as singer-frontperson.