Black Eyed Peas promised that the show would be "Good Good Night" - and kept their word

6,000 people came to see the band at the Jerusalem Arena even though Fergie's replacement pales in comparison.

The audience hovered with joy, the performance was generous in hits but weak in sound and visuals.

Will A.M. stated that Israeliness is "the most beautiful in the world" and also sent love to Palestine

Sagi Ben Nun

30/11/2021

Tuesday, 30 November 2021, 10:10 Updated: 10:24

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The musician Will I Am, lead singer of the band Black Eyed Peas, answers Sagi Ben-Nun's questions at the Innovation Conference in Jerusalem (Stills: Sivan Farage, Video: Sagi Ben-Nun)

"Mazel Tov!" The Black Eyed Peas band rejoices in Hebrew in the unforgettable segment with the huge passion "I Gotta Feeling". Last night there were two great reasons to say a festive "Mazal Tov": Mazal Tov first on the return of the pulse of the market of major international performances to Israel. Black Eyed Peas performed last night at Arena Pais in Jerusalem in front of about 6,000 people, after two years of Corona. The price of this gift given to the Israeli public was not cheap at all - about half a million dollars. A source close to the production revealed to Walla! Culture is the amount paid to the band by Irina Nevzlin, chairman of Improvate, who brought the band to the Jerusalem Innovation Conference.

Mazal Tov Shani arrived on the 47th birthday of a member of the band Black Eyed Peas and one of its founders, AppleDP, which led to a beautiful moment when thousands of people in the audience sang to him during the show. Just a moment ago, his longtime partner, lead singer Will IM, told a wonderful story to the audience: "Once we were in Malaysia, a country with a different religion. What was really nice to see was 60,000 Muslims in the audience singing 'Congratulations!' "In Hebrew in the song 'I Gotta Feeling'. Then we performed for the first time in Saudi Arabia. We sang this song. And 80,000 Muslims in the audience sang 'Mazal Tov!'. It was beautiful. For me - it's love."

The joy and excitement spread faster than the Delta variety at Arena Pais in Jerusalem last night.

Three Black Eyed Peas singers took the stage and were more energetic than Comet expecting a celebration, with only a guitarist and a drummer by their side.

They sang "Let's Get It Started" which incorporates part of the instrumental basis of the Spice Girls' hit, "Wannabe".

In the middle of the third song they unveiled the new acquisition - the band's new singer, Jessica Reinso known as Jay Ray Sol.

More on Walla!

Singer of Black Eyed Peas in Israel: "You are like a 'family' for me. This is a place where I get inspired"

To the full article

Black Eyed Peas performing at Arena Pais in Jerusalem (Photo: Sivan Farage)

Black Eyed Peas performing at Arena Pais in Jerusalem (Photo: Sivan Farage)

Jay Ray Soul burst onto the scene in the Filipino version of The Voice, in which band member AppleDP served as a mentor. She began accompanying the band in 2018, last year recording with the band the hit "Mamacita" (in collaboration with singer Ozone) and then became a permanent band member. The young singer tried to get into Fergie's big, shimmering boots - and despite her great sweetness the mission was crowned a failure. Comparing Jay Ray Sol to Fergie is like comparing pea soup at an orphanage to a chef's dish at a Michelin restaurant. The former mythological soloist eats it without salt and not because it is tasty and does not need seasoning.

And yet, it is very impressive that Black Eyed Peas managed without Fergie to bring about 6,000 spectators to the arena in Jerusalem (even if it was possible to fill at least a thousand more seats in the audience).

There were quite a few teens who were not yet born when Black Eyed Peas was founded in the nineties, many of whom came with their parents who were teens themselves at the time.

Will.I.M. has shown extraordinary warmth towards the audience.

"Hello family!", He said.

"We love Israel and it's great to be back here. Israel is a family for us."

Even later in the show, he continued to shower praise on the women sitting in Zion when he stated: "The most beautiful girls in the world are from Israel."

More on Walla!

"I'm 18, and I've not seen a person who was photographed and talked about as much as I was."

To the full article

Black Eyed Peas performing at Arena Pais in Jerusalem (Photo: Sivan Farage)

Thanks to social media, the existing band has managed for over half a century to reach an unborn audience when it began its journey. For example, one of the following songs they performed, the old hit "Pump It" from 2006 became a makeup challenge on the networks, so when it was performed, the pumping heart of the girls in the audience went into a constant state of vibration. Another song they performed afterwards - "Girl Like Me" - was also a ticking challenge. Black Eyed Peas recorded the hit with Shakira in English and Spanish on their latest album, and in the days of the Corona masses of Tiktok users reinvented the choreography of the clip. Such moves kept the band in mind during the plague when the world of performances was shut down. Israeli songwriter Johnny Goldstein also participated in the creation of the song, which received great acclaim on stage from WillIm several times.

Next, Taboo performed a cover version of the hit "Mi Gente" originally performed by Jay Balvin with Willie William. Balvin was one of the guests on the band's latest album, "Translation", which marked the effects of Latin pop on them (along with other guests - Shakira, Ozone and Maluma). One of the things that evokes appreciation in Black Eyed Peas is their particular musical flexibility between the genres, which made them more interesting to both the audience and themselves. The song "Mi Gente" did pick up but it's a bit unclear why a cover version of others is performed while a number of the band's hits were missing from the show, including "Donut Lay", "My Hemps" and "Don`t Phunk With My Heart".

The encore opened with the hit "Don`t Stop The Party", continued with "The Time (Dirty Bit)" whose chorus includes an excerpt from the song "The Time of My Life" from the movie "Corrupt Dance", then "Where Is The Love".

Before the song, WillIam said: "For all the guys here Peace & Love, and also for the guys from Palestine - we love you too and want to play there too. We are about love and cooperation, and this place inspires us. This place is amazing." .

But with all due respect to the desire for love between Israel and Palestine, the most important thing for artists is self-love, so during the song Will took cell phones from the audience and photographed himself for them.

More on Walla!

Something in the way she moves

To the full article

Black Eyed Peas performing at Arena Pais in Jerusalem (Photo: Sivan Farage)

Black Eyed Peas performing at Arena Pais in Jerusalem (Photo: Sivan Farage)

The performance was fun, sweeping and rich in hits, however the sound was not as good as it stood out in other performances at the arena, the visuals were poor - only a screen with visuals behind the band - there were no warm-up performances and no guests. Most notable in their absence were the duo Static and Ben El who recorded the song "Shake Ya Boom Boom" with the Black Eyed Peas.

The many warm words that Will.M.I. uttered to the audience are one link in a long chain of loving and generous treatment of the Israeli audience, which was also expressed in the length of the performance. Although it is not longer than the average that the Israeli audience expects, it is longer than their other performances. They performed 21 songs in Jerusalem, and for comparison in their performance in Los Angeles last month they performed only eight songs, and in their performance in Paris in September they sang only seven songs in Paris. This dedication came to a fitting end in the performance of the last song - the band's biggest hit that also won a Grammy, "I Gotta Feeling", lasted more than ten minutes. I have a feeling the audience appreciated it.

In 2009, after the song "I Gotta Feeling" came out, Will.I.M. said in an interview: "The song is dedicated to all the party people out there in the world. Most of the band's songs paint a picture of the party of life. It was a conscious decision. To a lot of people and you give them an escape and you want them to feel good in their lives, especially at low points. "

These words intensify even more in the days of Corona.

In these not-so-easy times Black Eyed Peas were perfect escapism.

When I met Will.A., if at the Innovation Conference yesterday before the show, he assured me that tonight would be "Good Good Night" - and kept his word.

Operation Black Monday was crowned a success.

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