Black Eyed Peas pays homage to Sergio Mendes and performs nostalgic show in Brazil

The last time the group came to the festival, in 2019, they tried to compensate for the biggest change in their history – Fergie's departure, made official in 2017 – by pulling several rabbits out of the hat: from Will.I.Am on the zipline to Anitta's participation.

This time, it didn't take more than the two hits (appropriately, "Let’s Get It Started" and "Boom Boom Pow") to kick off the party and make the audience overlook any absence.

Producer Papatinho even participated: he released a "Rap da Felicidade" and then they announced the release of a new song, "We live up in here". This is complete with an AI clip displayed on the screen.

Throughout the show, of course, there were questions "where is Fergie", "why did she leave" and "will she come back" among the crowd. Fergie's "shadow" was never completely left behind: it was her distinct voice in the choruses that marked soap operas, parties and adolescence in Brazil, from the 2000s onwards.

But the group has already learned how to manage and win back any fans who miss the vocalist. Live, it features the Filipina J. Rey Soul, who performs the female parts of "Don’t Lie" and "Dirty Bit" well. She knows that not everyone knows her, so she needed to introduce herself.

It is worth mentioning, however, that Soul is not an official part of the group. For all intents and purposes, the Black Eyed Peas are officially a trio (alphabet soup, really), with Will.I.Am, Taboo and Apl.de.Ap.

Each one has their moment to shine, in a segment that cooled the show down. Except for the Will.I.Am part: the producer brought his hits with Justin Bieber ("That Power") and Britney Spears ("Scream and Shout") to show off.

Back to their considerable level of success, with Fergie or J. Rey, the group would hardly find a discouraged audience. The Black Eyed Peas are a phenomenon in Brazil, to the point where fans fantasize about a possible megashow of them in Copacabana.

This love was reciprocal a few times: in this show, Will.I.Am even mentioned Belo Horizonte, Recife, Florianópolis, Curitiba, Brasília, Manaus. At another point, he spoke of Sergio Mendes, who died in 2024.

Mendes was a diplomat of samba and bossa, taking the word of Brazilian swing to international music. And it was with him that the group signed "Mas Que Nada", a version of Jorge Ben's song.

On this night, Mendes received the honor that was due to him. "I grew up listening and he introduced me to Brazilian music, to Jorge Ben Jor, Tom Jobim, Gilberto Gil…. and I would never have discovered it without him. Rest in peace, my hero Sergio Mendes", said Will.I.Am, before singing "Mas Que Nada".

With a killer sequence, which included "Pump It" (in a more electronic arrangement, which led to "Seven Nation Army") and "I Gotta Feeling" to close, it was the show that made the audience jump and sing the most tonight.

It's all a bit farofa, a bit 2010s. Black Eyed Peas' songs aren't exactly timeless, but they take us back in time with them. I even wanted to wear skinny pants.