The “new Fergie” is being blasted for her on-stage behavior at a Black Eyed Peas concert.
The popular hip-hop/pop group is currently on tour in Europe and played a show for 20,000 fans at Žalgiris Arena in Kaunas, Lithuania.
At last night’s (June 18) event, a fan who had a side view of the concert zoomed in on Jessica Reynoso, better known as J. Rey Soul.
Highlights
- The Black Eyed Peas’ J. Rey Soul has come under fire after being filmed making a “disrespectful” move during a concert.
- The singer-songwriter replaced Fergie in the hip-hop group in 2018.
- Concertgoers have criticized the band for what they described as a low-quality show and a lack of interest in its members.
Image credits: blackeyedpeas
Soul, a Filipino-American singer, has been collaborating and touring with the Black Eyed Peas since 2018 after Fergie left the award-winning group.
In a video from their latest show, the 28-year-old singer is seen sitting behind a sound system structure and seemingly scrolling through social media while will.i.am performs one of the band’s greatest hits, Boom Boom Pow.
“Text her back girl, we understand! @blackeyedpeas were awesome tonight btw,” the concertgoer captioned the clip on Instagram.
Image credits: santa_strucko
In the comments, many viewers criticized Soul for being on her phone in a spot where she was clearly visible to fans.
“Actually disrespectful to the audience,” one person fumed.
“Maybe she was googling lyrics,” quipped another viewer.
“In Ireland a few years ago, they did not even bother to hide the phone, they scrolled through the intervals on the stage when they did not have to sing,” shared someone else.
Image credits: santa_strucko
The band was also slammed for the overall quality of last night’s show, with fans reporting that the concert began later than scheduled and that members showed little enthusiasm or energy.
“I don't even know how to describe their concert yesterday... It just felt like, ‘We show up, sing a few hits, and that's it.’ I was expecting something different. At the very least, I wish they hadn't been late,” one concertgoer expressed.
“Honestly, we paid €90 per ticket, but the whole concert felt like a €15 show,” echoed another fan.
Image credits: blackeyedpeas
“It looked like they just showed up, did their set with minimal effort, and left. There was no real energy, no connection with the audience and no feeling that they wanted to be there.”
A fan who watched the show in Tallinn, Estonia, expressed a similar sentiment.
Image credits: jreysoul
“I was at their concert on Monday in Tallinn and I don’t know why, but it was the worst concert out of all the concerts I have been to. I was sad. Also the sound was terrible.”
A separate fan disagreed, writing, “They sure did deliver their best in Tallinn in the beginning of the week. The crowd went crazyyy.”
Image credits: santa_strucko
Rey Soul made her debut as a Black Eyed Peas semi-official member on their album Translation in 2020. She was later involved in their next album, Elevation, in 2022.
Will.i.am, Apl.de.Ap and Taboo formed the Black Eyed Peas in 1995, and Fergie joined the group in 2002.
With the songstress, the Black Eyed Peas released four albums: Elephunk, Monkey Business, The E.N.D. and The Beginning.
Image credits: santa_strucko
During this time, they won six Grammy Awards for hits including Let's Get It Started, Don't Phunk with My Heart, My Humps, I Gotta Feeling, and Boom Boom Pow.
The group then went on hiatus from 2011 through 2015. Their final release with Fergie was a new version of Where Is the Love? in 2016.
Fergie, whose real name is Stacy Ann Ferguson, departed from the Black Eyed Peas to work on her second solo album, Double Dutchess, and focus on raising her son, Axl.
Image credits: jreysoul
Last year, the Fergalicious singer reunited with her former bandmates to celebrate their 50th birthdays, giving fans a reminder of how quickly time had flown.
"Finally got to break bread and celebrate our milestone birthdays together,” Fergie captioned a photo with will.i.am, apl.de.ap, and Taboo. "What a special night with my brothers, filled with so much love.”
Soul met the group through apl.de.ap, who selected her to join his team on the Philippines edition of The Voice in 2013.
She later moved to the United States and collaborated on the band’s 2018 album Masters of the Sun Vol. 1.
Image credits: blackeyedpeas
“Will and Apl, they always tell me that I remind them of themselves of when they were younger — how much they work, how much they love music, their enthusiasm,” the singer-songwriter said in 2020, as per Billboard.
Soul is described as a touring and session member; she is not featured in the band’s photo on their official website.
Her first single with the group, Mamacita, became a hit, amassing more than 360 million views on Youtube.
