Black Eyed Peas Reveal Why Fergie Left the Group

Fans of the Black Eyed Peas are getting some insight into why Fergie stepped away from the group after more than a decade together.

Will.i.am, Apl.de.ap and Taboo opened up to Billboard, revealing Fergie left in 2017 to focus on being a “great mom” to her son Axl, 6, with ex-husband Josh Duhamel.

Will.i.am said, "We love her, and she's focusing on being a mom. That's a hard job, and that's what she really wants to do and we're here for her... It's really the way Fergie designed it, so we're respecting her design. We love Fergie, and we don't want anything but awesomeness for her."

Apl.de.ap further explained, "But unfortunately our schedule is displaced by [her] wanting to be a great mom, and she wants to focus on that."

Taboo pointed out that Fergie's departure opened up an opportunity for a new member, J.Rey Soul, a winner of “The Voice of the Philippines."

"I feel we're giving birth to a new artist, J.Rey Soul,” he said. “I really want to give her ultimate praise and respect. What the fellows said — Ferg, she's doing the mom thing — but we have an amazing artist we're developing.”

Now, the group is back, sans Fergie, with new music. They just dropped their album “Translation,” featuring collabs with Tyga, Maluma, Ozuna, J Balvin and others.