Official Chart Flashback 2009: Black Eyed Peas Boom Boom Pow their way to a Number 1 debut
26.05.2022 - 10:01
/ officialcharts.com
It may have been 2000 and late, but the Black Eyed Peas' futuristic hit Boom Boom Pow proved that they were looking straight ahead - to 3008, to be precise - as they debuted at Number 1 this week 13 years ago (!).
Written by the Peas themselves (will.i.am, Fergie, Taboo and apl.de.ap, in case you needed reminding) and produced solely by will.i.am, Boom Boom Pow was the first new music from the band since 2006, and the first time they had reunited since Fergie's successful mid-00s solo career (London Bridge? Big Girls Don't Cry? Fergalicious? Bops!).
It was a truly transformational record for the group, turning them towards the more electronic side of hip-hop and flirting with elements of synth-pop. The change in reception was almost immediate; The Black Eyed Peas were, suddenly, the biggest group in the world.
Boom Boom Pow arrived on the Official Singles Chart with, well, a boom boom pow. It debuted at Number 1 in its first week, knocking Tinchy Stryder and N-Dubz off the top spot with their collaboration Number 1.
The track's chart sales equalled over 74,000 in its opening week, and it would stay at Number 1 for two consecutive weeks (falling to Number 2 in the next week, before bouncing back the week after). According to Official Charts Company data, Boom Boom Pow's chart sales in the UK now exceed 987,000. It's current-day streams also add up to over 24 million.
Boom Boom Pow would be the first of three consecutive Number 1s the Peas would achieve in the UK over the span of just six months - also including follow-up smash I Gotta Feeling and Meet Me Halfway in the latter half of the year.
The Black Eyed Peas' last Number 1 in the UK was the Dirty Dancing homage The Time (Dirty Bit) in 2010. The group are still