# @popbase on Instagram

- **Type:** Video
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/Da8ffDkB782
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/68023336-popbase-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/0e0de34f0e.jpg
- **Posted:** 2026-07-18T19:00:00.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** Pop Base (@PopBase) — https://gondola.cc/PopBase

## Caption

20 years ago today, Fergie released 'London Bridge.'

Fergie stepped out on her own with debut solo single 'London Bridge,' released via A&M, Interscope, and will.i.am Music Group as the opener for her first album, "The Dutchess." She co-wrote it with producer Polow da Don, along with Sean Garrett and Mike Hartnett, recording at Chalice Recording Studios in LA and Hit Factory Criteria in Miami. The song's creation was almost improvisational — when Polow played Fergie the beat and she asked what to write about, he reportedly told her simply to write about "being the shit," a loose, off-the-cuff direction that Fergie says accidentally turned into something great.

Built around a sampled horn hook lifted from Tower of Power's 1972 funk cut 'Down to the Nightclub,' the track carries a brash, club-ready pop-rap energy driven by an aggressive, minimalist beat and a repeated, censored expletive chant. Lyrically, the song uses "London Bridge going down" as a suggestive metaphor for romantic and physical excitement, a double entendre that drew some media pushback at the time, with critics frequently comparing its attitude and rap-sung delivery to Gwen Stefani's earlier 'Hollaback Girl.' The Marc Webb-directed video, notably shot at Tower Bridge rather than the actual London Bridge, featured cameo appearances from Fergie's Black Eyed Peas bandmates apl.de.ap, Taboo, and will.i.am, tying her solo launch back to the group that made her famous.

Commercially, 'London Bridge' became a massive hit, topping the Billboard Hot 100 in the US and cracking the top ten in 13 countries, eventually earning double-platinum certification in both the US and Japan. Its success helped establish Fergie as a viable solo star outside the Black Eyed Peas and set the stage for The Dutchess, which spawned several more hits including 'Fergalicious,' 'Glamorous,' and 'Big Girls Don't Cry.' While the song itself wasn't a major awards-circuit darling, it's remembered as a defining, campy 2000s pop-rap anthem and one of the tracks that helped cement mid-2000s female pop stars leaning into brash, unapologetic sexuality in mainstream chart-topping music.

#fergie #popculture

## Stats

- **Views:** 37,580
- **Likes:** 2,277
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- **Comments:** 28

## Tags

popculture, fergie

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