Fergie reunited with Black Eyed Peas on the American Music Awards stage for a win that felt bigger than a throwback trophy.
At the May 25 ceremony, hosted by Queen Latifah, the group’s 2010 single “Rock That Body” won the 2026 American Music Award for Best Throwback Song. It beat Goo Goo Dolls’ “Iris” and 4 Non Blondes’ “What’s Up?” in the category, a very specific cross-generational battle that only awards shows and the internet could arrange.
Why the AMA win mattered to Fergie
Fergie, who left the Black Eyed Peas nearly a decade ago, joined will.i.am, Taboo, and apl.de.ap onstage for the milestone. The moment brought her back beside the men she described not just as former bandmates, but as longtime friends and “brothers.”
“What a moment,” she said during the acceptance speech. “I want to thank all of the fans for voting for this so I can stand up here right now with my longtime friends and brothers, the Black Eyed Peas. In honor of this special song, this era, ‘Rock That Body,’ there’s so many memories along the line with that.”
The win was less about easy nostalgia and more about the weird second life pop songs can get. A track released in 2010 found a new audience thanks to short-form videos, fan edits, and the algorithmic machinery that keeps old choruses alive long after radio moves on.
How TikTok helped bring “Rock That Body” home
Fergie made clear that fans online played a major role in giving the song its second wind. She thanked people who used “Rock That Body” in TikTok and Instagram videos, saying their posts helped make the AMA moment possible.
The sweetest part, for her, was personal: the renewed attention got her 12-year-old son Axl, whom she shares with ex-husband Josh Duhamel, to add the song to his own playlist.
As she put it, she wanted to thank “everyone who made TikToks and Instagram videos and making this moment possible so that my son would put our song on his playlist.”
That is, apparently, the modern parenting version of a lifetime achievement award: your child voluntarily listens to your music without being trapped in the car.
Fergie thanked fans for keeping the era alive
Fergie stayed visibly emotional during the speech, holding tightly to will.i.am and Taboo’s hands as she spoke. She told fans that their support over the years had not gone unnoticed, even when the scale of it felt hard to take in.
“To all of our supporters who have made content throughout the years, thank you so much,” she said. “Sometimes, the content you make is so big and the feelings are so big for me it’s overwhelming to look because there’s so much love that you put into it and I just wanna say thank you from the bottom of my heart. I see you, you mean so much.”
She then used the national television moment to send a message directly to Axl.
“And I get to now say this,” she teased. “I finally, finally get to say this on TV: ‘Hi Axl!’ ‘Rock That Body’ we did it!”
For viewers, it was a reminder that even the slickest pop reunions can still have a real pulse. Behind the choreography, chart history, and category names, this one came down to a mother getting to show her child that something she helped make still matters.
Their bond continued after Fergie left the group
Fergie and the Black Eyed Peas officially parted ways in 2018, but the relationship has remained warm. The AMA appearance was not framed as a dramatic reconciliation so much as a public celebration of a bond that apparently never fully disappeared.
That was visible offstage too. In December, Fergie shared on Instagram that she had reunited with will.i.am, Taboo, and apl.de.ap for a birthday celebration. Fergie, will.i.am, and Taboo all turned 50 in 2025, while apl.de.ap reached the milestone in 2024.
“Finally got to break bread and celebrate our milestone birthdays together,” she wrote at the time. “What a special night with my brothers, filled with so much love.”
The AMAs gave that private affection a public stage. The win honored “Rock That Body,” but Fergie’s reaction showed why the moment resonated: it connected an old hit, a long-running friendship, fans who kept the song circulating, and a 12-year-old finally putting his mom’s music on a playlist. Not a bad return on a throwback category.
