Black Eyed Peas Finding the Love, Finally

[russian33]

LOS ANGELES (Billboard) - The success of the Black Eyed Peas flies in the face of the conventional wisdom that the music business sacrifices long-term artist development in favor of quick hits and short-term corporate profits.

Signed to Interscope Records more than six years ago by chairman Jimmy Iovine, the progressive hip-hop group's first two albums, "Behind the Front" in 1998 and "Bridging the Gap" in 2000 earned rave reviews but failed to go gold (shipments of 500,000 copies). The first album peaked at No. 139 on the Billboard 200 with sales of 197,000 units, according Nielsen SoundScan, while the sophomore set stalled at No. 67 with sales of 258,000.

Then came "Elephunk." Released June 24, 2003, the album rolled past the platinum (shipments of one million) certification mark in March, on the strength of the band's upbeat hit single "Where Is the Love?"

To date, "Elephunk" has sold an estimated 6 million copies worldwide, according to Universal Music International, including 1.4 million units sold in the United States.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=769&e=2&u=/nm/20040726/music_nm/music_blackeyedpeas_dc

[Melodybe]

1. Where is the Love is my favorite song of the year. The whole album rulz!

Good for them. I urge those that usually shy away from mainstream music to give them a listen, they are good music with a message.

I wish them all the luck in the world.