Shut Up (Black Eyed Peas song)

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"Shut Up" was Fergie's first collaboration with the Black Eyed Peas. She had previously met will.i.am in 2001, and was recommended for the project by a mutual friend after will.i.am mentioned needing a female vocalist for the song. After initially having low expectations, will.i.am was impressed with Fergie's vocals and they were completed in thirty minutes.^[1] Fergie assisted the group on most of the songs on Elephunk and became the group's fourth member in 2003. While will.i.am, apl.de.ap, and Taboo were working on the song, their girlfriends' phone calls would interrupt the session. Will said "The vibe was blown" and Taboo said "So we turned the negative into positive", by adding the problems they were having into the song they were making. "Shut Up" was recorded at The Stewchia in Los Feliz, Los Angeles, from December 30, 2001, to February 19, 2002.^[2]

The song's "Knee Deep Remix" includes a rerecorded version of will.i.am's verse and the bridge. It also includes a new verse with apl.de.ap. An edited version of this remix appears on the deluxe version of the group's 2009 fifth studio album, The E.N.D., titled "Shut the Phunk Up". The remix samples the song "(Not Just) Knee Deep" by Funkadelic. In December 2010, Funkadelic leader George Clinton filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against will.i.am, Fergie, and Universal Music. Clinton stated that he did not give his permission for the sample and that his signature was forged on the release form.^[3]

"Shut Up" became an international success, reaching number one in Australia, Austria, Belgium (Flanders and Wallonia), the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, New Zealand, Norway, Romania, Sweden, and Switzerland.^[4][5][6][7] The single also reached number two in Denmark, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom and peaked at number five in Hungary.^[4][8][9] At the end of 2004, it was ranked as Europe's second-highest-selling single according to the Eurochart Hot 100, on which the song peaked at number one.^[10][11] As of August 2014, it was the 47th best-selling single of the 21st century in France, with 400,000 units sold.^[12]

In Germany, it is the second-best-selling single of the band behind "I Gotta Feeling", selling 300,000 copies to reach platinum status.^[13] The song peaked at number one on the German Singles Chart and stayed there for five weeks, becoming the band's longest run at the pole position.^[14] In the United States, the song never charted on the Billboard Hot 100 despite appearing at number 30 on the Billboard Mainstream Top 40 in November 2003.^[15]

The music video was directed by The Malloys and features an opera themed around a battle of the sexes. In it, will.i.am and Taboo play Fergie's suitors, and apl.de.ap is the conductor.

The music video has several Andre the Giant Has a Posse-style posters near the stage man. Two posters from the song "Where Is the Love?" are also shown. Kimberly Wyatt and Carmit Bachar from the Pussycat Dolls both make cameos in the video. Travis Barker from Blink-182, Shifty Shellshock from Crazy Town and French singer Afida Turner also have a cameo in the video.^{[citation needed]}