The Black Eyed Peas have nothing but love for Fergie.
ET exclusively spoke with the dance-pop group on Friday before they take the stage at Ariana Grande's One Love Manchester charity show this weekend, where they'll be performing without their beloved frontwoman. Rumors have been swirling that Fergie has quit the group for good to focus on her solo career, but BEP insists she will not be replaced.
"Yeah, so, no one's replacing Fergie," the group, which consists of will.i.am, apl.de.ap and Taboo, confirmed when asked if the rumors were true about Nicole Scherzinger taking her spot. "Fergie has a dream and we support her dream."
Will.i.am said he wrote a couple of songs on Fergie's Double Dutchess album, and that the entire group is "happy that she's focused on putting [it] out."
"That being said, we've been working on [our album] Masters of the Sun for four and a half years, and we've had plans on releasing Masters of the Sun around Comic-Con, and surrounding it with a whole bunch of different experiences," he continued. "So this is not a traditional album in any sense of the matter. It's, like I said, it's multi-layered. Both can exist at the same time, and we're really happy for Fergie."
When asked if Fergie will be back, will.i.am replied, "Of course."
"Like I said, Fergie is not being replaced," he clarified. "We've collaborated with so many different females in the past … so, this is just another Black Eyed Peas smorgasbord of a whole lot of collaborations in this new form of putting out music."
Despite Fergie's absence right now, the group is planning to put on a stellar show for their fans on Sunday at Emirates Old Trafford cricket ground. They confirmed to ET they will definitely be performing "Where Is the Love?"
Will.i.am confirmed earlier this week that Fergie was venturing away from the group to be a full-time solo artist.
"Since the beginning of Black Eyed Peas, we've always had amazing vocalists that appeared on the mic with us. People like Macy Gray, Esthero, Debi Nova, Fergie. On Elephunk, there were several females that appeared on that album," he explained to English-language UAE entertainment news magazine Ahlan. "Obviously Fergie was the featured female, but on songs like 'Let's Get it Started,' it's Noelle [Scaggs], and then Fergie, songs like 'Latin Girls,' it's Debi Nova, and 'Request Line,' it's Macy Gray. We'll always work with good females."
Hear more in the video below.