Black Eyed Peas at the North Shore Events Centre

Reviewed by SCOTT KARA

The Black Eyed Peas are what live pop music is all about. They are the popstars of hip-hop, and after this show they should be the biggest pop stars in the world.

New Zealand loves the Black Eyed Peas and it is clear that, Jaime "Taboo" Gomez, Will "Will. I. Am" Adams, Allan "Apl. De. Ap" Pineda and Tracy "Fergie" Ferguson, love New Zealand, too.

"You're hanging with the funk family," proclaims main man Will. I. Am early on in the one and a half-hour set. Hell, yes. Too right we are.

Fergie undoes her tracksuit top in time for the third song, and huge single, Hey Mamma, to reveal a figure-hugging tank top, much to the boys' delight.

But it isn't her outfit, her gyrations against the speakers, or her one-handed cartwheels that make her stand out, it is her singing. From punchy vocal contributions to high, lingering serenades, Fergie is the best pop diva around, no contest.

Even though she slips over twice - much to her male bandmates' delight - it doesn't matter. Fergie is a class act.

The great thing about the Peas is that within the hit of a snare drum, they can go from a Fergie ballad, to a feelgood single like Where Is The Love? (complete with a cellphone salute that replaced the traditional cigarette lighter salute), to a full-on Public Enemy-style assault.

Their version of super-single Shut Up is not perfect, but the playful banter between Will. I. Am and Fergie is excellent, and her high-note tantrum to end the song is priceless. This is the way pop music is supposed to be played - live band, cracking beats, and precision execution. And chuck in a bit of break-dancing.

But the Peas never lose sight of their hip-hop ethos or their musical roots of funk, soul and pop. The instrumental solos of flute, trumpet, sax, guitar and drums during the encore - a chance for the Peas' star-studded band to shine - evidence of that.

Don't you just love singers and rappers who can lie down on stage and admire the band who make the music for their words?

What a show. What a bunch of performers. And what excellent pop music.