"Glamorous " by Fergie featuring Ludacris
Reviewed by: Krystal Burns
Note: We focus on reviewing songs, and therefore cannot comment on the appropriateness of the album in its entirety. Please use your best judgment whenever purchasing or listening to music.
The Artist
Stacy Ann Ferguson, better known to the public as Fergie, had a slew of minor parts in showbiz before making her big break on the TV show “Kids, Incorporated” in 1984. She and a couple other members formed the Wild Orchids band, but her career took off during her stint with the Black Eyed Peas, featuring Fergie’s distinctive female voice in an otherwise boy band. Their top-selling album “Elephunk” gave her a platform to reach millions and eventually break away as a solo artist.
The Album
Fergie’s first CD, “The Dutchess,” debuted in September 2006. Several of the songs have made their way to the top Billboard charts, including “Fergalicious” and “London Bridge.” Her high energy hip-hop and dance tunes inspire fans to get up and move, but some complain that too many of the songs sound the same. Don’t be deceived by the “clean lyrics” label. There’s not much profanity, but a lot of the songs (and videos) offer sexually suggestive content.
The Song
Initially, “Glamorous” reminded me of J Lo’s “I’m still Jenny from the Block.” It’s hard to take it seriously when multi-millionaire celebrities remind fans of their ordinary roots and that money hasn’t changed them. Unconvinced, I rolled my eyes and kept listening only to be pleasantly surprised that Fergie goes a step further. She lets us know glitz and glamour isn’t all it’s made out to be.
She begins by painting a pretty picture of life in the fast lane, but says even though she “wear[s] them gold and diamond rings/ All them things don’t mean a thing.” She admits she’s dreamed of this kind of success since she was a little girl, but her dad warned her of the vices. Now she says, “I’ve got problems up to here/ I’ve got people in my ear/ Telling me these crazy things/ That I don’t want to hear.” The chorus, sung with Ludacris, implies the sort of shallow relationships that develop when built on money: “If you don’t have no money go home.”
We’ve heard a gazillion times that money doesn’t buy happiness. We say it with our mouths, but in our hearts we’re sold on commercials and magazine ads that promise eternal bliss based the right look or latest gadget. Everything in the media seems to tell us you need money to be happy. And let’s be honest, buying things does provide a temporary happy-rush. But the same media that sells the rush also broadcasts the reality of the broken relationships, suicides, and drug-and-alcohol addictions of the rich and famous. Why aren’t they happy? Money is an illusion, and no amount of it will fill us up. Even Fergie, one the top female artists today, is warning that there’s a high price that comes with fame and fortune.
“Whoever loves money never has money enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income. This too is meaningless.” (Ecclesiastic 5:10) As you think about your life and where you want it to go, be careful not to be driven by how much money you want to make. Instead, spend time asking God what he wants from your life.
So What Do You Think?
1. Do you think Fergie regrets her fame in this song?
2. What does she mean when she says the industry is cold?
3. America is often called a consumer culture, meaning (in part) Americans are very materialistic. Do you agree?
4. Does money (or lack of money) change people?