The Dutchess

2006 studio album by Fergie

The Dutchess is the debut solo studio album by American singer and rapper Fergie. It was released on September 13, 2006, through A&M Records and the will. i. am Music Group as her first solo album. The album was recorded between The Black Eyed Peas' tour in 2005, and the songs were written throughout the last eight years that preceded its release. While developing the album, Fergie wanted to create an autobiographical album that would be more intimate between her and the listener. By doing so, the album experiments with different music genres, including pop, hip hop, R&B, reggae, punk rock and soul. Lyrically, The Dutchess has themes about love and critics, while also dealing with her drug abuse and addiction. Upon its release, The Dutchess received mixed reviews from music critics, with many praising its production, calling it one of the most eclectic and adventurous albums of 2006, but some criticized the album's lyrical content and believed the material was not strong enough for her voice. It became a commercial success, reaching number two on the US Billboard 200 and spending ninety four weeks inside the chart, while also topping the Australian Albums Chart and becoming a worldwide success, reaching platinum status in over eight countries. It has been certified 5× Platinum in the United States and has sold 12 million copies worldwide. The album produced five top five singles in the United States, including three number one hits on the US Billboard Hot 100, "London Bridge", "Big Girls Don't Cry", and "Glamorous", as well as the number two single "Fergalicious" and the number five single "Clumsy". All five of the aforementioned singles have sold over two million digital downloads each in the United States, thus setting a new record in the digital era for the most multi platinum singles from one album. Fergie held this record until 2012, when Katy Perry achieved six multi platinum singles with her album Teenage Dream (2010).

After ten years with the band Wild Orchid, Fergie joined the hip hop group The Black Eyed Peas in 2002, replacing Kim Hill and receiving a prominent role in the group. Fergie's debut album with the band, Elephunk, was the group's breakthrough, spawning the worldwide hit singles "Where Is the Love?" and "Shut Up", selling over 8 million copies worldwide Later, while releasing her second effort with the group, the even more successful Monkey Business (2005), which features the hit singles "Don't Phunk with My Heart" and "My Humps" (with both receiving a Grammy award) and sold 10 million copies worldwide, the singer announced that she and the other members of the group were working on solo projects, with her debut album being announced for a 2006 release. One of the album's executive producers and fellow Black Eyed Peas member will. i. am stated that she was "writing about her personal struggles and casting her demons away and feminine power. [It's] her singing for young girls to be strong, and what they're going through in life, just growing up in this world of uncertainty." Ludacris, John Legend, B Real from Cypress Hill and Rita Marley, Bob Marley's widow, were also confirmed on the album. B Real was set to appear on a track called "Thriller Man", an homage to Cypress Hill's "How I Could Just Kill a Man", with B Real stating, "It's pretty hot. Basically she took the song and switched the story around to suit it to her and put the female touch on it. She did the same chorus, she even did my same rhyme style, but she sung it. It's hard to describe it, you just got to hear it – she did it justice." However, "Thriller Man" was not included on the album. Ron Fair and DJ Mormile were also the album's executive producers, with Fair, chairman of Geffen Records, expressing, "Once people get this album and hear what she's capable of as a singer and writer, I think that's when the roof blows off it. That's when she's not just a little trifling pop girl doing disposable hits." It was also announced that the album would feature samples from Little Richard, The Commodores and The Temptations.

The album's title, The Dutchess, is a derivation of the noble title "The Duchess of York", as Fergie (a derivative of her last name "Ferguson") and Sarah Ferguson, the real Duchess of York, share a surname and nickname. The album's title garnered media attention, with Sarah Ferguson commenting, "Automatically, everybody in America thinks I'm Fergie, the most beautiful woman in the world, from Black Eyed Peas. [ ] You know, I rang her up about that. I said, 'Fergie, it's Fergie Now that you've done this, you have to sing at a concert for my foundation Children in Crisis'." Fergie then commented about its title, "If you notice, on the album cover it says 'Fergie as the Dutchess' because I wanted each song to be a movie poster. But because 'London Bridge' did so well so fast, we had to get everything done so only half the songs on the album have movie poster themes. For example, for 'Fergalicious' I'm holding a lollipop; it's pretty campy and cute. The pictures were all shot by Ellen von Unwerth in Paris so a lot of them are very Brigitte Bardot esque." According to The Age, the album contains "everything from torch songs to bouncy pop, reggae and even techno," representing her wide musical influences.

The album starts with "Fergalicious", an electronica, hip hop and dance song, "Clumsy" follows, with will. i. am comparing the song to Shangri Las "Leader of the Pack" with a ghetto ass beat, guitars and background singers." and the album closes with "Finally", a slightly Broadway styled, ballad. On September 21, 2006, Fergie held a launch party for the album, after a day of radio and television promotion. She first performed "London Bridge" at the 2006 MTV Video Music Awards on the Red Carpet on the Rock pre show. She also went to TRL, NBC's Today Show, So You Think You Can Dance and Late Show with David Letterman, performing the single "London Bridge". She also performed the track during 2006 Fashion Rocks, where she used a glittery mini dress, and later was joined by her band The Black Eyed Peas to perform their single "Pump It". Fergie also went to the 2006 Billboard Music Awards, performing the single "Fergalicious". In 2007, Fergie continued the promotion of the album, being part of the AOL Sessions, Pepsi Smash Super Bowl Bash, Radio 1's Big Weekend, 2007 MuchMusic Video Awards, 2007 MTV Australia Video Music Awards, Concert for Diana, 2007 American Music Awards and more.

In April 2008, it was announced that The Dutchess was going to be re released, with the inclusion of "Labels or Love," which first appeared on the soundtrack for the film Sex and the City (2008), Nelly's "Party People", "Barracuda" (a Heart cover) and a remix of "Clumsy" with Soulja Boy. Along with the four bonus tracks, the new package features an exclusive fold out poster illustration of Fergie, an insert coupon discount to merchandise and a connect CD option providing video content. An EP with the four tracks on the deluxe edition plus a fifth song 'Pick It Up' was released to the iTunes Store. The Dutchess Deluxe EP debuted at number forty six on the US Billboard 200 chart with sales of 11,000 copies.

"London Bridge" was released as the album's lead single on July 18, 2006, to radio stations and on August 7, 2006, on the iTunes Store. The urban pop track caused controversy due to its double entendre lyrics, topping the Billboard Hot 100 (for three weeks) and New Zealand charts, while also reaching the top ten in over twelve countries. The music video for the song features The Black Eyed Peas members as well as Fergie on the Tower Bridge, among other scenes. The track, which features will. i. am, managed to reach number two on the Billboard Hot 100, the top five in Australia and New Zealand, although it peaked lower than "London Bridge" in Europe. Its music video features Fergie as Willy Wonka in a candy factory. "Glamorous" was released as the third single from the album, on February 20, 2007. The track, which features Ludacris, became another number one single for Fergie in the United States, and also reached the top ten in over seven countries. The fourth single, "Big Girls Don't Cry", was released on May 22, 2007. The ballad became a huge success worldwide, topping the charts of ten countries, including Australia, Canada and the United States; it was also the album's most successful single in Europe. The music video for the song features American actor Milo Ventimiglia as her love interest. "Clumsy" was then selected to be the fifth single of the album. It was released on September 25, 2007 and became a top ten hit in five countries, including in Australia and the United States, becoming her fifth consecutive top five hit in the U. S.

"Finally" was released as the sixth and final single to the United States and the United Kingdom on March 18, 2008. A music video for the song was filmed, but it was never released.

"Pick It Up" was released as promotional single exclusively to Japan on January 1, 2007. The song "Here I Come" was released as promotional single in Australia and New Zealand on January 19, 2008. It reached the top forty in both countries.

Country Date Edition Format Label Ref. (References) Japan September 13, 2006 Standard CD Universal Music United Kingdom September 18, 2006 Polydor Canada September 19, 2006 Universal Music New Zealand United States Germany September 22, 2006 Universal Music Brazil October 25, 2006 International standard Digital download Japan March 7, 2007 Deluxe CD+DVD November 7, 2007 The Dutchess +3 CD Denmark May 26, 2008 Deluxe Sweden Canada May 27, 2008 United States Japan May 31, 2008 CD+DVD Universal Music March 4, 2009 The Dutchess +3 CD August 4, 2010 October 17, 2012 SHM CD United States October 21, 2016 Standard LP Interscope