Black Eyed Peas Confuse Fans By Canceling Las Vegas Residency Citing 'Current Circumstances'

The Black Eyed Peas are taking a step back from the spotlight.

Members will.i.am, Apl.de.Ap and Taboo shared that the group would no longer be going forward with their planned Las Vegas residency in a post to social media.

"To our dearest Peabodies. It is with a heavy heart that, in light of current circumstances, our Las Vegas shows will not be moving forward as planned," they said in a post to their Instagram Stories on Jan. 19, according to CNN.

The "Boom Boom Pow" hitmakers assured fans that the tickets that were previously purchased for the residency will be refunded and that they are looking forward to more shows in the future.

"Ticket providers will issue full refunds automatically. Stay tuned for updates on future performances by following us — we can't wait to see you again," the post added.

The residency was slated to begin in February and run through may at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino's PH Live. It was previously announced in a a video posted on YouTube in September and had been dubbed "The 3008 Space Odyssey." Alongside the members of the group, they were set to be joined by an AI member named Vida. However, it appears as though fans will not get the chance to see how Vida would have played into their group or how it would have looked on stage.

This is not the first time that member will.i.am has dabbled with the use of AI. He previously unveiled the radio platform RAiDiO.FYI, which uses AI presenters. According to the report, the program allows listeners to engage with the artificial hosts of the show.

In 2023, the rapper shared that he had concerns about the use of AI and the lack of ownership that could come with the technology. In particular, he expressed concerns about facial recognition technology.

"That's the urgent thing, protecting our facial math. I am my face math. I don't own that," he said, according to Sirius XM.

His comments come as more artists turn to the use of AI to help market themselves, such as Kesha using it to create the single cover for her song "Delusional," and with tech modules such as Mark Zuckerburg warning of its place in the music industry.

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Will.i.am, Black Eyed Peas