Before There Was ‘Glee’: Fergie’s Best And Worst ‘Kids Incorporated’ Performances

Erika Brooks Adickman | April 5, 2010 3:51 pm

Given the towering success of Glee (which returns on Tuesday, April 13), it’s hard to imagine that no one ever thought of blending classic hit songs with the everyday drama of school before. Actually, someone did: the creators of Kids Incorporated, the children’s TV series that ran for several years in the 80s and early 90s. One cast member in particular graduated to bigger and better things: Stacy “Fergie” Ferguson. While she’s now at the center of one of the biggest live spectacles on Earth, we’d like to look back at the times she sang other people’s pop songs. We’ve compiled the best (and some of the best worst) numbers Fergie performed as Kids Incorporated’s teeny-bopper in residence.

First the best . . .

“Only In My Dreams” Originally by Debbie Gibson. Fergie = 80’s tween perfection with this one.
“I Wanna Dance With Somebody” Originally by Whitney Houston. We’re not sure who’s idea it was to pair a Whitney song with a hoedown dance routine, but we kind of love it. Plus, Fergie’s vocals are really working in this song.
“We Got The Beat” Originally by The Go Gos. Look at Fergie holding her own at just 9 years old.
“Goodbye To You” Originally by Scandal. One word: classic.
“So Emotional” Originally by Whitney Houston. We included this one because it’s the first time in the Kids Incorporated series where you can hear Fergie start to sound like the soulful Black Eyed Pea we know her as today.

Now the worst . . .

“Say You Say Me” Originally by Lionel Richie. Say you’ll make it stop.
“Don’t Dream It’s Over” Originally by Crowded House. It’s really hard to ruin this song, but KI managed to do it with this one.
“The Living Years” Originally by Mike And The Mechanics. You really just have to watch this one to understand how indescribably awful it is.

And the best of the worst . . .

“Heaven Is A Place On Earth” Originally by Belinda Carlisle This song includes a little person dressed as a a green alien. Need we say more?
“I Think We’re Alone Now” Version Originally by Tiffany. We have no clue what plot twist led young Fergie to serenade a boy in a wheelchair while he held an electric guitar. If someone can enlighten us, we’d gladly move this song to a different category.
“Time After Time” Originally by Cyndi Lauper. This version changes the opening lyric from “Lying in my bed again” to “Sitting on my bed again”. We guess the producers thought a teenager singing about lying on their bed was just too suggestive.
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