Black Eyed Peas Rapper Forgets Lyrics in France

Does will.i.am not know the lyrics to his own songs?

The Black Eyed Peas ringleader recently performed live on French TV show Taratata and the rapper resorted to using his cellphone to read lyrics for the act’s latest single, “Don’t Stop The Party.”

To be fair, Black Eyed Peas were attempting a mash-up of Belgian rapper Stromae’s 2009/2010 European smash “Alors On Dance” with “Don’t Stop The Party,” but as soon as the Stromae portion of the live performance ended and the Black Eyed Peas’ portion began, will.i.am can be seen clearly cheating at around the one minute mark of a You Tube clip popular in Paris this week via using his cellphone to read lyrics.

It’s not unheard of for artists to use teleprompters or cheat sheets when singing new songs on stage, but “Don’t Stop The Party” isn’t exactly a brand new offering: the track has been around since at least last year and Black Eyed Peas released a video for the tune in May.

Have a look at the clip below and decide for yourself if will.i.am knows the words to his own song. Hopefully, by tonight he’ll have the lyrics down, as Black Eyed Peas are expected to draw around 60,000 for a free benefit concert Thursday in New York’s Central Park.

[Update: the Peas' Central Park concert was canceled due to inclement weather.]