Jack Harlow Brings Out Fergie for 'First Class' and 'Glamorous' Medley at 2022 MTV VMAs

Mar. 15, 2025

Jack Harlowfinally brought the iconic sample in “First Class” to life!

Then, Harlow moved to the awards show’s main stage to continue the song and announce Fergie.

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Fergie and Jack Harlow.Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty

Fergie and Jack Harlow perform onstage at the 2022 MTV VMAs at Prudential Center on August 28, 2022 in Newark, New Jersey.

“First Class” received a nomination for song of summer at the 2022 VMAs, one of Harlow’s seven total nods at the ceremony, where he also acted as emcee alongsideNicki Minajand LL Cool J.

Prior to the performance, Fergie had not publicly spoken about “First Class.” In an April interview withExtra, Harlow said he hadn’t yet heard from the “Fergalicious” hitmaker directly but was told she “loved” the song.

“I heard through the grapevine that she loved it,” Harlow told the outlet. “But I love Fergie. I’ve loved Fergie for years. To me, it wasn’t just like an opportunist type of energy; to me, I’ve been waiting to do that.”

He continued, “People don’t know when I was in 5th grade, I tried to perform ‘Fergalicious’ at the talent show, and they said ‘no’ because it was too explicit. So, I didn’t get to do it. But I’ve loved Fergie for that long, and I think now, everything just connected. I was so grateful she cleared [the ‘Glamorous’ sample].”

The following month, Harlow told radio showThe Breakfast Clubabout how the sample came to be part of “First Class.”

“When I was in the studio making it, and once the first verse and the chorus were done, I was like, ‘This is a hit.’ I was charged up. I was telling everyone around me, ‘Yo, this is a hit.’ And everyone was like, ‘Hmm, I don’t know if it’s a hit, bro.’ And I was like, ‘Damn, am I tripping? Like is it not a hit?’ … ‘I feel so strong about this,'” he said on the program.

Harlow added, “I’m proud of myself on that one, and I’ve been wanting that type of record. I idolized Fergie as a kid, so this is so full-circle for me, it’s crazy.”

During his performance at theBET Awards 2022in June, Harlow surprised the audience and brought Brandy out to duet herremix of “First Class.“The debut performance of the track arrived one month after its premiere onHot 97’s Ebro in the Morning— which came in response to a viral video of the rapper not knowing Brandy’s song"Angel in Disguise,“or that she’sRay J’s sister, during an interview on the same radio show earlier in May.

The 2022 VMAs are airing live Sunday night from the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.

source: people.com