On her debut solo album, ‘The Dutchess,’ Black Eyed Peas femme Fergie has drawn attention for her confessional lyrics. But she says there are quite a few songwriters who have inspired her to “go there.” The identity of some of them might surprise her fans, though.

“I love Fiona Apple’s records. I think she goes to a very dark place, and I can relate with that,” she says. Fergie also holds deep admiration for other dark musical poets, such as Nine Inch Nails’ Trent Reznor. “‘Hurt’ is one of my favorite songs,” she says. And of the current R&B crop, she notes that Jill Scott and India.Arie “possess the kind of soulful intimacy and [are] always coming with new, clever ways to look at an idea, new ways to say something. John Legend is another one. He gives you songs about relationships, but they’re not always positive. There’s conflict, and I really like that.”

For the singer, her lyrics taking center stage on songs like ‘Voodoo Doll’ and ‘Big Girls Don’t Cry’ is very appropriate, considering her own belief in the power of words. “I think that a lot of how you say something tells a lot about who you are, your vernacular that you choose.”

AOL Music Blog