While many folks apparently have a cultivated enough cultural sense to call “turkey” without even having heard the whole thing, Dean of Rock Critics Robert Christgau handed down an A grade for the Black Eyed Peas’ summer-ruling The E.N.D. We support the curve: Much as we want to dock the Peas for their hair, ubiquity, and that woman with the lumps, their party is waaay up in here. And now there’s “Meet Me Halfway,” a melancholy dance-floor killer with a gorgeous sheen and an even more gorgeous video: a sci-fi excursion with a debt to prequel-era Star Wars, but no (amazingly for our aggressively outlandish Peas) Jar Jar Binks. Here’s the crazy thing: For the first time, we’re really feeling Fergie. Her hook’s a heartbreaker, and — real talk — she makes a damn sexy wood nymph.

“Meet Me Halfway” [YouTube]

The Black Eyed Peas, With Art Direction By Lisa Frank [Idolator]