Will.i.am has teased that he is working on an "exciting" new Black Eyed Peas project.
The ‘I Gotta Feeling’ hitmaker is gearing up for the group’s musical comeback – following their hiatus in 2011 – and has revealed there are major plans taking place with a team of 50 people putting their heads together for the creative masterpiece, which will feature a lot of "tech", and is expected to arrive in the summer.
Speaking at the launch of the new series of ‘The Voice UK’ – attended by BANG Showbiz – he shared: "I don’t want to say the word album because that just dates you, but we’re doing a new project. It’s really exciting.
"It’s the best time to be creative right now with all the tools and folks doing what’s best for themselves and creating in different mediums.
"I’m staying very vague but I’m so excited about the stuff we’re going to do this year.
"And I love tech, so it’s going to be jam-packed with some awesome f***ing tech."
The 41-year-old musician – who is joined by apl.de.ap and Taboo in the group – can’t wait to share the new music with their fans and he says they will "enter" 2017 in a "fresh" way by addressing the changes in the music industry over the last five years, including the rise of streaming and the closing of record shops.
Explaining their process of naming their albums, will added: "I’m smiling on the inside because I just can’t wait for you folks to see it. Every time the Black Eyed Peas get back together, something has changed in the music industry.
"I remember in 2005, the reason we called [our album] ‘Money Business’ was because two record stores closed down – Sam Goody and Warehouse.
"For those who don’t know what that means, that was a big blow to our industry.
"And then we called the new follow-up record ‘The E.N.D.’ because Virgin Records and Tower Records closed in 2009.
"So every time we tried to figure out a new way to enter the market, and now with no stores and the streaming world, how do you enter the market in an exciting fresh way? We’ve figured that out."
"There’s a team of 50 people who are bringing this thing to life, they’re awesome partners. I can’t want to reveal our partners. S*** is f***ing crazy. Awesome. I swear to God, it’s so fresh."
And someone who could be featuring on the project is Nicole Scherzinger – who was originally supposed to front the band in the early 2000s before Fergie had even joined the group – and has reportedly written a song with them.
A source previously said: "Nicole met all four band members and was laying down vocals until the early hours. She was singing about ‘feeling the fire’ and ‘wanting her way like a holiday’.
"Taboo and APL went into the recording booth to do their bit first, then Will and Nicole went in before she went back in with Fergie.
"It was a very different direction for Nic compared to the sloppy ballads on her last two album flops."
‘The Voice UK’ returns to screens on Saturday (07.01.17) at 8.00pm on ITV.
Will.i.am teases ‘exciting’ Black Eyed Peas project
