Will.I.Am talks about producing with Michael

Jackson-Anfrage für einen Witz gehalten


Black Eyed Peas-Rapper William konnte es gar nicht glauben, als Michael Jackson ihn anrief und bat, bei seinem neuen Album mit ihm zusammenzuarbeiten.

rr / Quelle: WENN / Sonntag, 24. Dezember 2006 / 12:22 h

Der «Where Is The Love»-Star war überzeugt, dass ihm jemand einen Streich spielte, als das Telefon klingelte und der King Of Pop um seine Unterstützung bei seinem ersten Studio-Album seit sechs Jahren bat. Er hat jedoch schnell erkannt, dass er wirklich mit dem «Thriller»-Sänger sprach, und bald telefonierten sie jeden Tag und sprachen über neues Material.

William: «Michael rief mich an und ich dachte, jemand erlaubt sich einen Scherz. Ich hörte, 'Hallo, hier ist Michael.' Ich meinte nur, 'Ja, klar, sehr lustig!' Dann sagte er, 'Ich möchte dir zu all deinem Erfolg gratulieren. Hättest du etwas dagegen, wenn ich dich in ein paar Tagen um 16 Uhr anrufe?' Dann hat er mich jeden Tag um 16 Uhr angerufen. Ich habe im Tourbus an Songs für ihn gearbeitet.»

http://www.nachrichten.ch/detail/262120.htm

Will.I.Am: Will He Won’t He?

Friday ,12th January 2007

William James Adams Jr, better known as Will.I.Am, one quarter of the Black Eyed Peas and a certified premiership producer, has worked with artists ranging from Sergio Mendes and Sting to Justin Timberlake and Busta Rhymes. But with musical surgery to undergo with Michael Jackson, will the cool façade last? Chantelle Fiddy finds out.

Where are you right now?

I’m in Brazil, it’s one more show here, then we’re off to Argentina. I’m just going online in my hotel.

Everyone has to catch up on emails and MySpace, right?

Yeah, I got a lot of catching up to do. I check the comments on the MySpace and I look on YouTube after every concert to see who posts up phone clips first.

Do you give a prize?

No, they get arrested (Laughs).

The main talking point right now has gotta be you working with Michael Jackson?

Yeah, I'm going back to him in December. He called me up and I thought someone was joking around. I hear (he puts on high MJ voice) 'Hello it's Michael' and I was like 'Yeah right, stop playing!' Then he said 'I want to congratulate you on all your success, you're doing a powerful thing for the world with your music and staying true to what you believe in. I've been following you for a long time... do you mind if I call you in a couple of days at 4pm?’ Then he started ringing me everyday at 4pm. We were on tour with The Pussycat Dolls at the time, so I started working on music for him on the bus.

Did you approach working with Michael differently compared to other artists?

Well, it was more like, how would I like Michael to sound now, what would I want him to do? When I finally sat down with him, I was nervous. I couldn't be the way I would be like when I'm with Justin or Nas. I've idolised Michael my whole life. I had to be honest with him. I told him it was hard and he asked why, so I explained I didn't grow up listening to Justin's music, so it's easy to work with him. We're equals and when you're in the studio with someone you have to be equal, never above or below. When I worked with Nas I wasn't like 'Ok, here's the greatest lyricist.' You have to put yourself on the same place and make sure you compliment or better the stuff you love. I had to really get over it with Michael.

How was it on a personal level? Did you like him?

On a personal level, it was cool. I spent the whole first day asking him questions like 'What was it like when you first did the moonwalk, how did it feel?’ It turned into a freakin’ interview; everything we're doing today is like branches from his tree. The seed came from Michael Jackson and James Brown. Michael told me for him, his influence was James Brown all the way. I was like 'Damn, I worked with James Brown!’ 'He said ‘You worked with James Brown, I always wanted to work with James Brown...' I said, 'Ok let's do it...' So those were the kind of things that gave me confidence to move forward

You do a great impression of him by the way...

I can do James Brown too (Laughs).

Is there a lot of pressure on you now to deliver a big album?

We talked about what we wanted to accomplish, because how are you gonna compete with Thriller? I said, ‘Michael, when you wake up in the morning how do you compete with yourself? I know how to compete with the market place but when you influence the marketplace in every way possible, from fan clubs to sponsorships to videos...’ He was like 'Oh God bless you', but I said 'No seriously, I'm not trying to compliment you Michael, I need to know this for when we get in the studio cos the music has to represent that...’ Me and him had this deep conversation and started talking about the experience today; ringtones, the computer, iTunes, movies, YouTube, MySpace...

Does he know about all that stuff?

Yes, but this arena still needs to be defined. People are using it, but they haven't defined what to do with this platform yet. We need to think about how music’s going to be experienced. Think about all the great songs that come out every week - their life span is like a week. You probably aren't playing stuff from eight weeks ago but people are still playing Billie Jean and Beat It.

http://www.MySpace.com/blackeyedpeas

Source: MJNO

Will.I.Am Speaks Exclusively with MJJForum, Video will be uploaded shortly

Our staff member Feisal had the opportunity to speak directly with super producer Will.I.Am about the up and coming Michael Jackson project. It's a simple message, nothing earth shattering, nevertheless he was gracious enough to record a short message for MJ fans worldwide.

Thanks to Feisal!!

While the video is being uploaded, here's a picture of Will.I.Am taken during the message.

Please watch this space for the video.

Thanks Will.I.Am for the message to the fans!

Picture is fixed and it was a simple chat. Will wanted to share a message with MJ's fans.

Source: MsTenda, MJJF

"Actually, it was not a formal interview, it was not planned, though I knew I was going to see him backstage of that show.
I used to see him a lot on different events during the past years, but it was the first time we got to talk about Michael.

During the conversation, I told him that fans (sorry for those who are not happy about it lol) are happy he got Michael back in the studios and working on his new album, when he talks about Michael he has big eyes , he's so glad to be included in the project.
In the end, he wanted to say thanks, and we were in his dressing room backstage and he made a video message, saying hi and saying thank you to Michael and the fans etc... Cute one..."

Source: Feisal, MJJF

Exclusive Video Message from Will.I.Am

MJJForum presents: MJJFtv

Welcome to the homepage of MJJFtv! Watch our latest broadcast right here, where we give you a video message from Will.I.Am taped in Cannes on Jan 20th speaking about Michael Jackson and working with Michael Jackson.

Will.I.Am, producer for multi-platinum acts like The Pussycat Dolls, Fergie, Busta Rhymes and The Blackeyed Peas, sat down for an impromptu chat with MJJF Staff Member Feisal. Will.I.Am is currently co-producing Michael Jackson's up and coming project that's slated for release in 2007.

Don't miss this exclusive video message.

http://www.mjjforum.com/main/content/view/1964/0/

Brand new details about Michael's work with Will.i.am!, Working on 8 songs, including "I'm Dreamin'" and more

On page 19 of the very latest Rolling Stone magazine (02/08/2007 Issue 1019), there is a brief blurb containing brand new details about the work that Michael Jackson is doing with Will.i.am. I do not have the article in front of me at the moment, but here are the major new details it reveals (from my memory):

- Will.i.am and Michael have drafted eight new songs together

- One song they are working on is titled "I'm Dreamin'"

- Another song Michael will sing is a ballad written by (or with) John Legend

- The two are expected to convene in Ireland for one month to finish recording the tracks

- Will.i.am speculated that the album is going to be like an "Off the Wall" for the modern era

- Other potential collaborators include Chris Brown and DJ Whoo Kid

- The music will be very melodic with some strong dance tracks

Source: TSCM, MJJF