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Connect the World
Interview with the Black Eyed Peas
Aired March 15, 2010 - 17:44 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BECKY ANDERSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: "Where is the Love" asked the Black Eyed Peas in their first worldwide hit.
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ANDERSON: Well, they didn't wonder for long. The single soon became the biggest selling song in 2003 in many countries. Since then, success has kept on coming. They've sold more than 25 million albums. And they've racked up six Grammy Award.
The Black Eyed Peas are made up of Will.I.Am, formerly of the Fugees, Fergie, Taboo and Apl.De.Ap. All have branched out into solo projects in music and movies, but sing from the same song sheet when it comes to releasing pop anthems like "Don't Funk With My Heart," and "Boom Boom Pow."
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ANDERSON: And this month, they're pushing the boundaries of music further by pairing up with Samsung to promote a new range of 3D TVs. Transcending their vigilante hip hop roots to become a global phenomenon, the Black Eyed Peas are your Connectors of the Day.
Well, they are one of the most celebrated hip hop dance acts on the planet, and I caught up with them just before they did in Europe. I started off by asking them about their partnership with Samsung to promote what is it's new range of 3D TV experiences.
This is what they said.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WILL.I.AM, BLACK EYED PEAS: You know, we're really excited about the Samsung 3D LED TV Technology, what it does for music, what it does for the art of story telling. I want it in my house.
ANDERSON: You just want a tele.
WILL.I.AM: No, I want --
FERGIE, THE BLACK EYED PEAS: I do.
WILL.I.AM: No, I want. Yes, I want a tele, but that's not why we're doing it. We're celebrating the whole new like technology and the -- you know, being the first doing this. This is crazy.
FERGIE: Imagine ever sports bar during football -- during football, basketball, everybody's going to be wearing glasses watching sporting events now.
ANDERSON: All right, guys. Let's get some of the viewer questions. Bianca asks, "what keeps you guys together?"
WILL.I.AM: Our friendship. We've been together since we started the Black Eyed Peas in 1995. Fergie joined with us in 2002. We've been just good friends and supportive of each other's aspirations and excited about -- every new piece of content we put out there we're excited about it.
Now we're excited about this tour. Can't wait to go to London. Can't wait to go to France. We're just excited about the art that we create, and meeting people and traveling and being there for each other in down times and up times.
ANDERSON: Guys, do you still get on as well with each other?
WILL.I.AM: Amazingly -- amazingly -- amazingly, I swear to you, we're closer now than we've ever been. You would think with the success -- the individual success and success of the group -- that egos would kick in. But, for some reason, the success of the group has brought us closer together, you know, trusting each other, relying on each other, being open minded of other people's opinions. It's amazing.
I hate to sound all Kumbaya, but that's just the truth, you know.
ANDERSON: You do, but that's OK. Louise asks, "how does a song come together? Does the band write all the songs? How does that normally work?" Does somebody write the words?
WILL.I.AM: There's no method to the madness. Each song is different. Some songs are inspired by beat. Some songs are inspired by lyrics. Sometimes a lyric is brought by apl.de.ap, Taboo, Fergie or myself. There's no real order to how the factory makes songs.
ANDERSON: Fergie, Lily asks, "how do you define yourself in today's music genre?"
FERGIE: We have no idea how to define ourselves. We still don't know. There's such a mixture of influences in the music that we make. It's very eclectic. You know, you're mixing hip hop, where the band started. You're mixing Samba, pop music, rock music, electro. This album is highly dance music inspired. It's just kind of a fusion. So we have no idea where we fit in.
WILL.I.AM: If there's any definition of the Peas, it would be freedom. Freedom of all the colors that music does to our lives and participating in that.
ANDERSON: Kumbaya, again.
WILL.I.AM: Kumbaya. I like to get a little deep, you know what I mean. I don't like swimming in four feet.
ANDERS: Greg B. asks, "what made you decide to take your new album, The End, in such a vastly different direction than your previous albums?" Guys?
WILL.I.AM: Us being clubbers, you know, dancing to beats made by guys on computers, girls on computers, DJs rocking like 30,000 venues, 100,000 seat venues. We wanted to participate in this whole new revolution of dance music DJs, expression, manipulation, over sounds and songs of the past, and putting a whole new twist on, you know, songs of now and tomorrow.
ANDERSON: Question from Jurgen from Surinam. He asks, "what can we expect in 2010?"
FERGIE: Touring. We're on tour. I don't think that Will told you, but I think that we made this album very fast paced because we wanted to stay in shape on tour.
ANDERSON: Where is the love?
FERGIE: We will be on tour for the rest of 2010. Ironic because the album is titled The End. But the tour seems like it will be never ending. So we'll have to see how long that goes.
ANDERSON: Anything that we need to hear from the Black Eyed Peas tonight? Rock 'n Roll. Love them.
END
