Will.i.am Talks “Fine-Tuning” Britney’s Album, BEP Break & Mommy Fergie

Will.i.am is currently working on Britney Spears' still-untitled new album, which is due in December.  The project has previously been described as Britney's most "personal" disc yet, and Will says that he, Britney and their team are working to make sure it turns out that way.

At the American Music Awards press conference in New York City on Thursday, Will was asked if the album really is "personal. "Right now, yeah," he told reporters, adding, "We're fine-tuning things, and people inside the circle feel that way. And translating that to where everyone feels that way is what we're working on now."

Will went on to explain, "You know, a mix of a song can change everything.  A video, the next follow-up video to 'Work B***h," could change everything.  So, listening to Britney's concerns about mixes and vocals and song structure is what we're doing now."

As for as his own musical plans, he and the Black Eyed Peas are currently on hiatus, and Fergie, of course, just became a first-time mom to baby Axl Jack.  Will says the group is in no hurry to get back to work.

"We're just still inhaling and exhaling, you know, just taking out time and you know, enjoying the time away," he told reporters. "We were, with Fergie, we've been touring since 2003, so I think we deserved a little time away from each other!"

And what kind of mom does he think Fergie will be to baby Axl?  "Fergie's gonna be a rock and roll mom. S he's gonna be amazing mom," he predicted.

Will helped read the nominations for the American Music Awards at the press conference, and Macklemore & Ryan Lewis are the lead nominees with six nods.  Asked what he thinks the duo has brought to the hip-hop genre in the past year, Will told reporters, "I think they've added to hip-hop. They've added wonderful things to it.  Lyrically, it's fresh.  Production-wise, it's amazing."

Referring to the fact that Macklemore & Ryan Lewis' album The Heist was independently produced, recorded and released by the duo themselves, Will added, "Aesthetically, as entrepreneurs, and paving the way for young businessmen, creators, that's amazing. I think they've paved the way for a lot of young people to say, 'Hey, we can do it that way too.'"