"Boom" sets off nonstop party from Black Eyed Peas

Fergie arrives for the finale of Season 8 of "American Idol" in Los Angeles May 20, 2009.[Agencies]

With Taboo, apl.de.ap and several band members in tow, Will.i.am flew to London, where Fergie was working on her first major film role, in "Nine." Setting up shop at the same studio where they recorded "Monkey Business," the Peas began working on "The E.N.D."

'ARTISTIC FACTORY'

"There's always a sense of Andy Warhol whenever we make a Black Eyed Peas album," Fergie says. "It's an artistic factory with several rooms going at the same time. We don't just sit down. We jump from room to room, all of us adding ideas to the recipe. If you get burned out on one idea or your ears get tired, you walk to another room and step into a whole fresh creative zone for more ideas."

Enlisted to help draft beats were MSTRKRFT, David Guetta, Boys Noize, Keith Harris and Paper Boy. The result is a nonstop party album fusing rock, soul, hip-hop, reggae and dub with thumping beats, tempo twists and turns, and memorable hooks. Beyond "Boom Boom Pow," there's the upcoming second single, "I Gotta Feeling," which apl.de.ap describes as a "college anthem for people looking forward to escaping life's pressures by going out and having a ball."

Picking up on the same escape theme is "Out of My Head." Channeling R&B veteran Millie Jackson, a slurring Fergie opens with three little words, "I'm so tipsy" -- which she was while recording the song. "This song reminds me of the fun character of 'My Humps.' I told Will we have to get some wine if I'm going to do this correctly. I'm not going to front on this song. So we all got a little tipsy."

"Now Generation," another notable track in the 16-song set, is a nod to the young generation who helped move President Barack Obama into the White House -- galvanized, in part, by Will.i.am's viral "Yes We Can" video. Powered by a guitar and bass intro that morphs into fist-pumping rock 'n' roll, the song captures the emotion of being part of that generation. "This is the first time in history where we have a powerful new youth generation connected by technology, not by religion or government. So they want things now," Will.i.am says.

The "E.N.D." goal, he adds, is to make people move and escape. "If you had to pick one genre that's migrating at the highest frequency, it would be the dance world," Will.i.am says. "That's where music as a culture really lives. It's a genre making music for the sake of music."

He added that, with people downloading individual songs, "the concept of the album doesn't exist anymore. So this will be like a never-ending record; it will just keep going like the title says. It's still important to be successful in the remaining business we do have, but you also want to position yourself so you're not playing catch-up or riding someone else's bandwagon."

Come fall, the Grammy Award-winning group will start its first official worldwide arena tour in Asia and Japan. One of the stops along that route is a recently announced September 24 performance as part of Guinness' worldwide celebration of its 250th anniversary. Then it's off to Australia before returning to the United States for five shows on U2's stadium tour. After a break, the Peas will launch the North America leg of its tour, then visit the United Kingdom and Europe.