Will.i.am Page 3

After a number of months of speculation as to her future, Black Eyed Peas’ leader Will.i.am has confirmed that Fergie has indeed quit the group in order to focus on her solo career.

Fergie – real name Stacy Ferguson – joined the Black Eyed Peas back in 2002 for their breakthrough album Elephunk, in time for their worldwide hit ‘Where Is The Love?’. However, in a new interview with UAE entertainment publication Ahlan! this week, the 42 year old rapper will.i.am confirmed that they had parted ways.

“Since the beginning of Black Eyed Peas, we've always had amazing vocalists that appeared on the mic with us. People like Macy Gray, Esthero, Debi Nova, Fergie. On Elephunk, there were several females that appeared on that album,” the singer, a judge on ITV’s ‘The Voice’, said.

Continue reading: Will.i.am Confirms Fergie Has Quit Black Eyed Peas

Will.i.am has advised Charli XCX to sing ''random words'' in the versus of her songs.

The 'Boom Clap' hitmaker has teamed up with the 41-year-old musician - who is known for being in the band Black Eyed Peas - on her new album, and the 24-year-old singer has admitted she has been told to take will.i.am's advice and utter sheer nonsense because no one will notice.

Speaking to Q Magazine about her partnership with the 'Scream and Shout' hitmaker, she said: ''I love him.

Continue reading: Will.i.am Told Charli XCX To Sing 'random Words' In Her Songs

Jennifer Hudson wants to work with all three of her fellow 'The Voice UK' judges on music.

The 'Dream Girls' star has learnt a lot from watching Will.i.am, Gavin Rossdale and Sir Tom Jones on the ITV programme and says she and the Black Eyed Peas star are going to record together once filming for the spinning-chair show is complete.

Speaking to The Huffington Post, she shared: ''I do plan on working with will for my next album.''

Continue reading: Jennifer Hudson Wants To Work With The Voice UK Judges On Music

Keith Urban will return to the American Idol judging panel. The show will start its 13th season with a new (well returning) set of judges and will, possibly, have a new format. Fox entertainment Chief Kevin Reilly told the press on Thursday (1st August) at the Television Critics Association press tour that Urban would definitely be returning to judge.

Keith Urban at the 2012 American Idol Finale Results Show Live at the Nokia Theater in L.A.

On Urban's return, Reilly said "the fans really like him." He continued to compliment Urban by saying "Keith is a really funny guy."

Continue reading: American Idol Judges: Keith Urban Confirmed And Jennifer Lopez In Talks

The list of artists supposedly boycotting Florida because of the controversial Stand Your Ground law reads like a who’s who of modern music. Usher, Rod Stewart, Madonna, Kanye West, Rihanna, R. Kelly, Wale, Jay Z, and the Rolling Stones are all on it, but are the latter really in the boycott club?

The Stones performing in Hyde Park

A spokeswoman for the Rolling Stones, she said she was "not aware of this," according to Mother Jones, who contacted her, and actually broke the news to her. Representatives for the band in the UK added: "nobody's heard anything about this,” which suggests the band really aren’t involved in Stevie Wonder’s campaign against the Stand Your Ground Law, which is thought to have been a key factor in George Zimmerman’s acquittal in the Trayvon Martin case.

Continue reading: Are The Rolling Stones Boycotting Florida And Its 'Stand Your Ground' Law?

For two series, Black Eyed Peas singer Will.i.am has been a judge and vocal coach on the swivel-chaired singing competition that sees thousands of popstar hopefuls whittled down to just one winner. When asked by BBC Radio 1's Newsbeat whether he'd embrace the idea of reprising his role for a third series, the performer and producer seemed to be being deliberately evasive.

Will.i.am's A Busy Guy.

The 38-year old, upon being questioned whether he'd take part in series three after giving away his salary for the show to the Prince's Trust, he replied: "No. What that means is I paid to do The Voice that year. That means the hotels and the travel and the food, I paid to be on TV, because the money I would have earned went to kids in the Prince's Trust to learn science, technology and mathematics. That's what that means." When the question was put to him again, he replied vaguely "I did it the second year and it was a great experience." According to the BBC, they are still in talks with Will.i.am - AKA William James Adams - along with fellow judge Sir Tom Jones regarding their return to the show.

Continue reading: Will.i.am Keeps Zipped Over 'The Voice' Judging Return: Will He Be Back For A Third Series?

Incredibly, Jay-Z has landed his first ever UK number one album, with Magna Carta Holy Grail storming the chart and holding off Mumford & Sons and Rod Stewart. The rapper's previous highest-charting album was the 2011 collaborate effort with Kanye West, Watch the Throne, which entered at No.3.

Holy Grail managed to hold off Mumford & Sons' Babel despite a surge in sales following the group's triumphant headlining show at the Glastonbury Festival. Jay-Z also comfortably outsold Rod Stewart's number-one album Time. Passenger took the third spot with All The Little Light, with Canadian crooner Michael Buble dropped two places to No.4 with To Be Loved.

Jay-Z has been performing in the UK this weekend, headlining the second night of the Wireless music festival at the Queen Elizabeth Park on the former Olympics site. "I feel the love tonight," Jay-Z, 43, told the crowd, "You've been an incredible audience tonight." The rapper - still one of the biggest hip-hop acts in the world - was joined by Timberlake during the encore for a rendition of Holy Grail.

Continue reading: Q. How Many UK No.1's Does Jay-Z Have? A. Less Than You Think

Jessie J is to leave her role as coach on BBC1's reality singing contest The Voice, blaming overseas touring and promotional commitments for her new record. In fairness, the BBC was lucky to hang on to the pop-star for its second season after she delayed committing to the show following Leanne Mitchell's surprising win.

The corporation - which has already announced a third season of the show - said it was "so sorry" to see her go. You bet they were. Though Jessie J is often considered a polarising figure in music circles - perhaps for her wacky idiosyncrasies and the fact she tells contestants how it is to be a woman in the music industry ever week - she is absolutely key to The Voice's target audiences. She came to prominence with her debut single 'Do It Like a Dude' though it was the smash-hit 'Price Tag' that catapulted her to global fame - the catchy track topping the charts in nineteen countries including the United Kingdom, New Zealand and France. Her debut album Who You Are sold 2.5 copies and fifth single Domino broke into the Top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the US - no mean feat for a British pop artist. 

Watch the video for Jessie J's Wild (featuring Big Sean).