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William James Adams (born March 15, 1975), better known as will.i.am (pronounced "Will I am"), is an American recording artist, songwriter, entrepreneur, voice actor, DJ, record producer, and philanthropist, best known as one of the founding members of the hip hop/pop band, The Black-Eyed Peas. He is the recipient of seven Grammy Awards, eight American Music Awards, a Billboard Music Award, a Teen Choice Award, two MTV Video Music Awards, and three World Music Awards, all won with the Black Eyed Peas. According to reports, he was rumored to become a judge on Season 13 of American Idol along with Keith Urban and possibly Jennifer Lopez, but according to reports, negotiations broke down over money. He is currently a coach on The Voice UK.

In addition to his music with The Black-Eyed Peas, Will.i.am has also released four solo albums. The first, Lost Change, was released in 2001 on Atlantic Records. The album itself is the original soundtrack to the movie of the same name. A music video was made for the song, "I Am", but no singles were released from the album. The second solo album Must B 21 was released on September 23, 2003. Track seventeen on the release, "Go!", was regularly used as the theme for the NBA Live 2005 and Madden NFL 2005 seasons. A video for the track was also recorded for use within the sports, however, no singles were released from the album. The third album, Songs About Girls, was released on September 25, 2007. The first single released from the album was a club track titled "I Got It from My Mama", which peaked on the Billboard Hot 100 at #31 on 17 August 2007. The album also featured the singles "Heartbreaker" and "One More Chance". He released his fourth studio album, #willpower, in 2013.

Will.i.am is also a music producer. He has produced with other artists including Michael Jackson, Justin Bieber, Eazy-E, Britney Spears, David Guetta, U2, Rihanna, Usher, Justin Timberlake, Earth, Wind & Fire, Nicki Minaj, Cheryl Cole, 2NE1, SMAP, The Game, Nas, Bone Thugs-n-Harmony, Daddy Yankee, Wolfgang Gartner, and Juanes. In collaborations and with the Black Eyed Peas, he has a total of 34 Top 40 entries on the UK Singles Chart since 1998 and has sold 9.4 million singles in the UK.

Early life[]

William Adams (named "William James Adams Jr." on his birth certificate) was born in East Los Angeles and was raised in the Estrada Courts housing projects in the Boyle Heights neighborhood, where he and his family were among the few African Americans living in a predominantly Hispanic community. He never met his father, William Adams, and grew up with his mother, Debra (nรฉe Cain), who encouraged him to be unique and to avoid conforming to the tendencies of the other youth in his neighborhood on the east side of Los Angeles. She encouraged him to begin working on his musical career by sending him to public schools in affluent West Los Angeles. While attending Palisades Charter High School, will.i.am became best friends with Allan Pineda (stage name apl.de.ap), who was also a future member of The Black Eyed Peas. While still in high school, will.i.am and apl.de.ap performed in East L.A. clubs and were soon joined by three other entertainers to form the socially conscious rap group, Atban Klann. Atban Klann caught the eye of Compton rapper Eazy-E and was signed to his label, Ruthless Records.

Adams used to attend raves while in high school. He later said his history with rave culture is why he chose a more electro sound for The Black Eyed Peas' albums The E.N.D. and The Beginning. Despite the use of electro and house music elements, will.i.am prefers to separate the underground from pop. In an article with Los Angeles Times, he mentions that secrecy over the whereabouts of raves is what made raving special, and different from the mainstream.

American Idol
Seasons
(FOX) ยท1 ยท2 ยท3 ยท4 ยท5 ยท6 ยท7 ยท8 ยท9 ยท10 ยท11 ยท12 ยท13 ยท14 ยท15 โ€” (ABC) ยท16 ยท17 ยท18 ยท19 ยท20 ยท21 ยท22
Judges
 ยทSimon Cowell (Seasons 1-9) ยทPaula Abdul (Seasons 1-8) ยทRandy Jackson (Seasons 1-12)
 ยทKara DioGuardi (Seasons 8-9) ยทEllen DeGeneres (Season 9) ยทJennifer Lopez (Seasons 10-11|13-15)
 ยทSteven Tyler (Seasons 10-11) ยทNicki Minaj (Season 12) ยทMariah Carey (Season 12) ยทKeith Urban (Seasons 12-15)
 ยทHarry Connick, Jr. (Seasons 13-15) ยทKaty Perry (Seasons 16-22) ยทLionel Richie (Seasons 16+) ยทLuke Bryan (Seasons 16+)
Personnel
 ยทRyan Seacrest (Seasons 1+) ยทBrian Dunkleman (Season 1) ยทSimon Fuller (Seasons 1-15) ยทNigel Lythgoe (Seasons 1-7/10-12) ยทMegan Wolflick (Seasons 14+) ยทJimmy Iovine (Seasons 10-12) ยทScott Borchetta (Seasons 14-15) ยทBobby Bones (Seasons 16-19) ยทRickey Minor (Seasons 4-9/13-15) ยทRay Chew (Seasons 10-12) ยทKristopher Pooley (Seasons 16+) ยทMichael Orland (Seasons 1-17) ยทDebra Byrd (Seasons 1-10|โ€ ) ยทPeggi Blu (Seasons 10-11) ยทPeisha McPhee (Seasons 10-13) ยทAdriana McPhee (Seasons 17+) ยทDevin Velez (S12; Seasons 22+) ยทAllison Iraheta (S8; Seasons 13-15) ยทFelicia Barton (S8; Seasons 16+)
Winners
 ยทKelly Clarkson ยทRuben Studdard ยทFantasia Barrino ยทCarrie Underwood ยทTaylor Hicks ยทJordin Sparks ยทDavid Cook
 ยทKris Allen ยทLee DeWyze ยทScotty McCreery ยทPhillip Phillips ยทCandice Glover ยทCaleb Johnson ยทNick Fradiani
 ยทTrent Harmon ยทMaddie Poppe ยทLaine Hardy ยทJust Sam ยทChayce Beckham ยทNoah Thompson ยทIam Tongi ยทAbi Carter
Runners-Up
 ยทJustin Guarini ยทClay Aiken ยทDiana DeGarmo ยทBo Bice ยทKatharine McPhee ยทBlake Lewis ยทDavid Archuleta ยทAdam Lambert ยทCrystal Bowersox ยทLauren Alaina ยทJessica Sanchez ยทKree Harrison ยทJena Irene ยทClark Beckham ยทLa'Porsha Renae ยทCaleb Lee Hutchinson ยทAlejandro Aranda ยทArthur Gunn ยทWillie Spence (โ€ ) ยทHunterGirl ยทMegan Danielle ยทWill Moseley
Notable Alumni
 ยทAlex Lambert ยทAlex Preston ยทAllegra Miles ยทAngie Miller ยทAnilee List ยทAnoop Desai ยทBeane ยทBenson Boone ยทBriston Maroney
 ยทBrooke White ยทCarly Smithson ยทCasey Abrams ยทCasey Bishop ยทCassandra Coleman ยทChris Daughtry ยทColton Dixon ยทDanny Gokey ยทDavid Brown ยทDeAndre Brackensick ยทElise Testone ยทElliott Yamin ยทFrancisco Martin ยทFritz Hager ยทGabby Barrett
 ยทGrace Kinstler ยทGraham DeFranco ยทHaley Reinhart ยทHollie Cavanagh ยทHunter Metts ยทJack Blocker ยทJacob Lusk
 ยทJames Durbin ยทJAX ยทJen Hirsh ยทJennifer Hudson ยทJeremiah Lloyd Harmon ยทJessica Meuse ยทJimmie Allen ยทJoey Cook
 ยทJosh Gracin ยทJoshua Ledet ยทJurnee ยทKaibrienne ยทKatie Stevens ยทKayla Mickelsen ยทKellie Pickler ยทLaci Kaye Booth ยทLaToya London ยทLauren Daigle ยทLauren Spencer-Smith ยทLeah Marlene ยทMandisa (โ€ ) ยทMargie Mays ยทMario Vรกzquez ยทMary Jo Young ยทMatt Giraud
 ยทMegan Joy ยทMelinda Doolittle ยทMichael J. Woodard ยทMycale Guyton ยทNadia Turner ยทNaima Adedapo ยทNikko Smith ยทParis Bennett
 ยทPaul McDonald ยทPhil Stacey ยทQuentin Alexander ยทRayvon Owen ยทRicky Braddy ยทSanjaya Malakar ยทShubha Vedula ยทSkylar Laine ยทSophia Wackerman ยทTamyra Gray ยทTim Halperin ยทTodrick Hall ยทTori Kelly ยทVonzell Solomon ยทWรฉ Ani ยทZachariah Smith
Coronation Songs
 ยท"A Moment Like This" ยท"Flying Without Wings" ยท"I Believe" ยท"Inside Your Heaven" ยท"Do I Make You Proud?"
 ยท"This Is My Now" ยท"The Time of My Life" ยท"No Boundaries" ยท"Beautiful Day" ยท"I Love You This Big" ยท"Home"
 ยท"I Am Beautiful" ยท"As Long as You Love Me" ยท"Beautiful Life" ยท"Falling" ยท"Going, Going, Gone"
 ยท"Flame" ยท"Rise Up" ยท"23" ยท"One Day Tonight" ยท"I'll Be Seeing You" ยท"This Isn't Over"
R.โ€ .P.
 ยทNikki McKibbin ยทRickey Smith ยทLeah LaBelle ยทMarque Lynche ยทMandisa ยทMichael Johns ยทJoanne Borgella ยทC.J. Harris
โ€” ยทAlexis Cohen ยทAustin Sisneros ยทJairon Jackson ยทMary Iaconelli ยทPaula Goodspeed
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