If the Black Eyed Peas have their way, "The Beginning" will indeed be the start of a new phase in the group's career when it comes to performing live.
After a test-run through stadiums in South America earlier this month, will.i.am tells Billboard.com that the Peas are planning to promote the new album, which comes out Nov. 30, in similar venues around the world.
"South America was a test," he says. "We did all our homework...to try to figure out how we can do stadiums in other countries, in America, in Europe. If Black Eyed Peas can do five O2 Arenas, why don't we just do it in one shot? If we can do three Staples Centers, we should do one Dodgers Stadium. So that's how we'll probably tour this time around."
Will.i.am says he considers a stadium "the best one yet" to house a Peas show. "It's like you're there with all your friends. You're there in front of 50,000 people and they're there to watch you and your friends. Nothing gets any better than that. It's the best feeling, the best one yet."
Will.i.am expects the Peas to hit the road again "after February," when the group is rumored to be performing at the Super Bowl XLV halftime show
The more than two-month lag will give fans a chance to soak up "The Beginning," which the Peas wrote and recorded while on tour in support of 2009's double-platinum "The E.N.D.," which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and has sold 2.8 million copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan. Will.i.am says the two albums are tied together thematically by their hits, "I Gotta Feeling" from "The E.N.D." and "The Beginning's" first single, "The Time (Dirty Bit)," which samples "(I've Had) The Time of My Life" from the hit 1987 film "Dirty Dancing."
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