Despite being 3 years in the making and featuring a long list of collaborations with notable names such as Britney Spears in “Scream & Shout” to Justin Bieber in “#thatPOWER”, will.i.am’s fourth album, #willpowerhasreceived mixed views, mostly expressing disappointment. Truth be told, I’m not surprised.

The electro dance-pop albumis vastly different from his previous solo album, Songs About Girls, which was hip-hop influenced. Instead, the recording artiste-producer seems to be into electro rave these days. Expect 15 pounding, romp-shaking club tracks, with 3 bonus tracks in its deluxe edition.

It’s hard to put a finger on what’s lacking exactly. However, midway through the album, you realise that #willpower doesn’t give its listeners the usual feel-good tracks such as “I Gotta Feeling” that The Black Eyed Peas used to offer. What he’s given us here would be great if you’re just looking to go head-banging crazy and wasted, but it’s nothing compared to the likes of “Let’s Get It Started” during his Black Eyed Peas days, where partying didn’t mean lifeless, computerized beats and auto-tune.

In an ocean of meaningless beats, even with 50% more tracks than you usually get, it’s hard to find a track you absolutely love. While “The World Is Crazy” is a breath of fresh air with rap lyrics that are actually intelligent, such as “I think everybody in the world has lost their mind, I believe they lost something they cannot find”. Despite the sudden serious tone to the album, it lacks the hook that draws people in.

Meanwhile, other tracks like “Gettin’ Dumb” start off sounding like any other dance track but surprises with a groovy slow beat midway. The song was a highly anticipated track among K-pop fans as it was the first collaboration between will.i.am and popular K-pop girl group 2NE1.

Other collaborations like chart-topper “Scream & Shout” were the immediate crowd pleaser. The moment Britney sings “When you hear this in the club, you gotta turn the sh*t up”, you know you’ve got to listen to the queen of pop. “Scream & Shout” is, by far, the most successful collaboration out of all, topping charts in over 24 countries. Without Britney’s vocals, this track wouldn’t have made it as far as it did. The most exciting part has got to be when the track interposes Britney saying “Britney bitch”, bringing back memories of Britney’s “Gimme More” back in 2007.

Added to that, other successful collaborations includes “#thatPOWER” featuring wildly popular Justin Bieber, who lent his vocals to the track, making it an addictive chorus leading up to the beat drop. When HollywireTV asked about his collaboration with Justin, The Voice UK‘s coach was full of excitement, imitating Justin’s enthusiasm in adding instruments to the song, starting his sentences with “yo bro, I got another idea!”, complimenting Justin saying “right when you think you’re done…he’s one of those kind of guys, and that’s great.”

However, not all of will.i.am’s collaborations were highly welcomed, especially the fans of Arty and Mat Zo when they heard a strangely familiar melody in will.i.am’s “Let’s Go” featuring Chris Brown. American hip-hop producer has came out, explaining he did not deliberately plagiarise Arty and Mat Zo’s “Rebound” at 1:06, which can be heard throughout will.i.am’s “Let’s Go”.

This wasn’t the only collaboration that suffered criticism due to plagiarism, with “Bang Bang’’ next in line to be shot down. Will.i.am was accused of stealing beats from Quintino’s “Epic”, causing rage amongst fans of edm genre and Quintino.

Although the album seems to continually disappoint, it’s undeniably, and almost frustratingly, addictive. On a whole, #willpower is like a warm Coke on a boiling hot day. You’re expecting a refreshing Coke that’ll satisfy your craving for iced refreshment, but the warm Coke just fizzles out into a flat serving of disappointment.

 

Album Details

Artiste: will.i.am

Album Name: #willpower

Rating: 2.5/5

Language: English

Genre: Rap/Electro-pop

Record Label: Interscope Records

Release date: Apr 16 2013

 

Tracklist

1. Good Morning

2. Hello

3. This Is Love feat. Eva Simons

4. Scream & Shout feat. Britney Spears

5. Let’s Go feat. Chris Brown

6. Gettin’ Dumb feat. apl.de.ap and 2NE1

7. Geekin’

8. Freshy feat. Juicy J

9. #thatPOWER feat. Justin Beiber

10. Great Times Are Coming

11. The World Is Crazy feat. Dante Santiago

12. Fall Down feat. Miley Cyrus

13. Love Bullets feat. Skylar Gray

14. Far Away From Home feat. Nicole Scherzinger

15. Ghetto Ghetto feat. Baby Kaely

16. Reach For The Stars

17. Smile Mona Lisa

18. Bang Bang