will.i.am is the namesake of William James Adams Jr. He has been prominent in the Pop group the Black Eyed Peas, which achieved considerable commercial music success before cutting a professional musical career of his own. This album didn’t receive great reviews upon its release, to be fair and that is putting it lightly. However, the release did get noticed for having many guests on it, which paved the way for the postmodern vision of the “celebrity with a laptop” album method of making. The album was originally named Black Einstein and was due for a 2011 release but was reimagined and delayed thereafter. The album has a production team of: will.i.am; Afrojack; Maejor; Steve Angello; Audiobot; Benny Blanco; Cirkut; DJ Mustard; Free School; Dr. Luke; FRESHM3N III; Hit-Boy; Mike Free; Sebastian Ingrosso; Lazy Jay; Zach “GFG” Jones; Damien “DJ Ammo” Leroy; Verrigni and Poet. #willpower was released on 19 April 2013. Let’s take a listen to this album, and we shall hope it isn’t overly abysmal.

1. Good Morning is an introductory track to the world of will.i.am. It sounds like a postmodern symphonic ballad, and has a ton of autotuned vocals present. It sounds very melodramatic, particularly with the string section included. Very sweet, and a good listening experience about the consistency of the human soul. Very lovely to hear, and less than two minutes in length. Super sweet to listen to.

2. Hello features AFROJACK. It begins with some interesting Electronic Music textures and launches into a very early 2010s tune that actually sounds quite good. A really good piece of music to listen to, although aimed at a heavily inspired EDM crowd. This is much better than expected, with some awesomely crafted autotuned vocals and a definite club vibe throughout. This music is very memorable to listen to and is a continuation of the introductory tune. It sounds very good and majestic throughout, with some awesome sounds and memorable vocals throughout. A cool, visionary and interesting tune with some excellent digital vocals and electronic sounds to match. This is a winner of a tune that has some typical party hard lyricism and music to match. The music is better than your average music made today, and that says a lot. A powerful and excellent listen, will.i.am deserves praise here. It seems he has come of age on this album. A decent song. The string section at the end is sweet.

3. This Is Love features Eva Simons. It has some moody piano to begin with and sounds quite decent. Some radio-ready vocals enter by will.i.am enter and he chants to a metaphorical crowd throughout. Our guest sings much better than will.i.am does, and this launches into more of the same Pop/EDM Music. It sounds very good and puts love to a comparison of everything musical. It has a great amount of digital editing throughout and sounds like a million dollars or more was spent alone on the recording of this album. This is a fairly middle-of-the-road sort of Pop Music recording, and it sounds really quite okay. Not as phenomenal as one would expect, and will.i.am’s voice is not the greatest in these songs. Still, it sounds very 2013 and very Pop oriented. A worthy addition to this album anyway. Worth listening to, just for the nostalgia. It has a very digitally modified outro here. “Can you feel the love?” is asked here. Not bad.

4. Scream & Shout features Britney Spears. Probably not a good idea to have her on this song in the first place. It begins with electronic percussive-styled melodies and nicely mixed vocals, before launching into a terrible song that has been overplayed many times over the years. This tune is not the greatest, but the chorus is very anthemic throughout. Not a great listen, unless you want to have a bad flashback to 2013 and hear some atrocity. Both will.i.am and Britney Spears would be better served not bothering here. The production is fantastic, but adding Britney Spears to a song that would be 10 times better off without her on it and instead someone much better as an artist is a real disgrace. In any case, this does sound quite interesting to listen to, for all its appalling musical ideals. A childish, sell-out and pathetic idea for a song, if you like that sort of thing, then you will love this. The lyrics are also very awful, and unimaginative as well. A terrible listening experience that hasn’t dated well at all. The textures are good, but everything else about this tune is lame. Listen once to remember it, and never hear this again.

5. Feelin’ Myself features Miley Cyrus, French Montana, Wiz Khalifa and Mustard. It begins with some interesting and processed sounds, before launching into quite a good listen, compared to what came before it. A really interesting tune with some explicit lyrics and a real Tyga vibe throughout, this sounds quite varied and worth adding to your average 2010s DJ set. A really interesting and sweet listen with some nice electronic melodies, this music is a timely listen to remind one of what 2013 was about. The guests sound fantastic and add some real character to this tune. It seems that will.i.am understood how to make a decent album by this point of it, for the most part. Yes, this is a postmodern Pop Music album with a touch of Rap and EDM, but this works well on many levels. Perhaps some music reviewers need to clean their ears out before reviewing Pop albums such as this one? A good listen, in any case. Cool.

6. Gettin’ Dumb features apl.de.ap and 2NE1. It begins with edited pianos and launches into an interesting and catchy tune. The K-Pop girl group 2NE1 is present, and they sing lovely and beautifully throughout, as they always do. A cool song, but what is getting “dumb”? It likely means the process of killing brain cells by partying hard. This music is really quite interesting and very electronic in its orientation, with cut-up sounds and other interesting edits throughout. A cool and interesting listening experience that sounds really energetic and refreshing throughout. This is the sort of music to blast pre-millennials out of their comfort zone in a musical sense. The sounds and instrumentation sound really classy throughout. A powerful, interesting and moving tune with some interesting and memorable melodies that demand repeat listens throughout. will.i.am doesn’t have the greatest vocals ever, and he seriously needs some singing lessons throughout. Towards the end are some acoustic guitars and autotuned vocals to conclude this tune. A very good listen, all the same. Worth hearing it for 2NE1 alone, and a powerful digital masterpiece. It ends with the piano intro.

7. Geekin’ begins with some electronic bleeps and enters into a groovy and weird-sounding tune that isn’t particularly musical. This is better than what critics may think of this music, but even so, this approach has been bettered elsewhere in a musical sense. will.i.am sounds like an interesting Rapper present on this tune, and thank goodness that he has some musical experience, otherwise, this would be far worse. Namechecking billionaires isn’t exactly a cool thing though, despite the fact that will.i.am aspires to be rich and famous. This music is about geeking out on music per se, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with being a music nerd. A good and family-fresh listen, this is here today gone tomorrow Pop Music for 2013. There is a brief interlude with choirs of a familiar film company melody, before returning to the musical mayhem at hand. A good listen, but this refers to being absurdly rich and famous. Very good but a tad selfish.

8. Freshy features Juicy J. It begins with some beeps and time-stretched melodies, launching into an underrepresented (at least on this album) tune that sounds very different. will.i.am and company put a lot of effort into this music, even if it is very clear that this is a sell-out album. Mind you, wasn’t the Sex Pistols a sell-out, too? All the same, this is rather ordinary Rap Music that could be bettered. With open references to drug use and whores, this is the answer to the divisive nature of the gender imbalance in the postmodern music scene today, from Taylor Swift to most male Rappers. A pretty lame listen though, this isn’t the best-ever Rap song. will.i.am makes a junk tune here, and it goes on for too long for a throwaway piece, at four minutes long. In any case, this is an interesting glimpse into the mind of will.i.am and it sounds direct. The music still fits the album, even if it is rather trashy. Good but definitely in need of editing.

9. #thatPOWER features Justin Bieber and is one of the hit singles from this album. It begins with an awful melody that has been bettered by EDM DJs and launches into a straightforward Dance Music tune. This is very lame and simple from the start. Justin Bieber is heavily autotuned on this song, which isn’t 100% necessary and he lifts some Daft Punk lyrics. This is junk, quite clearly. Enjoyable junk, but still junk to listen to. Unfortunately, there were better hits around this time, even from this album. will.i.am needs to get some quality control through his music, and Justin Bieber needs a lot less autotune on his voice. Even so, this sounds okay-ish. This song is a bit of an insult to human intelligence, even if you enjoy it. Perhaps postmodern music has truly run out of musical ideas? Seems like it with this album. The amount of autotune on both main men’s vocals is really too much. This song clearly needs a big rethink. Sadly, since machines have been making music for us, the reality is that the music has been steadily getting worse over the decades. This is a clear example of that. Avoid

10. Great Times Are Coming begins with some rather Beatlesque piano, which Paul McCartney should launch legal action over. This has some rather simplistic and predictable lyrics that aren’t flash-hot. This just sounds like a rehash of better music out there, which quite frankly, doesn’t sound good at all. This quickly deteriorates into a happy-clappy EDM tune with Trap beats and rapping galore. This stinks of a lack of inspiration and originality. Even Kendrick Lamer and Drake make better and more decent Rap tunes than this. A really lacking and terrible listen, this is not what is needed. This is the musical equivalent of vomit that you have to hold back down, it just isn’t a good situation musically. In the second half is a sweeping yet rather static string section, followed by a vocal section stating, “What do you see in the future?” and the answer being, “I see…partying”. That won’t be the case in the world today, so this is a fairly unrealistic observation. It launches into a semi-decent EDM section afterwards, at least this is somewhat redeeming. This wraps up with autotuned vocals, not the best listening experience.

11. The World Is Crazy features Dante Santiago. It begins with ghostly vocal harmonies, and samples some crowd cheering from what sounds like a soccer video game. Seriously. This progresses gradually into a beat-heavy Pop song that is more filler on this album. The strings are very Disco-based here. This is a semi-moral listen, and will.i.am warns people that watching TV and YouTube constantly can and does warp one’s mind. This has the notion of people having their 15 minutes of fame as well, which is especially what some people seem to want to have these days. In any case, this is not a worthwhile listen as it sounds fairly trashy. Which sums up the album. It’s not good or bad, just junk. will.i.am blames society for people’s ills and perhaps points out that music is a liberating force. Finally, the dude makes some sense, but in a very negative and moralistic way. You may want to skip ahead, this isn’t very worthwhile or memorable on this tune. A string section and beats conclude this track, with the sounds from the intro.

12. Fall Down features Miley Cyrus. It begins with some weird string sections, quickly followed by acoustic guitars and whistling. Super autotuned vocals follow, and this sounds ridiculously robotic. Another rather ordinary and throwaway listen, with some pounding House Music styled EDM 4/4 beats and Rapping, this is definitely a celebrity with a laptop effort. Unfortunately, this is not a good effort to enjoy and to sit through. A rather pathetic and lame listen, surely will.i.am could have had a bit more quality control over these songs? Regardless, postmodern music has definitely done better in many ways. A drag to get through, and although Miley Cyrus’s appearance is a welcome change, this isn’t overly awesome or clever. will.i.am sounds as though he could better his music. Perhaps a little more musical structure, less weed use and less production would benefit this music? Also, this goes on for quite a while, at nearly five minutes long. The weird string section returns for a bit, followed by looped and awful vocals. This isn’t impressive. Skip ahead if you so desire, which isn’t a difficult decision to make here.

13. Love Bullets features Skylar Grey. It begins with some electronic whooshes and launches into a heavy piano ballad which has some decent singing from our guest. This is a very Calvin Harris-styled song, and will.i.am’s singing is really atrocious, as per usual. In any case, the music is fairly horrible to listen to on this tune. It seems at this point, will.i.am is creating filler on this album. This does sound like a very ordinary listening experience, and the sounds and music are done better elsewhere on this album. The instrumental breakdowns do not sound really good, either. A weird and strange tune to listen to, this tune sounds really awful by this point of the album. Skip ahead at this point as the album takes a turn for the worse. A drag to listen to with some terrible and trashy lyrics to listen to. Again, this is a here today, gone tomorrow Pop album that lacks promise and interest throughout. Just not good, please do not listen to this junk. The outro has a sampled Led Zeppelin beat and some awful melodies. Terrible.

14. Far Away From Home features Nicole Scherzinger. It is a slighter better tune with elements of Chiptune melodies and guitar, with some terribly autotuned vocals throughout. This isn’t very impressive to listen to. This tune reeks of filler music and a pretentious attitude throughout. This is truly awful, digitised music with no real meaning or ability to be appreciated by most listeners. Sure, this album would have gotten plenty of attention from listeners but lyrics about a rich drug dealer making it (why?) and other deeds make this tune sound terrible throughout. Junk food music, this is just not on. A musical drag and something that is difficult to be appreciated in general. There is a breakdown in the second half of the song, which makes this piece even less classy. A depressing listening experience, this does not have anything at all worth hearing at this point. It ends with a repeated chorus unnecessarily and handclaps that do not make this tune any better. A disaster.

15. Ghetto Ghetto features Baby Kaely. This instantly sounds like a pathetic and depressing song that lacks musical accomplishment and has a kid rapper, believe it or not. This is beyond awful and makes Kid Rock look like an accomplished and respected musician. This is a terrible song about the worst situations that one can grow up in. Most families are dysfunctional, and this song doesn’t need to state the obvious. Tell us something we don’t know. This is absolutely terrible to listen to and does not have anything functional musically about it. If you have children, then it is best to not share this rubbish song with them. A junk piece of music that will.i.am desperately needs to get rid of. A pathetic song, and nothing worthy of your time. Just bad, and a really appalling and cringeworthy song. A good example of the worst of music in the 21st century. It ends with piano and poor vocals to match. Just not good.

16. Reach For The Stars begins with some weird EDM and processed-based beats, launching into a slightly better tune with some straightforward sounds and textures. This is a better listen, but by this point of the album, the momentum has been ruined throughout. In any case, this is a relatively interesting listen with all the electronics throughout. It does sound a lot like a Daft Punk rip-off, and samples Lil Jon as well. Really lacking, it would have been better for Lil Jon not to appear on this song, and the music is quite trashy, once again. A weird and bad song to listen to, this does not have any musical inspiration to it all. It just sounds like something that nobody will remember in 20 years. Even the strings and keyboard sounds don’t make this tune any better. The solar system references aren’t brilliant, and the section towards the end with children’s choirs isn’t really cool. A better tune than the previous few, but not by a long shot. This finishes with beats and string sections and it sounds very odd.

17. Smile Mona Lisa begins with acoustic guitar playing and washes of strings. This is a really lame story about the metaphorical life of the painting of Mona Lisa in a postmodern sense. The weirdest song you can imagine, this does not sound at all worthy of your time. It’s a musical drag and a nonsensical one at that. Go on, skip ahead or turn off the album by this point. This is a pathetic tune, one you will roll your eyes at upon listening. This song is a nonsensical listen and points out that will.i.am would be better off sticking to roles as a record collaborator and producer. He obviously learned that after the release of this album. The Opera styled vocals to match this song are quite good, before this dissolves into electronic beats and strings to conclude with. An ordinary listen, this is not good. Avoid.

18. Bang Bang is the last song on this album. About time. It begins with horns which sound good but out of place on this record. It enters into an awful song by will.i.am who desperately needs a makeover. It launches into a weird song which is a big sellout and doesn’t have anything worthwhile or inspirational throughout. The music is super cheesy, and it does not make any sense lyrically. This is a drag to hear, and it sounds like something that could have been done much better, or possibly junked in the process. This ends the disappointing album on a disappointing note, and it just doesn’t have any polish or character about it. One can hit stop at this point and go and do something better than hearing this trash. It also goes on for too long for a song of its sort, and referencing Pop Music and icons of culture does not make this get any better. There is some pathetic ukulele on this tune as well. It’s just not good to hear, and a really pathetic music-listening experience. Just avoid it, and you will be doing yourself a big favour. It finally winds up after nearly five minutes. An awful effort.

This is a Pop album that does not have any real lasting impact or continuity. Some of the more popular tracks on it are very good, but for the most part, the album is lacking. As noted, will.i.am would have been better off working on other things rather than releasing this album. It is a mostly trashy affair. Should you listen to this album? Unless you are digging some Pop nostalgia from the early 2010s, don’t bother.

A mixed-up attempt at solo artistry.

5/10