"Boom" sets off nonstop party from Black Eyed Peas

"As individuals, we're misfits," says Fergie, the sultry female singer of the Black Eyed Peas. "Together, we're like one big misfit. People are always questioning who the hell we are."

It's the day after the group's May 6 performance, in futuristic garb, on ABC's "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" Chilling out in a small, sparsely furnished room at Center Staging in Burbank, California, she and fellow members of the multiracial group -- Will.i.am, Taboo and apl.de.ap -- resemble a live version of a United Colors of Benetton ad.

Fergie is dressed in black-and-white capri-length leggings set off by a hot pink shirt and a sharp pair of black ankle-strapped heels from her self-named shoe line. Sitting next to her on the sofa is apl.de.ap in a lemon V-neck T-shirt, white-framed shades and his signature Mohawk. Opting for blue-green glasses, Taboo sports a black leather vest, an eye-catching cross on a silver chain and several impressive arm tattoos.

With his close-cropped hair hidden under a red plaid cap, Will.i.am sits astride a black chair, wearing a striped shirt and gray jeans tucked into black combat boots. He's pondering the question Fergie just answered: Who are the Black Eyed Peas?

"When something is different, authentically unique, it's always going to be questioned," the Peas' mastermind says. "By default, people aren't going to understand us because there aren't that many like us."

'THE E.N.D.' IS NEAR

After the multiplatinum pop success of 2003's "Elephunk" and then 2005's "Monkey Business," the Black Eyed Peas stood accused by fans of selling out: blunting its cutting-edge, live-band hip-hop in favor of lightweight pop crossover fare. As the June 9 release date for their fifth studio album, "The E.N.D." (will.i.am music/Interscope), approaches, some of the same criticism has cropped up. But what's not in question is the exploding popularity of "Boom Boom Pow" -- the first No. 1 single for this band of creative misfits.

Rooted in club beats and the 808 old-school kick sound, the energetic track is a runaway top 40 hit, and has been No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for seven weeks.

The concept for "The E.N.D.," an acronym for "The Energy Never Dies," doesn't stray far from the Peas' basic formula, Will.i.am says. "We've always had a smorgasbord of sounds including dance," he notes, pointing to songs like "Be Free" from "Behind the Front," "Weekends" (on "Bridging the Gap") and "My Humps" ("Monkey Business"). This time around, Will.i.am became inspired while in Australia filming his first major movie role, as the mutant John Wraith in "X-Men Origins: Wolverine." During downtime away from the set, he soaked up the electro dance and house club vibes in Sydney.

"The youth in those clubs are pumping a whole different thing," Will.i.am says. "It felt like hip-hop 1989, 1990, 1992. But they're not rapping. It's all beats. I came back just buzzing."

With Taboo, apl.de.ap and several band members in tow, Will.i.am flew to London, where Fergie was working on her first major film role, in "Nine." Setting up shop at the same studio where they recorded "Monkey Business," the Peas began working on "The E.N.D."

'ARTISTIC FACTORY'

"There's always a sense of Andy Warhol whenever we make a Black Eyed Peas album," Fergie says. "It's an artistic factory with several rooms going at the same time. We don't just sit down. We jump from room to room, all of us adding ideas to the recipe. If you get burned out on one idea or your ears get tired, you walk to another room and step into a whole fresh creative zone for more ideas."

Enlisted to help draft beats were MSTRKRFT, David Guetta, Boys Noize, Keith Harris and Paper Boy. The result is a nonstop party album fusing rock, soul, hip-hop, reggae and dub with thumping beats, tempo twists and turns, and memorable hooks. Beyond "Boom Boom Pow," there's the upcoming second single, "I Gotta Feeling," which apl.de.ap describes as a "college anthem for people looking forward to escaping life's pressures by going out and having a ball."

Picking up on the same escape theme is "Out of My Head." Channeling R&B veteran Millie Jackson, a slurring Fergie opens with three little words, "I'm so tipsy" -- which she was while recording the song. "This song reminds me of the fun character of 'My Humps.' I told Will we have to get some wine if I'm going to do this correctly. I'm not going to front on this song. So we all got a little tipsy."