Black Eyed Peas’ will.i.am putting his “angst” aside and focusing on the “joy” of Global Citizen Live

Richard Chapin Downs Jr./Getty Images for Global Citizen

The Black Eyed Peas are among dozens of acts who’ll be performing across six continents on September 25 as part of the Global Citizen Live concert series, which will encourage governments and the private sector to help with vaccine equality, famine relief and climate change. The Peas are performing at the Paris edition of the event, along with Ed Sheeran and Doja Cat, though frontman will.i.am says he’s a bit nervous about traveling now, while the pandemic is surging.

“Flying to Paris brings about angst. I’m not going to lie,” he tells ABC News. “[I’m feeling] angst to get on an airplane and be in front of 20,000 people, but then there’s this other part that’s joy. So there’s this equal emotion.”

He adds, “I’m just super-excited to share this moment, because if your job is to bring joy and give a little escape for a moment and shed light on issues, you have to do that.”

As an example, Will brings up the Peas’ breakthrough hit, “Where Is the Love?,” which was inspired by 9/11 and its aftermath.

“You can’t stay at home when there’s other problems to be solved. You have to go out there and solve problems,” he maintains. “When 9/11 happened, we could have stayed home afraid, but we went out…on the road and what came out of that was ‘Where Is the Love?'”

Will concludes, “It’s an honor to contribute and help on the cause at the same time that Ed Sheeran is gonna be there, and all the artists from around the world.”  (AUDIO IS ABC 1-ON-1) 

Other acts who’ll be performing include Billie Eilish, Jennifer Lopez, Shawn Mendes and many more. You can either buy VIP tickets to the events, or earn free tickets by taking action. Find out how at GlobalCitizen.org.

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