The Black Eyed Peas front man/entrepreneur/tech wizard, will.i.am pairs up with inventor/FIRST founder Dean Kamen for “i.am.FIRST: Science is Rock and Roll,” a groundbreaking, one-hour special promoting education, science and technology. The first of its kind, the special takes an inside, up close look at the 20thAnnual FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Championship, a worldwide science and robotics K-12 competition that celebrates technology and features live performances by The Black Eyed Peas and Willow Smith, as well as special appearances from a host of high profile celebrities speaking out to support STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) education. “i.am.FIRST — Science is Rock and Roll” airs SUNDAY, AUGUST 14 (7:00-8:00 p.m., ET) on The ABC Television Network.
“I.am.FIRST – Science is Rock and Roll” is an electric hour of highlights from the 20th Annual FIRST® Robotics Championship. At the FIRST event , will.i.am, Aneesh Chopra, Assistant to the President and Chief Technology Officer of the U.S., along with 30,000 students, fans, families, educators and industry leaders came together at the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis, MO to celebrate the engineering prowess of talented students from around the world. Featuring live musical performances by The Black Eyed Peas and Willow Smith before an enthusiastic crowd of 30,000, and special appearances by such celebrities as Justin Bieber, Jack Black, Bono, Miranda Cosgrove, Miley Cyrus, Josh Duhamel, Willow Smith, Britney Spears, Snoop Dogg, Justin Timberlake, Steven Tyler and Executive Producerwill.i.am, the program documents the challenges that the country’s best and brightest students faced in the FIRST Regional Competitions leading up to and culminating in the international Championship.
“As families across America are preparing to send their kids back to school, ‘i.am.FIRST – Science is Rock and Roll’ will entertain as well as get viewers excited about robots. Find out just how cool technology can be as the top robot teams face off in competition,” said Executive Producer/star will.i.am and FIRSTfounder Dean Kamen.
will.i.am is best known as the front man and producer of the multi-platinum award-winning group, The Black Eyed Peas. The seven-time Grammy Award winner has sold 31 million albums and in excess of 30 million singles as an iTunes top-selling artist with The Black Eyed Peas. His songs and imagery have entertained and inspired millions, and the power of his words resonated deeply in his song “Yes We Can” that mobilized an entire generation to action during the 2008 presidential campaign. As a musician, producer, director, fashion designer and advocate for causes, he is an enthusiastic user of technologies in both his professional and personal lives. Intel Corporation appointed will.i.am Director of Creative Innovation in January 2011. In this unique role, he collaborates with Intel scientists, programmers and marketing team members on a company-wide basis regarding content, technology and hardware strategies. will.i.am has expanded his creative career to incorporate film and television projects including “Madagascar 2: Escape to Africa” as a composer and lyricist of four original songs, as well as the instrumental scores for the movie, and also had his first feature film starring role as the voice of the animated character Moto Moto. In “Rio,” will.i.am starred as Pedro and composed an original song, “Hot Wings,” for the film. In February 2011 will.i.am made his directorial debut as the creator, director and producer of television commercials for the launch of Chatter.com. With a commitment to inspire kids to stay in school and go to college to become the leaders of tomorrow, will.i.am stresses the importance and power of a good education through his foundation, the i.am scholarship. The i.am scholarship provides future leaders and innovators comprehensive financial assistance to complete post-secondary education, as well as internship and professional opportunities at Dipdive.com. will.i.am is the recipient of multiple Grammy Awards, a Latin Grammy Award, an Emmy Award, two NAACP Image Awards, the BMI President’s Award and a Webby Award.
