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Will.i.am, Slash Remix The Who's 'My Generation' For Haiti Charity Single

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by Gary Graff, Detroit  |   January 26, 2010 10:09 EST
Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images
The Who's Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend live in Brisbane, Australia on March 24, 2009.
Bradley Kanaris / Getty Images

A fresh remix of The Who's "My Generation" is coming to raise money for Haitian earthquake relief.

The Black Eyed Peas' will.i.am. tells Billboard.com that he was commissioned to remix the iconic 1965 rock anthem, which will air during the Super Bowl XLIV broadcast on Feb. 7 -- where the Who is performing at halftime -- and then go on sale via iTunes. "It's the Who, their song, and then I altered the lyric to fit my generation now and then have Slash on it," will.i.am says. "It was awesome. I loved that song way before this even came up, and talking to Pete Townshend on the phone is like, 'What?! I'm talking to Pete Townshend on the phone?!' That was awesome, being able to just hear their advice and everything. Those guys are just awesome."

The "My Generation" remix will be part of a big month for will.i.am and company as the Peas head to the Grammy Awards, where they're up for six trophies, including Album of the Year for "The E.N.D." and Record of the Year for "I Gotta Feeling." will.i.am won't hazard a guess on how many they'll win, however; "I don't want to jinx it," he says with a laugh.

The group is also gearing up for the Feb. 14 launch of a world tour that will stretch into the spring of 2011. "We're turning the whole arena into a club," he says. "It's like futuristic partying on stage -- robots and androids and funky beats, crazy lights and lasers, crazy costumes, subwoofers, like just bass in yo' face!...AEG's doing this tour with us, and when they came to see the (rehearsal) they were like, 'Wow, you guys got more stuff than Michael (Jackson), so that felt pretty good." He says the set list will encompass everything, including earlier hits such as "Let's Get Started," "Where is the Love" and "Big Girls Don't Cry."

will.i.am says all of the shows will be recorded and show on his Dipdive Internet platform. He also hints that some new Peas music may surface during the course of the tour. "We've got some tricks up our sleeves for something as early as June," he says, noting that it will be a recording but declining to specify further because "I just don't want the group to get mad at me. I'd rather say it as a group."

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