Black Eyed Peas front man will.I.am, Akon and writer/singer Sean “The Pen” Garrett have all been enlisted to help produce the highly anticipated album from Whitney Houston.
According to BMG CEO Clive Davis, Houston has recorded four songs for the untitled project, Houston’s first since her 2002 album Just Whitney.
Davis was clear that they would not attempt to change Houston’s image on the new album, despite the heavy presence of the rap producers.
“We’re on track for a holiday release,” Davis said during Billboard’s Music & Money Symposium yesterday (March 6). “We’re not going to compromise who she is to fit into today’s Hip-Hop radio market. The public wants Whitney material.”
The news of will.I.am and Garrett’s involvement with Houston’s latest album come on the heels of major business deals for both artists.
Will.I.am, who is also working with Michael Jackson on his upcoming album, recently partnered with Research In Motion (RIM) to bring his Dipdive online community and content available to users of RIM’s Blackberry device.
The rapper’s goal with Dipdive is to merge social networking with downloading music and other multimedia.
Sean Garrett, who has written 12 #1 singles since 2004, recently launched inked a deal with Interscope Records to release TURBO 919, his debut album.
Whitney Houston’s untitled album is due in stores sometime in November or December.