xboom by will.i.am
(Image credit: LG)
I gotta feeling
(Woo-hoo)
That tonight's gonna be about LG releasing Bluetooth audio kit in partnership with will.i.am at CES
will.i.am, the former Black Eyed Pea and solo musician who's also carved out an niche as a tech entrepreneur, is lending his percussively punctuated name to a new range of audio products.
The artist never known as Mr Am is now the "experiential architect" for LG, a rather silly job title that comes with some equally silly-sounding marketing. But the actual news is interesting, because it means LG's going to launch some new audio products under its xboom by will.i.am brand – and both parties are claiming that the artist will actually have a hand in the process.
will.i.am: the man, the brand
will.i.am is a busy chap. He's lent his name to the Puls smartband – which earned a mighty two out of five stars in our review – and the i.am Dial+ smartwatch, which resembled a fat Fitbit. He teamed up with Gucci to launch a luxury "smart band" that's so exclusive it's never been on sale to anybody, he was the face of a triangular speaker backpack and he's also the mind behind the foto.sosho iPhone lenses.
So what's he doing at LG? The visionary will "provide strategic counsel for LG xboom’s product development, design, and brand marketing," LG says.
More practically, LG says he played a pivotal role in developing the "LG signature sound" and will integrate his RAiDiO.FY "AI-powered interactive audio experience*,* to introduce a new generation of listeners to infotainment." Soon you too will be able to "have a two-way real-time conversation with [your] favorite topic-based STAiTiONS."
The "xboom by will.i.am" Bluetooth speakers and earbuds will be unveiled at CES in January 2025. And gentle ribbing aside, they'll emphatically be worth a listen considering LG's XBoom XO2T gained a glowing review from us in 2024, as did the company's LG Tone Free T90S earbuds.
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Contributor
Writer, broadcaster, musician and kitchen gadget obsessive Carrie Marshall has been writing about tech since 1998, contributing sage advice and odd opinions to all kinds of magazines and websites as well as writing more than a dozen books. Her memoir, Carrie Kills A Man, is on sale now and her next book, about pop music, is out in 2025. She is the singer in Glaswegian rock band Unquiet Mind.