Canadian Music Week is proud to announce will.i.am as recipient of the CMW 2024 Nile Rodgers Global Creator Award. On June 5 Merck Mercuriadis, the Founder and Chairman of Hipgnosis Song Management will host a presentation of this annual award in conversation with will.i.am and Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee, Songwriters Hall of Fame inductee and multiple Grammy Award winning songwriter, composer, producer, arranger, and guitarist, Nile Rodgers.
The CMW Nile Rodgers Global Creators Award was established in 2014 to celebrate the most outstanding of creative geniuses of all ilk who have consistently made an indelible impact on a global scale throughout their careers.
As a creative artist, songwriter, producer, co-founder of the multi-platinum group Black Eyed Peas, tech entrepreneur, and Founder & CEO of FYI.AI will.i.am has been recognized by multiple Billboard Latin Music Awards, a BET Award, a CLIO Award, an Emmy Award, nine Grammy Awards, multiple MTV Music Video Awards, multiple NRJ Music Awards, the People’s Choice Awards, a TIME 100 Impact Award, the World Economic Forum’s Crystal Award, and multiple World Music Awards. In February 2024 he joined an exclusive group of music artists who have performed at two Super Bowl Halftime Shows (2011-Dallas, 2024-Las Vegas). will.i.am has written, produced and performed across multiple genres, from hip hop, pop, R&B, rap, Reggaeton, EDM, and Latin Urbano. Going strong 25+ years and counting, Black Eyed Peas released their acclaimed and most recent 9th studio album, “ELEVATION,” in 2022. Circumnavigating the globe across six continents, the multi-platinum act continues to pack stadiums, arenas and festival grounds as part of their 2024 performance calendar.
He is a master collaborator and works with the biggest names in music including Justin Bieber, JBalvin, Becky G, David Guetta, Jennifer Hudson, Michael Jackson, Mick Jagger, Nicki Minaj, John Legend, Ozuna, Rihanna, Brittney Spears, Shakira and Usher. will.i.am also holds the distinction of having the first song played back from Mars, “Reach For The Stars” as part of a collaboration with NASA and the Mars Curiosity mission team.
With dual-track, fluid careers in both music and technology, will.i.am continues to switch up how and where music is created and played. As a founding equity stakeholder in Beats Electronics, will.i.am was instrumental in helping to develop and then transforming Beats By Dre™ into a global consumer electronics brand. Beats Electronics was purchased by Apple in 2014 for US$3 billion. In 2023, will.i.am forged an innovative collaboration with Formula 1, the world’s largest motor sports organization. He is their first Artist in Residence and serves as a Curator of the program. Two F1-inspired tracks have been released, “THE FORMULA” and “LET’S GO.”
In 2024, he introduced MBUX Sound Drive in partnership with Mercedes-Benz. Acclaimed as “one of the true automotive audio breakthroughs of CES”, this in-car
technology allows the music software to react to real-time driving characteristic, capable of synching to virtually any in-car “signal,” including acceleration, braking, and steering sensors to create new rhythms and fresh tracks with every drive. Breaking new ground in the radio industry, will.i.am Presents “THE FYI SHOW” on SiriusXM is the first radio program to feature an AI co-host. Debuting in January 2024, “THE FYI SHOW” features live guests from the worlds of music, pop culture, and current affairs who engage in lively conversations with will.i.am and his AI co-host FYIona. Via the FYI app, listeners can also interact with FYIona directly one-on-one after each episode has aired.
Nile Rodgers is a Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee, Songwriters Hall of Fame inductee and a multiple Grammy Award winning songwriter, composer, producer, arranger, and guitarist.
In 2023 he became the first creator to be awarded a Lifetime Achievement Grammy for his legacy in the same year as being awarded a Grammy for his work with Beyoncé on the smash hit “Cuff It”. As the co-founder of CHIC, Nile pioneered a musical language that generated chart-topping hits like “Le Freak”, the biggest selling single in the history of Atlantic Records and sparked the advent of hip-hop with “Good Times” and “Rapper’s Delight”.Nile’s work in the CHIC Organization, including “We Are Family” for Sister Sledge and “I’m Coming Out” for Diana Ross, and his productions for artists such as David Bowie(“Let’s Dance”), Madonna (“Like A Virgin”), and Duran Duran (“The Reflex”) have sold more than 500 million albums and 100 million singles worldwide. His innovative, trendsetting collaborations with Daft Punk (“Get Lucky) , Daddy Yankee (“Agua”) , LE SSERAFIM (“Unforgiven”) and Beyoncé (“Cuff It”) reflect the vanguard of contemporary hits.
Merck Mercuriadis is the Founder and Chairman of Hipgnosis Song Management and Founder of Hipgnosis Songs Fund, a London FTSE 250 company, and Hipgnosis Songs Capital in partnership with Blackstone. The Companies have invested more than $3 billion in iconic songs that have been extraordinarily successful and are of great cultural importance amassing a portfolio of over 150 catalogues, including the catalogues of Neil Young, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Nile Rodgers, Lindsey Buckingham/Christine McVie /Fleetwood Mac, Shakira, Leonard Cohen, The Dream, Steve Winwood, Justin Timberlake, Journey, Justin Bieber, Timbaland, The RZA, David A. Stewart / Eurythmics, Jimmy Iovine, Chris Cornell / Soundgarden, Kenny Chesney, Mark Ronson, Richie Sambora / Bon Jovi, Nelly Furtado, Journey, Carole Bayer Sager and Chrissie Hynde / The Pretenders. The catalogue includes more than 22% of the Spotify Billions Club and over 10% of Rolling Stone’s Top 500 songs of all time, 14 of
YouTube’ Top 30 Most Viewed Videos Of All Time (49%) and 61 of Billboard’s 500 Best Pop Songs Of All Time (12%). Highlights include Don’t Stop Believin’, Hallelujah, Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It), Umbrella, Shape Of You, Go Your Own Way, Heart Of Gold, Higher Love, All I Want For Christmas Is You, Like A Virgin, Let’s Dance, Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This), Get Lucky, Smooth, Le Freak, Hips Don’t Lie, Under The Bridge, Livin’ On A Prayer, Maneater, Good Times, Black Hole Sun, I’ll Stand By You, Uptown Funk, Despacito, Can’t Stop The Feeling, That’s What Friends Are For and many more. As a manager, Mercuriadis has helped to guide the careers of Nile Rodgers, Elton John, Guns N’ Roses, Iron Maiden, Beyoncé, Morrissey and many others.