Black Eyed Peas prep for high-tech summer tour

Detroit, June 15: The Black Eyed Peas are "trying to up our game" for the pop/hip-hop group`s headlining tour, according to Fergie.

The Peas` female member tells Billboard.com that she and her bandmates will begin rehearsals for the headline portion of their tour later this summer, after a run of festival appearances in North America and Europe. The group`s new album, "The E.N.D.," has spawned a megahit in its lead single, "Boom Boom Pow," which has topped the Billboard Hot 100 for 10 consecutive weeks. "It`s going to be the biggest tour, production-wise, that we`ve ever done. We`re actually planning for that now, which we`ve never done before -- actually plan for a tour. It`s usually just learn the songs by performing at festivals, and that`s our show. But now we`re stepping it up. We had some visuals before, but now we are going to have a lot more, and we`re really excited about that." Fergie says the Peas will "utilize a lot of the technology that`s out there" but adds that it`s "too early" to get into specifics. "We`re just now getting together what we`re going to do for the festivals and are kind of just making an outline and putting in what we would like to happen (for the tour). So I can`t really talk about it yet." The Peas` itinerary for the next three months includes stops at the Virgin Festival in Montreal, the Glastonbury Festival in England, the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland and the Outland Lands Music & Arts Festival in San Francisco, among others, before heading to Japan in September. The group also opens five U2 shows in October. "That`s going to be amazing," Fergie notes. "I remember going to see U2 in high school -- I went on two different dates to U2 concerts, so now to be on that stage, it`s going to be challenging. We definitely have to bring it at those shows." Fergie also will be on the big screen this fall in "Nine," director Rob Marshall`s film adaptation of the Tony Award-winning musical. Due out in late November, it stars Daniel Day-Lewis, Nicole Kidman, Penelope Cruz, Judi Dench and Kate Hudson, and bills Fergie under her real name, Stacy Ferguson. "That experience was amazing. It was a breath of fresh air that I needed from touring," Fergie says. "So many of those actors are just the best in the game, and Rob ... I have nothing but amazing words to say about him. I really loved it." Bureau Report