will.i.am On “Work B**tch”: Song Is NOT A Reflection Of Spear’s Newest Album

will.i.am revealed this an interview with Billboard after announcing the American Music Award nominees on October 10.

When explaining why they chose to release the song as the first single, he mentioned that “the album is what the album is, but we felt that song needed to come out to keep the foundation on what Britney represents.” He went on to say “it shouldn’t reflect the album — an album is a body of work as a collective. If we had to pick a song like, ‘Oh, what song fits every color of the record,’ you shouldn’t do that… We felt that song represents ‘Piece of Me,’ that Britney oomph.”

For them, making the executive decision was all about keeping Spears’ image, but working in new ways to challenge her creatively. will.i.am. commented on the Spears’ fan base, explaining that an artist would not have potential to grow if they always stuck by their fans. “You have to have one foot in ‘I want to honor the fan base,’ and then the other foot in ‘Let’s see this potential where we can go.’ And hopefully, the fans — if we mind the chatter — will accept and appreciate where we ended up,” he said.

Spears has a busy schedule so far. Her album, Spears has mentioned, is scheduled to be released on December 3rd. This will be followed by her residency show at the Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino in Las Vegas on December 27th which will go on through 2015.