will.i.am to executive produce Britney Spears' new album

will.i.am has landed more studio time with Britney Spears after signing on as executive producer of her upcoming album.

The Black Eyed Peas star teamed up with Spears for the hit Scream & Shout and now the pop pair is planning to work on a string of new hits for the Toxic singer's first album since her stint as a judge on TV talent show The X Factor.

He tells RollingStone.com, "They asked me to be involved in, not producing and writing every song, but to be an executive producer on the songs."

will.i.am reveals he jumped at the chance to work with Britney again, but he wants to really get to know her first: "I was like, 'OK, look, guys, me and Britney need to have lunch four times a month for three months before I even try to go in the studio with her, because we need to talk. We need to talk about what she's excited about in life. I gotta talk about the things that hurt her. I gotta talk about the things that make her concerned - she's a mother. I gotta talk to her about all the things that her fans want to talk to her about. I gotta be the vehicle between her and her fans.'

"(I said), 'We can't do another song about going on the dance floor. Really? Didn't we see a bunch of Britney doing that already? Don't we want to see something that comes from her heart?'"

The quality time appears to have paid off as will.i.am and Britney spent a recording session together on Tuesday (30Apr13) and the producer admits it was "amazing".