Will.i.am thinks making music is like being a top Italian chef.
The 37-year-old star likened the jobs to having the same ingredients but being able to produce different results.
He told the Daily Star newspaper: "I'm like a chef - you have to have the ability to mess up a pizza and turn it into a calzone. It's hard to bake a pizza, use the same ingredients and make spaghetti and do lasagne.
"Think about those dishes. They all have the same ingredients, except for the flour."
After scoring his first solo No 1 with 'Where Is The Love?', and judging on 'The Voice', the Black Eyed Peas member is enjoying how life has changed.
He admitted: "It's amazing all the love I'm getting. I was talking to Apl - my best friend from the Peas - and saying it feels like 2002 again for me.
"2002 was when 'Where Is The Love?' was about to kick off. In 2012, it's a different level."
Despite selling 60million records, he still gets nervous.
Will.i.am said: "It's like I've never been on stage before. I've played to a million people in Brazil at the World Cup and at the Super Bowl.
"You'd think I have nerves of steel, but I feel brand new again."
Now he is focussed on giving back to communities.
He explained: "I sold millions of records, so now all there is to do is to change the inner cities that have been neglected."
