will.i.am first announced the song via his Twitter account , before announcing it via various online media . Links to a demo version of the song were made available via Dipdive and Google . On November 18 , Will released the cover art for the single , using it as his Twitter avatar and background . The song was premiered live on November 20 , 2011 , live at the 2011 American Music Awards at the Nokia Theater . The performance included will.i.am and Lopez performing live , and Jagger performing via video link . The song was made available on iTunes immediately following the AMA performance . The song was produced by Audiobot , Dallas Austin and will.i.am , as well as Jimmy Iovine . will.i.am originally presented the track to Iovine without the featured artists , as a finished work , and was caught off guard by his request to add performers to the song . In response , he threw out Jagger 's name among possible collaborators because he thought it would never happen . Iovine ended up producing Jagger 's vocals - it was the first time he had produced in decades . Immediately after the AMA performance , will.i.am thanked Fighting Gravity via Twitter . will.i.am also performed the song live at the American Giving Awards on December 10 . Neither Lopez nor Jagger appeared
2011 American Music Awards
American Music Awards of 2011
T.H.E. (The Hardest Ever)