Although Pharrell Williams is only entering his second season of NBC’s “The Voice,” he’s already over addressing why the show hasn’t been able to create a superstar.
“I don’t understand why we have these interviews, and people ask the same question every time,” Williams said during the show’s Season 8 press conference on Monday, alongside fellow coaches Adam Levine, Christina Aguilera and Blake Shelton, which was attended by TheWrap.
The Grammy-winning musician was addressing a line of questioning from a journalist who asked whether it was significant that the show hadn’t produced a star.
“I think it’s because I feel like you’re looking for something,” Williams continued. “And I’d almost rather you just ask Adam [Levine], or whoever it is that you want to know this from, whoever you want to see give you something that you can take back that’s going to really bite and make your bosses excited that you got something good. That’s not why we’re here to do this interview. We’re here to do this interview because we want to explain to you what this is and what it means to us. It’s a gift.”
He would go on to ask the group of journalists, “When’s the last time you gave someone, you know, mentoring or took the time out of your schedule to tutor, and to actually really deal with people’s real emotions?”
In a cooler response to the question about creating stars, Levine admitted that “we want to have that happen” but felt that there are other ways to look at success.
“There’s been plenty of successes to pinpoint,” the Maroon 5 front man reasoned. “But, people really don’t choose to look at that, they choose to look at all the things that haven’t happened yet. But, a lot has happened for a lot of these artists who are all better off and are all at another level of their careers as a result of being on ‘The Voice.'”
Although “The Voice” can brag about attracting more viewers than “American Idol” at this point, one thing the longer-running Fox competition continues to trump the NBC show in is generating superstars. Over its run, “Idol” has created hit makers Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, Jordyn Sparks, Chris Daughtry and Philip Phillips, among many others.
Over the past few seasons, “The Voice” coaches and producers have tried to steer the attention away from its lack of superstar winners to the process of making the show.
Levine stressed that a lot of elements have to come together at the right moment to make a star, but he’s still hopeful.
“Whether it’s on a television show or it’s on a record label,” he said. “Whatever your scenario is, it’s tough. So, it’s going to happen. I believe ‑‑ I genuinely believe that. I don’t believe that there’s any sort of formula that can guarantee that.”
“The Voice” returns Monday, Feb. 23 at 8 p.m. on NBC.
"IDOL" SEASON 1 - Kelly Clarkson: The first "Idol" winner is still one of the show''s most successful alums. As of January, she had scored a record 80 Billlboard number ones, sold nearly 12 million albums in the U.S. and sang at President Obama's inauguration.
"THE VOICE" CYCLE 1 - Javier Colon: The first "Voice" winner wasn't welcomed by the public like Clarkson. His post-show album, "Come Through for You," has sold less than 50,000 copies, and six months after its release, he and Universal Republic Records parted ways.
"IDOL" SEASON 2 - Ruben Studdard: After beating out Clay Aiken in 2003, Studdard's debut album went platinum, and his single "Superstar" earned him a Grammy nom. But his third album performed so poorly he was dropped by his record label, and his fourth and fifth albums performed even worse.
"THE VOICE" - CYCLE 2 - Jermaine Paul: Blake Shelton mentored this singer to victory, and his cover of "I Believe I Can Fly," which he sang to win the competition, made it up to No. 83 on the Billboard Hot 100. But his debut album has yet to see release.
"IDOL' SEASON 3 - Fantasia Barrino: Fantasia was crowned the same season Jennifer Hudson was eliminated. Her first album went platinum, her second went gold and her third earned her a Grammy. She also starred on Broadway in "The Color Purple" and got her own VH1 reality show, "Fantasia for Real."
"THE VOICE" - CYLE 3 - Cassadee Blake Pope: "The Voice's" last winner until the next cycle starts Monday. She has yet to release her first solo record, so it's too early to tell if her voice will find an audience.
"IDOL" SEASON 4 - Carrie Underwood: The only Idol to outsell Kelly Clarkson. She's racked up a total of over 14 million albums sold in the U.S. -- all four of which have gone platinum -- six Grammys and 10 County Music Awards. Next, she's Maria von Trapp in NBC's upcoming live "The Sound of Music."
"IDOL" SEASON 5 - Taylor Hicks: At 29, Hicks was the oldest "Idol" winner. Now 36, he's had slim record sales but has been on Broadway in "Grease" and is amidst a year-long residency at Bally's in Las Vegas. But it must be frustrating to watch Chris Daughtry, who finished fourth the same season, score two No. 1 albums.
"IDOL" SEASON 6 - Jordin Sparks: The last female winner, now just 23 she's sold over 1.2 million albums in the U.S., and though her second album didn't move nearly as many copies as her first, it did result in her first No. 1 single. Her big-screen debut in 2012's "Sparkle" suggested music isn't her only talent, either.
"IDOL" SEASON 7 - David Cook: Cook's first album went platinum, but his second -- like so many other Idols' -- didn't have the same draw once released in 2011. "This Loud Morning" has sold less than 150,000 copies in the states. His record label, RCA, did not sign him to make a third album.
"IDOL" SEASON 8 - Kris Allen: The singer/songwriter released a couple hit singles, but disappointing album sales may be leading him back to anonymity in the music industry. Like Season 7 winner David Cook, Allen was also dropped by RCA in 2012.
"IDOL" SEASON 9 - Lee DeWyze: His first post-"Idol" album "Live It Up" is the lowest-selling debut for any winner to date and was dropped by RCA after just one album. William Hung, the lovable loser who auditioned during season 3, sold more records during his 15 minutes of fame.
"IDOL" SEASON 10 - Scotty McCreery: Country crooner McCreery is the top-selling male "Idol" winner behind Studdard. Luckily, country fans still buy music instead of illegally downloading it, so maybe McCreery's 20s will be as memorable as his teens.
"IDOL"SEASON 11 - Phillip Phillips: He's off to a great start. His debut album hit the Billboard 200 at No. 4 and has sold 771,000 copies. That's better than Allen's debut, though not even close to Cook's or McCreery's. His singles, the Olympics-featured "Home" and the new "Gone Gone Gone," have gotten regular radio play, and he's opening for John Mayer this summer.
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14 contestants in all have been lucky enough to walk away with the top prize — here they are, and what's happened to them once the competition ended
"IDOL" SEASON 1 - Kelly Clarkson: The first "Idol" winner is still one of the show''s most successful alums. As of January, she had scored a record 80 Billlboard number ones, sold nearly 12 million albums in the U.S. and sang at President Obama's inauguration.
