Ricky Wilson: "We don’t rely on the novelty of someone being there that shouldn’t be there"

At today’s press launch for the third series of BBC1 talent show The Voice, new coach, Kaiser Chief’s frontman Ricky Wilson, appeared to take a pop at rival talent shows.

Asked by RadioTimes.com about the show’s format and whether there would be any changes for the third series in a bid to secure more viewers, Wilson was clear about why he loved the show.

“We don’t rely on the novelty of someone being there that shouldn’t be there,” he said.

“If you want to watch a show where the best singer wins it then watch it [The Voice].”

Whether he had in mind the example of The X Factor and the survival of acts like Katie Waissel and Wagner on those shows he certainly did not elaborate.

Wilson was responding to our suggestion that The Voice lost momentum once the “swivel-chair” round ended in which singers were chosen by the four coaches from a blind audition.

He said that he became more engrossed in the format as the round but said that there were some format changes in the later stages of the third series, but declined to reveal what they were.

Fellow coach Sir Tom Jones also praised the format for its variety, including the knockout rounds and “steal” rounds in which coaches were given the opportunity of stealing acts from rival coaches.

“The problem is that there is so much talent by the end…it’s hard,” he said.

However fellow coaches will.i.am and Sir Tom Jones warned contestants that the show did not provide an easy route to musical success.

Sir Tom said that there was “never a guarantee that if you win [The Voice] you were going to be a star” – a fact reflected in the difficulty contestants on the show have had in achieving significant record sales or breaking through to the very top of the pop firmament.

will.i.am added that he reminds contestants that overnight success is an elusive dream and that he is still working closely with Leah McFall, the series two runner-up whom he hopes will break through this year.

“The Voice really reflects the life of somebody in the music industry,..the uncertainty, the politics," he said.