The Voice UK winner Kevin Simm has said that competing on the ITV talent show is “a waste of time” despite emerging as its 2016 champion.
The singer, 46, was originally a member of pop group Liberty X before auditioning for The Voice UK 10 years ago. After joining coach Ricky Wilson’s team, he went onto win the show, beating Jolan Gidney-Craigen in the final.
Ten years on from his victory, Simm has revealed that he’s no longer a fan of the show.
Speaking to Closer magazine, the singer said: “As much as my time on The Voice was brilliant, I do think that show is just a waste of f***ing time.
“It never does anything for the winners. Why is it still on television?” he added.
Simm signed with Universal after winning the show and released his second studio album that same year. Then, in 2018, he was recruited to be Marti Pellow’s replacement as lead singer of Wet Wet Wet. In October this year, it was revealed that he would be returning to Liberty X for their forthcoming reunion tour.
The Voice has gone through a number of changes since it first started airing on BBC One in 2012. Originally hosted by Holly Willoughby and Reggie Yates, the singing competition launched with will.i.am, Jessie J, Sir Tom Jones and Danny O’Donoghue as its coaches before eventually moving to ITV in 2017.
While will.i.am has stayed with the show throughout, it has seen 16 coaches come and go over the years – the most recent being Jones, who claimed in September that he had been fired by ITV after 13 series. While he said that the decision was based on “financial difficulty with insurance” and that he was offered “a much-reduced role” instead, The Voice UK said in a statement at the time that they had loved working with him and would “continue to talk to Sir Tom and his team about his involvement in the next series”.
The Voice UK has produced 13 winners throughout its run, but very few have managed to carve out successful music careers after being on the show. The contestants who’ve done the best include Becky Hill, who went onto win two Brit Awards after competing on the first series, and, more recently, series three’s Jamie Miller.
Earlier this week, Welsh singer Miller topped the UK charts with his song “Babydoll”, having finished in third place on The Voice UK in 2017. He performed the hit alongside Off Campus star Antonio Cipriano during Strictly Come Dancing’s results show on Sunday.
The Voice UK is set to air its series 14 final on Friday 31 October, marking Sir Tom Jones’s last appearance on the judging panel alongside will.i.am, Kelly Rowland, Tom Fletcher and Danny Jones.
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