will.i.am says he will make this year’s winner of The Voice a success

The Hindenburg of self-indulgent typography ‘will.i.am’ says he will back this year’s winner of The Voice UK all the way – and says he is prepared to wait ten years to make them a star. Ringing endorsement, there.
As he told Metro today, will.i.am’s experience with Black Eyed Peas – who were signed to label Interscope for a decade before their big break came in 2004 – means he is prepared to graft on behalf of his contestants, citing last year’s runner-up Leah McFall as an example of his commitment to the show.
“I am still fighting for Leah,” he said. “She came on tour with me. She came to Los Angeles and recorded her whole album. We finished officially last week.

“I think maybe she wasn’t meant to break in 2013, maybe she is to break 2014. Who is to say when the artist is to be a mega star? I am committed. And so is Leah.”

And though the show is yet to discover an actual star and/or anyone even mildly memorable in its two-year run, ‘will’ is confident this year will see the first of many Voice contestants breaking into the industry.

“The only way I know how to do it is how I experienced it with the Black Eyed Peas,” he said. “If it wasn’t for [Interscope Records] Jimmy Iovine who believed in us to keep us on the label, Black Eyed Peas would have got forgotten between ’97 to 2004 when we finally had a break. And then 2005 came and we released another album. And then in 2009 we hit it really big. But we were signed for almost ten years before we broke as an act!” And then they bought out Boom Boom Pow, the worst song actually ever!