Eric Church Blasts The Voice and Blake Shelton

Posted By
Eric Church Blasts The Voice and Blake Shelton

In the course of an interview with Rolling Stone, country star Eric Church proceeded to blast both The Voice and Blake Shelton. Calling those that appear on the show 'not artists.' Read on to hear more quotes from both Church and Blake Shelton along with our own editorial thoughst on the subject.

Eric also went on to blast Blake Shelton even more by stating: 

“If I was concerned about my legacy, there’s no f—ing way I would ever sit there [and be a reality-show judge]. Once your career becomes something other than the music, then that’s what it is. I’ll never make that mistake. I don’t care if I f—ing starve.”

Blake Shelton responded accordingly with a tweet which said "I wish I misunderstood this."  Meanwhile, Blake's wife Miranda Lambert tweeted, "Thanks Eric Church for saying I’m not a real artist. Or @kelly_clarkson, @carrieunderwood & @KeithUrban. Your welcome for the tour in 2010."

Original article here.

---

Editorial: 

I'm a fan of all three country artists mentioned here, and have been a BIG Eric Church fan but I don't think he did himself any favors here. I get that he's trying to pigeonhole himself as a 'true' or 'real' artist but what is a 'true' or 'real' artist? 

This isn't the first time that shows like "The Voice" and "American Idol" have come under attack from artists who think that they're a 'shortcut' to a record deal but this time Eric gets way too personal with Blake Shelton and also forgetting the fact that some truly great country artists HAVE come from 'reality TV' competitions. 

And he can say 'I'd starve' before he'd go on a show like The Voice (either as a judge or an artist) but can he really be honest about this? He's 'made it' now. He's a headliner of a successful tour. Yet, he probably would do a show like The Voice if he was still struggling or his label had dropped him when he failed to score big hits with his first record and lead single off of Carolina  ("His Kind of Money (My Kind of Love)").  

This whole comment from Eric Church probably was just him responding to an interviewer's questions and him 'being real' but lets get completely 'real' here.  There are multiple paths to 'stardom' and 'record deals' and TV shows like The Voice just give you a chance at success, they're one way to 'success.'

An artist still has to put in the work to be successful. Winning or placing on a show like The Voice doesn't guarantee success, just the same that getting a deal through traditional measures (like the one Eric Church attained) doesn't guarantee success either. It' is always what it has always been. Hard work and a world's worth of luck is what it takes to become successful. 

What do you think of Eric's comments? What about Blake and Miranda? What about shows like the voice? What do you think about our editorial on the subject?

----

Eric Church Statement:


"…part of a larger commentary on these types of reality shows and the perception they create, not the artists involved with the shows themselves. Every artist has to follow up television appearances with dedication towards their craft, but these shows tend to gloss over that part and make it seem like you can be ordained into stardom. I have a problem with those perceived shortcuts, not just in the music industry." ... "I have a lot of respect for what artists like Carrie Underwood, Kelly Clarkson, and my friend Miranda Lambert have gone on to accomplish. This piece was never intended to tear down any individual and I apologize to anybody I offended in trying to shed light on this issue. "

0 Comments