Well, more points for diversity for The Voice. Green Day lead singer Billie Joe Armstrong isn’t exactly Celine Dion, but he has proven himself one of the strongest voices in rock over the last 20 years, and he’ll add an element of rock cred to the show previously absent. (Sorry, Adam Levine and new mentor Rob Thomas, but…yeah.) You’d probably guess that Billie Joe would be working with Adam or Cee Lo, but he’s signed on to be the mentor for Team Christina, one of the least punk rock artists of the 21st century, which should make for some interesting chemistry and possibly contradictory advice. Cool.
While Billie Joe becomes the latest big name to sign on for The Voice, reports have another major artist turning down a role on American Idol. Toby Keith, country megastar and famed loudmouth, was apparently offered one of the available judging slots on Idol. Makes sense—Keith would be a big draw for the country market Idol seeks (and largely has already found), and could be as nutty and outspoken as Steven Tyler while also being over a decade younger and significantly more lucid. But Toby declined, preferring to spend the majority of his days as a touring artist, and now Idol has set its sights on the younger, less outspoken Brad Paisley.
It might be a blessing in disguise for Idol if they do get Paisley, since for non-country fans, he’ll almost certainly be a less contentious figure than Keith. The potential for comedy with Keith would have been far greater, though maybe after two seasons of Steven Tyler, the show could stand to take a hit in the unintentional comedy department.
The post Billie Joe Armstrong Says Yes to “The Voice,” Toby Keith Says No to “Idol” appeared first on Popdust.
0 comments:
Post a Comment