‘The Voice' Judge Ricky Wilson: ‘I Made TV Talent Shows Acceptable'

Kaiser Chiefs frontman Ricky Wilson has admitted that he thinks his stint as a judge on ‘The Voice’ has made talent contests "acceptable".

Ricky reckons he was one of the “first alternative musicians” to judge a TV talent contest, adding that he thinks he paved the way for fellow stars including Coldplay singer Chris Martin, who’s set to appear on the US version of the show.

Ricky Wilson

Ricky made his case while chatting to the Metro, openly admitting that he was blowing his own trumpet.

“This is me being a big head here, so I need to be careful – but when it was announced that Chris Martin was doing the American one… I’d like to think that it came into his head when he was offered it that it was maybe something that we’re allowed to do,” he said.

“I was probably the first alternative musician to judge on a reality show and I think it was a brave step to do that, but I see it as a step in the door.”

The singer also thinks TV contests could one day be useful for guitar bands, though he admits it may be some time before that happens.

“I don’t think the world is ready for that yet because I don’t think any bands would go on it yet,” he said. “You can’t jump in there with loads of guitars and be swigging beer from plastic cups on prime time TV like we do on stage.

“I think we can get our foot in the door, but we are going to have to open it very gently.”

Ricky has remained refreshingly honest about his decision to appear on ‘The Voice’, previously stating that he was doing it to raise his band’s profile and sell more records.

The star’s plan seems to have worked, as Kaiser Chiefs latest album ‘Education, Education, Education And War’ shot straight to the number one spot when it was released in early April.

Despite being a hit with fans, Ricky hasn’t been asked to return to the show just yet and he’s currently waiting to see who will replace Kylie Minogue on the panel.

Ricky has previously admitted he may not return to the show now that Kylie’s not taking part, telling The Sun: “It would be weird doing it without Kylie. She helped get me over the edge.”

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