As if The Voice and American Idol weren't rivals already in the reality singing competition realm, now the show's judges are even squaring off.
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The Voice coach Adam Levine has fired back at American Idol judge Randy Jackson for dissing the quality of talent that The Voice features.
"Shame on Randy Jackson for saying that because he, out of anybody, should know that if you're in this business you need second, third, fourth, and fifth chances. So we love and embrace that being part of the show," Levine said during an Friday appearance alongside fellow The Voice judges Blake Shelton and Christina Aguilera on The Ellen DeGeneres Show.
"God bless Randy. He was a working musician for a long time and had a lot of success, and then the show Idol kind of blew him out of the water and everybody knows he's a household name now. So, it was irresponsible for him to say that."
Jackson had put down The Voice by calling it a "second chance" competition, using the show's first-season winner Javier Colon -- who was mentored by Levine throughout the season -- as his justification while speaking with reporters during a Television Critics Association panel about Idol's eleventh season last month.
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"The winner of The Voice, I will remind you, was an artist who had a deal at Capitol Records for several years, a failed contract," Jackson told reporters, according to Entertainment Weekly. "That show was almost 'second chance people.'"
In addition, Fox reality chief Mike Darnell -- who also participated on the panel -- took his own shot at The Voice when asked how he felt about the show utilizing Idol's first-season champion Kelly Clarkson as a guest advisor during the upcoming season.
"It's a compliment to Idol, that other shows want to use our superstars on their shows. We're not hiring a lot of people on The Voice to be on our show," Darnell said.
About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski