Will.i.am says winning a talent show like ITV's The Voice is "pointless"

“She has this nugget of perspective that kind of debunks the whole premise of the show – of winning. The whole idea of Jennifer Hudson makes the record deal [prize] and winning pointless.”

“Here’s a person who came seventh and has an awesome career. She’s done movies, she’s won Grammies, she’s won Emmys, she won BAFTAs – she’s won a whole bunch of awards and sold a whole bunch of records and sold out a lot of freakin’ seats in arenas.”

Indeed, since her appearance on American Idol series three, J-Hud has released three studio albums, performed at the Superbowl halftime show and even won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in the 2006 film Dreamgirls.

And the winner of the third series of The Voice UK? Well, can you even name them? (10 points if you said Jermain Jackman – an artist whose debut album peaked at 42 in the charts).

In fact, The Voice UK hasn’t launched any major stars from its pool of contestants – the winners in particular. The first album from original Voice champion Leanne Mitchell didn’t get higher than slot 45 in the charts, and the record released by 2015 winner Stevie McCrorie peaked at number 35.

And if you needed more proof that winning a talent show doesn’t matter then look towards those who didn't, namely the biggest pop band in the world: One Direction, who finished third in 2010’s X Factor. And then there's Adam Lambert, current frontman of Queen, who was only runner-up of the eighth series of American Idol. Even Britney Spears first tried and failed to break into showbiz as an 11-year-old via the US show Star Search.

In summary, will.i.am’s right: if the next big thing is found on The Voice, they probably won’t be the one holding the winner’s trophy at the end.

The Voice is returning on ITV early next year