Niall Horan has opened up about some of the “horrific” parts being a judge on The Voice in America.
The former One Direction singer is one of three judges and sits alongside Kelly Clarkson and Chance the Rapper.
But the Mullingar native admitted he finds it uncomfortable deciding the fate of young singers.
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He told 2FM Breakfast: “It’s horrible. Honestly, like I love it and hate it in equal measures. It’s not great. Like the great part is picking the team. You get a team of ten and that’s great. You’re pressing the red button, out pitching Kelly Clarkson. It’s all that kind of stuff. That’s great craic.
“And then the rest of it is basically picking songs for people, which I love. Coming up with musical arrangements with the band and artists, which is really cool. It’s actually a lot more interactive than I thought it would be with the artist.
“And then the hardest part is literally… they do like battles and knockouts where they literally go up on stage, singing next to each other and then you literally have to pick on the spot who is going through and who is not and that is when the empathy side of things kicks in.”
The 29-year-old - who is hoping to jet back from Ireland from LA to attend the Ireland V England match on March 18 – said he’ll never lose empathy for people trying to make it in the music business, saying he knows what it's like to stand in front of someone with their future in your hands.
“And I don’t think I’ll ever lose that because I know exactly what it is like to stand on the other side of someone that’s got your future in your hands.
“We’re shooting that part at the moment and it is just horrible.
“You’re looking at a 19-year-old up there who if I say no, they’ve convinced themselves already that it is the end of their career.
“But I think it's letting people know that there’s more over the hil for them because they’re only 19 but in the moment it is just horrific, seeing these little faces. It’s not nice.”
Niall said the music industry has become “drastically different” since his days on the X Factor and even the last time he released music.
“The way people listen to stuff. The way TikTok and all that kind of stuff. It’s not the same as it was before,” he added.
Niall dropped the first single called Heaven from his new album, The Show, on Friday.
The album is set to be released on June 9.
The singer explained that the album is a more mature sound as it reflects how he has grown up the past few years.
He said: "I didn't want it to be the record where I was like 'I am 29 now I know everything about life'
"But I think during the pandemic there was a bit more thinking time.
"So I think across the board this album is a bit less story telly like from specific scenarios, it is a bit more bigger thoughts and that's probably just me getting a little bit older."
Niall said that the song was inspired by the pressures society has placed on people in their late 20's and early 30's.
He said: "I guess Heaven is like, you know the way society tells us we need to be married at this age and we need to hit certain milestones at this time.
"And you know me, I'm a bit of a rebel so I decided I was going to write stuff about that.
He added: "Heaven is basically saying what we have now is perfectly fine.
"Live in the moment, see what happens and if it doesn't work, it doesn't work, but at least we had a good time doing it."
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