Will.i.am reveals emotional toll of coaching The Voice

20th August 2026 - 2:01 pm

Will.i.am has opened up about the emotional toll of being a coach on The Voice, admitting rejecting artists can leave him devastated.

Speaking to Capital Breakfast with Will Manning, who is in for Jordan North this week, the Black Eyed Peas star explained how difficult it is to crush an artist’s dream during the competition.

He said: “That dream crush is like ‘oh, my God!’ It’s the worst. And to do that to an artist that’s already hyper emotional.”

Will.i.am said artists can be particularly sensitive because their creativity is closely connected to their emotions, making rejection especially difficult for them.

He continued: “It’s the reason why they are creative because their emotions are like antenna up, receiving, receiving, receiving. And when you get crushed, that receive is like a thousand tonnes.”

The singer and producer admitted that being placed in that position can affect him emotionally too, saying: “Just thinking about it makes me emotional.”

Will Manning agreed with the description, telling him: “Yeah, it’s a gut punch.”

Will.i.am then reflected on his own experiences of rejection during his career and how it felt when people questioned what he had to offer.

“And it’s happened to me in the past in my career. Has somebody overthought what I had to offer? Devastated,” he said.

The musician also recalled leaving executive offices after experiencing that kind of disappointment, describing the journey home afterwards: “Leaving the freaking executive offices, going to the parking lot or taking the bus back home.”

His comments offer a personal insight into the difficult side of coaching The Voice, where artists are competing for an opportunity while coaches must make decisions that can have an emotional impact.

Will.i.am has been a coach on the singing competition for several years, making his latest comments a reminder that the decisions seen on screen can also affect those making them.