Carson Daly hated American Idol and hesitated when NBC offered The Voice
With The Voice season 24 taping in Los Angeles this week, it’s worth noting that host Carson Daly is the only cast member who has been with the show since it premiered in 2011. This past spring, his friend Blake Shelton left his big red chair for good after season 23. Now it’s up to Carson to hold down the fort as the resident veteran.
Looking back on 12 years of The Voice, Carson confessed on the Hey Dude… The 90s Called podcast, that back in the day he looked down on television talent shows. When American Idol debuted in 2002, the dude was just WAY too cool for school.
“I hated American Idol, I’ll be honest,” Carson told the podcast. “Coming from KROQ in L.A. and MTV and having served a life of having friends in bands that were in vans and paid their dues and, you know, this was before social media and you could blow up overnight and go viral.”
He thought American Idol was “cheating” but he’s changed his mind
But eventually Carson changed his mind. He considers his original opinion “all crap now,” and compliments American Idol as a “juggernaut” that paved the way for The Voice.
However, initially Carson felt that finding fame through a show like American Idol was bogus. He said, “At the time, when it started, I was just like, ‘Oh, this is like a cheat. Like, people are going on TV and becoming famous on American Idol, and then all of a sudden they’re on the radio,” He added, “Like, they didn’t have to go in a van. They haven’t even suffered yet.’ That’s how I felt about it.”
Watching The Voice of Holland helped convince Carson to join The Voice
So, when NBC reached out to him about hosting The Voice, his response was, “Oh, eff those.” But once he took a look at episodes of the franchise OG, The Voice of Holland, it helped change his mind. He appreciated that The Voice didn’t make fun of its contestants like American Idol did.
“We were telling LGBTQ+ stories,” Carson said. “We wanted real people. Some people would go on other shows, and their true selves, the producers would be like, ‘No, you’re gonna be the, like, pretty little girl that’s gonna sing, like, the Taylor Swift character,’ and at The Voice we were like, ‘No you’re gonna be you. Your story’s gonna be your story.’”
On the first day of taping The Voice 24, Carson missed Blake Shelton
Season 24, set to premiere this fall on NBC will feature John Legend, Niall Horan, Gwen Stefani and newbie Reba McEntire as coaches. On Monday, the first day taping the the new season, Carson posted a photo of himself sitting in the makeup chair “crying” alongside a caption: “My first day ever shooting @nbcthevoice without @blakeshelton. We had a ritual of getting hair & makeup together for 23 seasons. I think I’m handling it well. Everything’s fine.”
Funny! But still. It’s gotta feel REALLY weird on set without Blake’s ubiquitous presence. But he’ll probably drop by at least every now and then as his wife Gwen returns to coach.
The Voice is on an odd taping schedule. Both season 24 and season 25 (spring cycle) will tape the Blind Auditions in July! While season 24 is underway, the crew will return at the end of the month to film season 25 with Dan + Shay (first double chair!), Reba McEntire, John Legend and Chance the Rapper. See the schedule HERE.
