Eric Church photo courtesy of Essential Broadcast Media. Taken by Ann-Marie Hensley
Eric Church recently gave a candid, profanity-laced interview to Rolling Stone and some of his comments have left Miranda Lambert and Blake Shelton less than happy with him, reports The Boot. In the interview, Eric puts singing competitions such as The Voice, on which Blake is a coach, in his cross hairs.
“It’s become American Idol gone mad,” Eric said. “Honestly, if Blake Shelton and Cee Lo Green f—ing turn around in a red chair, you get a deal? That’s crazy. I don’t know what would make an artist do that. You’re not an artist.”
Eric continued to voice his opinion on singing competitions, firmly stating he would never be a part of one. “If I was concerned about my legacy, there’s no f—ing way I would ever sit there [and be a reality-show judge],” he said. “Once your career becomes something other than the music, then that’s what it is. I’ll never make that mistake. I don’t care if I f—ing starve.”
Blake and Miranda both took to Twitter to respond to Eric’s comments. Miranda first turned heads as a contestant on Nashville Star and didn’t take long to respond. “Thanks Eric Church for saying I’m not a real artist. Or @kelly_clarkson, @carrieunderwood & @KeithUrban. Your (sic) welcome for the tour in 2010,” she tweeted.
Blake’s usually colorful tweets were a little more reserved regarding Eric’s comments. “I wish I misunderstood this,” Blake wrote, re-tweeting a link to an article containing parts of the interview. He later re-tweeted the article again, this time writing “Why? Just why?…”
Fellow artist Jimmy Wayne came to Blake’s defense, posting an open letter on his Facebook page recalling the first time he heard Blake play at a writer’s round in Nashville. Jimmy wrapped his letter by sharing his view on the current state of the music industry and calling Blake an ‘ambassador for country music.’
“Blake Shelton was asked to be on The Voice,” Jimmy wrote. “Anyone in their right mind would have taken that opportunity and would have done so at half the price. This not only generates traffic for Blake Shelton but it helps the entire country music genre. That’s our guy representing us on National TV. Our spokesperson. Our ambassador. When I look back and think of that tall skinny young man sitting behind that microphone in a round at Douglas Corner and see him now in that big red chair on The Voice helping others live their dream, it makes me proud to know him and call him a friend.”
In response to the reaction brought about by his interview, Eric has since issued a statement clarifying his statements made in Rolling Stone and apologizing to Miranda, reports The Boot. He does not mention Blake or retract his comments about singing competitions, however. Continue Reading
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