LOOKING GOOD: The Voice is shaping up to be compulsive viewing, with coaches Brian Kennedy, Kian Egan, Sharon Corr and Bressie IS Westlife's Kian Egan looking to emulate Simon Cowell and become TV's new Mr Nasty? RTE's The Voice could be set to rival the X Factor for spats among the judges, the Herald can reveal. Gary Barlow has tried to pick up where Cowell left off on X Factor with a string of cutting comments. Now sources say that Kian Egan could be the one to shout loudest and be extra harsh on contestants. Tensions have already arisen between the boyband star and former Blizzards frontman Niall Breslin, aka Bressie, on the set of The Voice. "Bressie and Kian are very different kind of coaches. Bressie is still young in the industry and he knows what it feels like to be knocked back but Kian wants the contestants to know the harsh realities of the music business," a source revealed. "Bressie does get quite defensive about Kian's attitude and says that in his eyes the glass is always half full, and he doesn't think the contestants deserve to be put down," an insider explained. With comments like "that just didn't do it for me" and "there is no point in saying that it's great when it really wasn't", Kian (31) comes out on top as the show's baddy. A source close to the popular show has admitted that although not everyone will like it, Kian is just bringing some honesty to the show. "Some of his comments do come across quite harsh, and Kian definitely is ruthless but he knows that's the reality of the music industry. "He has had massive success with Westlife but at the same had to deal with his band Wonderland being dropped by their music label so although he is quite cut-throat and really blunt, Kian is just being realistic," the insider said. And it's not just Bressie, Kian, Sharon Corr and Brian Kennedy that the contestants will have to perform to during the early stages of the show. All the contestants will have to sing in front of industry experts who will act as advisors to the four coaches. Mullingar musician Bressie will be joined by Irish singer-songwriter Ruth Ann Cunningham, who has penned such US hits as Jo Jo's Too Little Too Late. Meanwhile Sharon is paired up with Don Mescal, Kian will judge the acts in the early stages alongside singer Eddi Reader and Brian will look to choreographer Priscilla to help him choose his final six for the lives stages. After beating thousands of wannabes and battling against 23 other talented hopefuls on the live shows, the winner of The Voice Of Ireland will bag a recording contract with Universal Music. 

708,000 watch The Voice of Ireland Sunday's show saw the four coaches - Bressie, Sharon Corr, Kian Egan and Brian Kennedy - pick the first singers they will mentor on their teams. The coaches were not allowed see the singers, only to hear them, while they sang. 

708,000 watch The Voice of Ireland Sunday's show saw the four coaches - Bressie, Sharon Corr, Kian Egan and Brian Kennedy - pick the first singers they will mentor on their teams. The coaches were not allowed see the singers, only to hear them, while they sang. 

X Factor 2012 UK: Simon Cowell plans to steal Westlife's Kian Egan from The Voice of Ireland! February 3, 2012 07:17 by Josh Darvill Fresh from his “bloodbath” axing over in the US, X Factor boss Simon Cowell is turning his attention to the UK show, and wants Kian Egan to join. According to the Daily Mail, Simon wants to pinch Westlife’s Kian to join this year’s UK series of The X Factor. It’ll mean tempting the Irish singer and manager away from new talent show The Voice of Ireland, which is currently airing in the country. But sources say that, in a cruel twist of fate, Kian would likely be replacing his own manager, Louis Walsh on the panel! “Kian is highly rated and would be a perfect judge, although whether he is considered will depend on what happens with Louis Walsh,” an insider told the newspaper. The source added: “In reality, Kian can only be considered if Louis doesn’t come back.” Meanwhile its understood that Simon and ITV have been arguing over thde futures of Dermot O’Leary and Gary Barlow, with the channel wanting the stars to stay but Simon wanting fresh blood on the show. 

Kian Egan is getting set for another busy weekend on The Voice of Ireland as he battles it out against the other coaches on the show – Brian Kennedy, Sharon Corr and Bressie. And he’ll be battling it out in more ways than one – the Coaches will perform THEMSELVES on the show. Kian told 98FM he jetted in from China on Sunday morning with the Westlife boys before doing the live shows for The Voice of Ireland last Sunday night so he didn’t have much sleep at all. Luckily for Kian, his new baby Koa is a great sleeper so he’s had a bit of time this week to catch up on a few naps. Kian told 98FM how himself and his wife Jodi Albert are getting on with their new bundle of joy. Kian told 98FM “Koa is amazing. He is at ths stage now where he is smiling and gooing and chatting away. He’s such a happy little baby. We’ve had it really easy in comparison to hearing other people’s stories. He sleeps well, he doesn’t really cry a lot and really is a calm little dude. We’re really blessed”. Jodi will be visiting the set of The Voice of Ireland but Kian thinks Koa is too young to be around such a noisy environment! So there you have it – the coaches WILL perform themselves on this weekend’s show. Let’s hope their acts don’t vote them off!

WESTLIFE'S Kian Egan will prove Brian Kennedy wrong with a "storming performance" on the Voice of Ireland. And ShinAwil producer Larry Bass has revealed how he never had any doubts about the mentor's vocal ability. "All the mentors are singing this weekend and the rehearsal went extremely well," he said. "What people forget is that we follow a format on The Voice and we can only have people who are singers themselves as coaches. I've known Kian for many, many years and before he was ever in Westlife, he was in a band called Six Become One. "They were a vocal act under Louis Walsh's management and at the 1988 Miss Ireland contest, which we filmed, they did an a capella performance and all of them were well able to sing, including Kian. He has nothing to worry about." Sligo star Kian, whose vocal ability had been questioned by rival Kennedy, will take to the stage for the first time as his team goes up against those contestants mentored by rival Sharon Corr. And he is expected to be cheered on by wife Jodi Albert, who gave birth to their first baby Kai just before Christmas. It will be her first time at the Helix Theatre in Dublin as she travels down from their Sligo home to show her support for her other half.

The Voice of Ireland star Kian Egan hits out at UK coaches April 4, 2012 23:00 by Josh Darvill The Voice of Ireland star Kian Egan has hit out at the coaches on the UK show, complaining that they are too bitchy! The Westlife singer is one of four coaches on the Irish version of the show, which started earlier this year. Speaking to the Herald, Kain whinged that his British counterparts were very “different”, moaning that Sir Tom Jones, Danny O’Donoghue, Jessie J and will.i.am were “at each other” all the time. “I watched it last week and it’s quite different,” he told the publication this week. “It’s a bit more like X Factor, I thought, with the big storylines and stuff like that. “I also thought the coaches are a bit bitchier towards each other which obviously makes for good TV. They’re a bit more at each other.” And the singer – perhaps unsurprisingly – backed former manager Simon Cowell and his rival series Britain’s Got Talent. He added: “They’re at the exciting stage that we were at when this first started and now everybody’s used to it in Ireland. Although I thought it was good, I prefer Britain’s Got Talent myself.” 

He told the Irish Sun: “There was a point when I was talking to management about co-managing the act that won, but I don’t think that’s the right thing to do now. “Even if somebody else’s act won, I wouldn’t have the same connection with that person as my own act and timewise I don’t think I would be able to commit.” Father-of-one Kian had a number of in-depth conversations with the record company about taking on the eventual winner. But with a number of TV shows in the pipeline and little baby Koa at home in Sligo, he said: “Down the line I probably do see myself managing some bands yes. “You know this industry is what I know and I have been through the ups and downs and know all about it but the timing just isn’t right.” Tomorrow night’s final at The Helix will see Vanessa Whelan, Richie Hayes, Pat Byrne and Jim Devine battle it out to be crowned winner. Jetting in to sing ... pop babe Alexandra It promises to be an action-packed night — with a performance by X Factor success story Alexandra Burke of new single Let It Go sure to get the crowd stomping their feet. Kind-hearted Kian said: “I have said to all the people who have come to the live shows that my number is in their phone. “They can ring me whenever they want to discuss whatever they want in this business. “I will gladly help them out — it’s down to them. “I am a coach on The Voice of Ireland, I’m not a coach past that as far as this moment in time is concerned.” Egan admitted yesterday he is now more relaxed about the fact that voters in Northern Ireland can’t download his finalist Jim Devine’s single. Earlier this week, The Irish Sun revealed that Kian was fuming with bosses after they failed to notice the glitch in voting — one week before the finals. He said: “I think we made enough noise about it at the time and Jim feels better about it now. “I look at Jim and I go ‘wow’ — Jim has come from nothing to be a contender, he has a chance. “The older woman seems to really connect to him and he now gets that picking the right song and relating to it is so important. “I think he has managed to do really well from that perspective no matter what the outcome on Sunday.”

Kian Egan Mr Westlifer reckons being a coach has come quite naturally! High point: Working with contestants and seeing them really pull a song off. Low point: The negativity between Brian and me at the start, but that soon changed. Have you enjoyed the coaching experience? I have really enjoyed it - it's been very different to anything I've ever done before. But I have to say I have just been myself with the contestants and been as honest as I possibly could. How did you find working with the other coaches? Brian and I didn't really know each other at the beginning and I think he had a preconceived notion that I was just some random dude in a boyband but once he saw there was more to me than that he warmed to me, and I love working with him now. Sharon and Bressie are both lovely people and I have really enjoyed getting to know them. Which performance stands out for you the most? I have to say Connor (who is on Bressie's team) when he came out and sang MGMT's Kids; that was absolutely insane. Then back in the battle shows, two of my girls did Don't Let the Sun Go Down, and that was an amazing moment. Did anyone go home who you thought should be in the final? Well, I always thought that Liam Geddes was going to win the whole thing. He is an outstanding vocalist, but it didn't happen for him and it was quite a bit of a shock for me. Are you happy with how the public have voted? I think there was only one week when the public got it wrong - that was when Liam and Graham where in the bottom two. But apart from that we [the coaches] have pretty much picked the bottom two every week. What's next for you? The Westlife tour starts in May, we are rehearsing at the moment. After that, I am looking at some other TV gigs - not music-related, and I'm looking forward to spending time with my son and Jodi. It's been tough leaving them and I find it's much harder to get out the door and I am late a lot more!

VOICE of Ireland coach Kian Eganhas shot down suggestions he hopes to follow in bandmate Shane Filan's footsteps with a solo career of his own. The Sligo man, who has proved he's well able to hold his own on the singing front during the RTE show, has said he has no plans to go it alone once he splits from his chart-topping band Westlife later this year. "I never thought I'd enjoy the idea of doing it all on my own. I love the idea of just doing something naturally, like my garage band. I don't want to force anything and be like, 'I'm the guy from Westlife and I'm recording a song'. I just don't believe in that," said Kian (31). "I believe that if it's meant to happen, it's meant to happen. If I end up in a band with a few of my mates and we're really good naturally, then that's great. If we're not, we're not. So in that respect, I like the idea of it but I don't see it as a reality -- it's a pipe dream." The dad-of-one went on to say that he's forging ahead with plans to set up his own band once Westlife put away their stools for good -- but it must be something that happens organically. "To me, the forced things are the ones that never work and I've learnt that over the years," said Kian. The RTE mentor is now keeping his fingers crossed that his act, Jim Devine, emerges victorious from this Sunday's grand finale of the talent contest. However, he admitted that he was shocked to see Bressie's act, Conor Quinn, leaving the show. "I had him tipped as the winner and I still think the guy has one of the best chances of having a proper record deal and having major success around the world," he said.

Kian Egan “fuming” over Voice scandal Kian Egan has phoned 98FM to tell us of his rage upon discovering his act won’t be able to gather the support of his family at the final hurdle of “The Voice of Ireland”. The competition offers a contract with Universal for the winning contestant but Kian says he now believes Jim Devine is at an “unfair disadvantage”. Kian told 98FM: “Nobody in Northern Ireland where Jim is from can actually download his single so therefore he is at a huge disadvantage. Every single download counts as a vote so he hasn’t had any of his own family or friends or support network in Northern Ireland being able to download it. I’m very ticked off about it. In fairness to Jim, he’s trying to not let it affect him. It’s a really unfair situation though”. The Westlife singer went on to say “it’s not all based on the download but every download counts as a vote so I suppose fans of Jim could vote for a second time on Sunday night if they had intended on downloading the song. It puts him in an unfair situation. Basically iTunes Ireland doesn’t exist in Northern Ireland – you have to have an Irish credit card or an Irish band account in order to access iTunes Ireland. The guy can’t even download his own single”. Kian told 98FM “I’ve been through it with the show. I’ve been through it with the record label. I’ve had huge rows all week about it and I’ve just been told that at this stage, there is nothing I can do about it – just to leave it alone and that’s that”. He insisted it isn’t about winning the show as his coach – Kian says he just wants Jim to have a fair shot at it and he is losing out around 1,000 votes by not having his support network in Northern Ireland being able to download the song.