'It Caused A Lot Of Hurt': Karise Eden Reflects On Her Journey On 'The Voice'

There's no denying that the experience of any televised appearance is like what is portrayed on TV, but a new podcast has been shining a light on the stark realities of televised singing competitions in Australia.

Premiering on May 15th, the new LiSTNR podcast documentary The Moment It Changed: Touchdown has been focusing on the darker side of the singing competitions. 

The series – hosted by Nic Kelly – gets exclusive insights from former Australian Idol judges, and even winners and contestants of programs such as The Voice, The X-Factor, and even Popstars.

For its third episode – fittingly titled Artists, Not Contestants – listeners are provided with first-person recounts of the experience thanks to the likes of recent The Voice competitor Matthew Hearne, who left the series to focus on their theatre career; and Karise Eden, who won the first series of the show in 2012. 

Per Eden's recollection, the experience was difficult from the start, with the initial interactions with producers being likened to "interrogations" instead of interviews.

"Basically you walk in, they say, 'Who are you, where are you, where'd you come from, you got any brothers, sisters?'" she recalls. "The tone of the conversation changed when they said, 'When'd you finish school, how was school?' I sort of said the last year of school I completed was year six, and I was a homeless youth, I was a state warden, lived in all these refuges. 

"I remember by the end of the interview, the cameraman and the interview lady, and they were crying, and I'm sitting there going, 'Oh, sorry. I'm just answering your questions,' she adds. "They pushed and pushed and pushed. And then I ended up in tears. And then that little snippet was what they blasted all over national TV and that's how everyone met me."

Having been mentored by English musician Seal, Eden ended up winning the series in June 2012, winning a recording contract with Universal, releasing her debut single You Won't Let Me, and issuing My Journey as her debut album – which swiftly peaked atop the charts.

However, much of her experience on The Voice was – somewhat ironically – featured more on the salacious details of her story and less on her impressive voice, with the pressure causing "a lot of heartache within my family," she recalls.

"Part of the moment that made Karise Eden, who she was at that time on that show, was hugely a part of my truth and my story and the life that I lived," she adds. "And at the same time, I think that it was definitely exploited. 

"Any fragment of a relationship I could have had with anybody in my family was forever ruined, and it caused a lot of pain and it caused a lot of hurt."

The experience also resulted in deeply personal interactions with fans who would see their own stories reflected in Eden, and would take the opportunity to approach the inexperienced musician to attempt to trauma bond.

"I think because of my story, people would share some really horrific truths, deeply ingrained in abuse or the foster care system," she recalls. "And I was way too young. I didn't know how to deal with people in their forties talking about abuse or someone with complex PTSD coming to offload trauma onto someone with complex PTSD who's 20 years younger than them. 

"It's a very complex situation. I was recovering from it, still experiencing it and had no idea what was coming next."

Elsewhere in the episode, former Australian Idol judge Ian ‘Dicko’ Dickson notes he's frequently asked by people if they should themselves audition for a singing competition knowing what he knows now.

"I go, 'Well, yeah, it depends. If you want to get on TV, go for it. If you want a career, No,'" he explains. "And that's it, hand on heart, in 2025, I absolutely cannot advise someone who's serious about being in the music industry to go on a reality TV show because it won't be for them, it will be for the TV show. 

"The only reason they will get picked or advanced is because they can deliver good television not because they've got potential to be a recording artist or sell tickets."

The Moment It Changed: Touchdown is available now via the LiSTNR app.

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