Is The Voice Authentic? 'Not Without Me', Says Madden

Joel Madden, vocalist of Good Charlotte and judge on reality TV talent quest show The Voice, has stated that ratings juggernaut The Voice needs established judges - who achieved success outside of the TV talent quest format - to give it any sort of authenticity.

Speaking at Sydney conference and showcase Song Summit yesterday Madden said that the music business is "a business of rejection of heart break and rejection."

He added, "But I think, the world we live in today, television has become a big part of how musicians can still have great success with their music. These shows may not appeal to everyone in the sense that you may not find yourself relating to the artist or becoming a fan of the artist, but what you don't see is that the show is promoting great songs. And for me as a songwriter I love that, the freedom they give us to choose great songs. And these shows are a path back to a person who's written a great song, even if they're not on stage performing it.”

Ed St John, former Warner exec and ARIA Chairman and now consultant forThe Voice, said it was "ironic" that the show's judges - Madden, Delta Goodrem, Keith Urban and Seal - had made careers their 'own way', without the boost of a televised talent quest. This, his claimed, is what givesThe Voiceany sort of authenticity.

"The irony is that when we were casting the show we did choose four coaches, and we deliberately did this, four coaches who had not come out of a talent format," he said. "We really believed that you had to have an authentic story of your own and that you had to have made your own way in the business. So ironically, we do have four people who've made their own way on a talent show, but that brings an authenticity too."

Reporting by Liz Giuffre