The Voice contestant - and former Liberty X band member – Kevin Simm has said failure to progress from the battles round of the BBC talent show could be “the end” for him.
He features in Saturday’s two-hour show, which sees 24 acts go head-to-head in a vocal battle.
Staged in a setting resembling a boxing ring, the 35-year-old is up against teenager Faith Nelson.
Kevin Simm and Faith Nelson battle each other on The Voice tonight (Guy Levy/Wall To Wall/BBC)
The pair will duke it out to the song "Spotlight" by Oscar-winner Jennifer Hudson.
Kevin sailed through his original blind audition, wowing the all-star panel with his rendition of "Chandelier" by Sia.
All four coaches wanted the Chorley-born singer, but he opted for a place on Paloma Faith’s team.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZtTTRac7X7A&feature=oembed
Kevin admitted to feeling some trepidation about The Voice’s battle rounds.
“It is pushing me to my limit,” he said of the show. “I put a lot of pressure on myself in these sort of situations because when you’re out there trying to prove yourself all over again, it is just tough.”
The Lancashire star added: “I’ve come in from a band. I felt a major pressure on me. My blind audition was a big sort of gamble. I had this worrying thing that if I didn’t get any turns, that may as well be the end of my singing career, so getting the four was amazing.”
He continued: “I’m pretty confident that Faith will not slip up, so I think I do have to be on my game and if I did screw something up then there’s a good chance it will be the end of it for me.”
The Voice coaches will.i.am, Boy George and Paloma Faith (Guy Levy/Wall To Wall/BBC)
In tonight’s episode, viewers will see Kevin struggling with his vocals in rehearsal due to illness.
“Kevin wasn’t able to give 100 per cent,” said Paloma. “I hope that’s not something that he does in the performance because as they say in the business, the show must go on.”
In the battles rounds, defeated acts may be given a second chance to make it to the next stage of the competition.
Paloma may not be laughing if Kevin fails to perform (Guy Levy/Wall To Wall/BBC)
Once a coach has selected their battles round victor, the losing singer becomes available to another member of the coaching panel for a “steal”.
To do so, they must hit their buzzer for that act before the clock runs down. If more than one coach buzzes, the singer has to decide which team they would like to join.
Paloma and Boy George are unable to save any acts because they used up their two-steal allocation last week. Ricky Wilson and will.i.am both have one steal left this week.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bItgfoBl4wE&feature=oembed
Along with Michelle Heaton, Tony Lundon, Jessica Taylor and Kelli Young, Kevin failed to make it into Popstars’ winning group Hear’Say, whose members included Myleene Klass and a pre-Coronation Street Kym Marsh.
They went on to form Liberty X and their song "Just A Little" won a Brit award for best British single in 2003.
The five-piece enjoyed several more hits before calling it a day in 2007, but the band outlasted Hear’Say, who had split in 2002.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XyLUmANrLQQ&feature=oembed
Kevin went solo and he released an album, "Brand New", in Japan in 2008. But the highs of life as a pop star were followed by the crashing low of commercial failure as a soloist.
Other acts hoping to progress through to the knockouts include Harry Styles lookalike Tom Rickels and voiceover artist Steve Devereaux, who plays Howie in CBeebies show Chuggington.
The Voice is on BBC1 tonight, 7.00pm.
