Voice star turns up at Capital FM

Staff Writer

So what would you do if you were on the air, and an international recording star – for example, will-i-am from the Black Eyed Peas turned up in reception and asked to come into the studio and play his new, unreleased song?

And what if that international recording star was also a star on the hit TV show 'The Voice'.

It happened to Capital FM London on Monday. Over to The Mirror for the story below.

(picture: will-i-am with Capital FM's Dave Berry and Lisa Snowdon)

“HI, it’s will.i.am here, and i.am.downstairs.”

Radio station bosses were a bit surprised when The Voice star will.i.am turned up in their lobby unannounced yesterday morning and requested to play his new single.

But Will’s label bosses were even more stunned – and are miffed that he has given away the first listen to the track before THEY had a chance to hear it.

Credit to DJ Dave Berry for managing the situation beautifully, telling listeners to Capital FM’s breakfast show: “We’ve had a call from reception, saying there’s a guest.

"Is it someone delivering doughnuts? No. It’s will.i.am.

“Hey, Will. Um, how can we help you?”

The bizarre Black Eyed Peas star, 37, revealed he had decided to turn up after hearing his pal (if this weekend’s The Voice is to be believed) Jamie Oliver on the show.

He sat in the lobby for 40 minutes tweeting about his “spontaneous behaviour”.

“Hopefully I get to go on air,” he wrote. “I feel like 1992 again trying to get in the bizz… I feel nervous and alive…”

Luckily, he was allowed on air, where he said: “I remember when I first wanted to get into music, we used to go into a radio station in Los Angeles and we used to sit in the lobby, trying to get on air, like, and it just made me feel alive.”

Will had asked a pal whether he should pop into the London studios to unveil his very newly recorded single, This Is Love.

His mate said no but the impetuous star did it anyway.

“I was, like, what are the other options?” Will continues. “I give it to the label and the label does it traditionally or we break tradition and realise it’s 2012 and we have laptops and tablets?

"I’ve got the song on a stick. Am I going to get in trouble? I don’t want to get in trouble.”

Capital FM sent for an engineer to get the track off his stick and on to the air.

To quote host Lisa Snowdon, pictured with Dave and Will: “Everyone was running around, flapping.”

Now, a source tells me his label is “furious”. “They found out what Will was doing the same way everybody else did.

"He just played his song and didn’t think about the consequences.

“Usually when an artist debuts their new single, the label has agreed a release date and a series of promotional activities.

"Will has gone over everybody’s head. It’s unprofessional.”

The star had been on his way to Heathrow to fly to the States.

Hopefully, everyone will have calmed down by the time he’s back.

 

Read Radio Today's interview with Capital FM Programming Chief Richard Park here.

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