Will.i.am has defended his role as a coach on The Voice after claims that he had abandoned his acts due to his globe-trotting schedule.

Reports emerged yesterday that the likes of Tyler James, Jaz Ellington and Joelle Moses have had less rehearsal time with the Black Eyed Peas frontman than contestants selected by Jessie J, Tom Jones and The Script’s Danny O’Donoghue because of his responsibilities in America.

However, in an interview with The Sun, the 37-year-old, who was last night seen on the first live show of the BBC talent series, remained unapologetic about his mentoring approach:

“There are artists that rehearse loads and then when they get on stage they forget to bring emotion, because you can’t practise that. Then there are people that bring the raw emotion and make you forget about your day, escape. Those are the ones that we call iconic singers. It’s effortless.

“It’s just about bringing your capabilities, capturing the moment. You need to unlock that magic within you. There’s no coach, no rehearsal that can bring that.”

The ‘Heartbreaker’ star, who recently criticised The X-Factor’s handling of 2010 finalist Cher Lloyd, went onto argue that his acts will in fact benefit from his style of coaching:

“We all have different approaches. People would rather see someone mess up than do something good. You get more press messing up.

“So my coaching is, let’s talk and see what you’re doing this for. That gives the performer a different sensibility. Then when you step into a song, your perspective is changed.”