Blake Shelton Responds to Simon Cowell’s ‘Voice’ Rant

In the past week, former "American Idol" villain/judge and "X-Factor" creator Simon Cowell has been making disparaging comments about "The Voice." It started when NBC announced that it would have three nights of programming during the hit show's premiere week, with the third episode airing on Wednesday evening (Sept. 12), overlapping with FOX's "X-Factor" season debut.

"Every time I turn around the guy is mouthing off," "Voice" coach Blake Shelton tells "Access Hollywood"'s Michelle Beadle. "Don't y'all wish you had time to sit around and b---- and moan like that guy does? Every time I turn around, he's mouthing off about our show. It's like, 'Do your own show! Come on! Put something together there and do your thing. We'll just do ours and we won't mouth off about you.' I wish I had that much time. The guy must just have more free time than he knows what to do with."

Simon claimed on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" that "The Voice" wanted to "spoil" the "X-Factor" premiere. He also told TMZ that "Voice" producers have "heard how good the series is," so they don't want their audience to see new judges Britney Spears and Demi Lovato. But Blake doesn't think the extra episode mattered.

"There's room for all these shows," the country superstar insists. "That's what frustrates me when I hear the bickering. I'm like, 'We're all doing pretty good. High five!' But I think the thing that the other shows probably took notice of was that the four of us on 'The Voice' (Blake, Christina Aguilera, Cee Lo Green and Adam Levine) -- we're not judges.

"When we have something to say to somebody on stage, we're not just saying it from a judgment standpoint," continues the reigning CMA and ACM Male Vocalist of the Year. "We're saying it from, 'Well, here's what I did, and it worked for me. Let me show you.' I think that's the difference, and that's probably why we're seeing it on the other shows."

Although, Simon may have had a point. According to Zap2it, "The Voice" took the 8 o'clock hour and bested the "X-Factor" premiere, drawing 10.7 million viewers, 3.2 million more than Simon's brainchild. "X-Factor" faired better in its second hour, gaining two million viewers, but still came in second to NBC's "America's Got Talent" finals, which drew an audience of 11 million.

Three episodes in to Season 3 of "The Voice," Blake has five teammates so far, including mother-daughter country duo 2Steel Girls, Scottish rocker Terry McDermott, country songbird Gracia Harrison, Latin influenced Julio Cesar Castillo and country singer Casey Muessigmann. Blake is the reigning champ among "The Voice" coaches, as he took his teammate Jermaine Paul to the top in Season 2.

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