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David Grohl Voices Reality of a Music Career

Although not a viewer of American Idol and The Voice, David Grohl understands the concept and warns that the music business is "more than commercials and more than bright lights and television and glamor."

By Jay Bobbin /

Credit: Zap2it

Dave Grohl will never be a big fan of music competitions

Foo Fighters lead singer Dave Grohl doesn’t hate singing contests like American Idol or The X Factor, but he’s never going to like them

Dave Grohl admits his Foo Fighters schedule doesn’t leave him much time to check out TV’s singing competitions.

Which isn’t to say he doesn’t have an opinion about them. The frontman for the long-popular band — which has Album of the Year and Best Rock Album (for Wasting Light) among its six nominations in the 54th Annual Grammy Awards, airing Sunday, Feb. 12, on CBS — has views both positive and not-so-positive of such shows as FOX’s American Idol and NBC’s The Voice.

“Anything musical, I support,” former Nirvana drummer Grohl tells Zap2it. “I think it’s wonderful that people get a chance to celebrate music when they watch those shows, and maybe discover songs they’ve never heard before and get personally invested in someone’s path.

“But honestly, people need to know music is more than that, more than commercials and more than bright lights and television and glamour. Music starts from the heart, in your living room and at school. It’s great that those shows inspire people to want to go out and sing themselves, but one thing I think is dangerous is that in some way, it uses that as an example for a career.”

In fact, Grohl stresses, “I don’t think music should be a career option. I honestly don’t. I got lucky. I won the lottery, but I think people should play music for the sake of playing music … and it should be its own reward. When I look at those shows, I understand those people are trying to do really well, but music’s not a contest. And it’s not a TV show. It’s real.”

And it comes from having a certain background, Grohl believes: “My stuff comes from keg parties and sweaty nightclubs and having the singer jump on top of your head during the chorus. That’s why I’m so passionate about it. It’s not because I won a TV contest and somebody gave me a million dollars. Music is a lot deeper.”

With Foo Fighters concerts slated for Japan and Argentina in the coming months, Grohl likely won’t be paying much “Idol” or “Voice” attention this time, either.  “If I have five seconds, I try to close my eyes and take a nap,” he confirms. “That’s the story of my life.”

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