Boy George will stop at nothing, it seems, to throw shade at vocal looper Sam Perry as he makes his way through The Voice.
After watching Perry compete against Sydney teen Madi Krstevski and Melbourne singer Emily Green on Monday night's show, George forced a reluctant Green to say whether she thinks its fair to go up against the shows breakout star.
While the series is traditionally more of an elaborate karaoke competition, Perry sent the coaches into a spin (literally) in the blind audition phase when he performed Princes When Doves Cry using vocal looping and beatboxing.
George initially turned his chair and tried to lure the 28-year-old Perth musician to his team, but has since questioned his whether it is fair for him to be on a singing show.
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“Youre a red sock in a white wash,” George said after the trio from Team Kelly performed in a knock-out heat on Monday. "This is The Voice and youre not really a singer."
But after bickering with Kelly Rowland over Perrys eligibility, George turned to Green and Krstevski to ask their opinion.
“What do the two girls think about it? Do you think its a fair fight, be honest,” he said.
Reluctantly, Green awkwardly delivered her verdict on Perry, who was standing right next to her.
“I really respect what you do but I feel like you wouldnt have the same vocal struggles as someone like me or Maddi does,” she said.
“What you do is out of the box, but it doesnt have the same constraints as Maddi or I. If you were flat or sharp or you had an off day … but in saying that, I really respect what you do and I applaud it.”
Despite George doing his best to fan the flames of controversy, Rowland selected Perry to join her team, leaving Joe Jonas to steal Krstevski. Green, however, was out of the show.
In his post-performance chat, Perry spoke out about his discomfort at being compared to a DJ.
“A DJ is someone who uses samples of other peoples music,” he said. “It seems like I have a bit of an advantage but I have to be the drummer, be the bassist, write all the harmonies, and sing on top of it.
“Its controversial but everything I am doing is with my voice and if I progress to [the live shows] you are going to see a lot more of it.”
Before Monday night's battle round even aired, George, a prolific tweeter, was on Twitter defending his position.
The knockout rounds continue on Tuesday night on Nine at 7.30pm.
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Nathanael Cooper is Fairfax Media's deputy entertainment editor
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