Will.i.am to join The Voice

Will.I.Am is joining The Voice in the UK! He is set to join Jessie J, Tom Jones and another coach on the show. Executives original wanted Cheryl Cole who Will is managing -- but instead offered him the job.

This is going to be so exciting - I love The Voice. Now that the ratings for The X Factor is tanking in the UK against Strictly Come Dancing, The Voice may pick up viewers on BBC.

From The Sun:

RAPPER Will.i.am is set to join new talent show The Voice after BBC bosses snubbed his protégé Cheryl Cole, TV Biz can reveal.

Execs were originally in talks with the Black Eyed Peas star — who manages Chezza, 28 — in a bid to get HER.

But they changed their mind during talks with the rapper and his music mogul sidekick Seth Friedman and said they wanted him instead.

Will.i.am, 36, has agreed to do the show, and bosses are close to signing him as a "coach" for the acts, alongside Jessie J, Tom Jones and one other. The Sun told last week how Tom, 71, had been tapped up. Rocker Lenny Kravitz is also in the frame.

A show source said: "Will is 95 per cent a done deal. He a big star and loves nurturing new talent. He shoots from the lip, and will not be afraid to tell it like it is. Although, I doubt The Voice will be as bitchy as The X Factor."