Niall Horan has told 2FM Breakfast with Doireann, Donncha and Carl that he has mixed emotions about his new role as a coach on The Voice US.
When asked on Friday morning's show about how he feels to be a former X Factor contestant who is now deciding another artist's fate, the Mullingar man replied: "Ah, it's horrible! Honestly, I love it and hate it in equal measure!"
"The great part is picking the team," he explained. "You get a team of ten and that's great - you're pressing the red button, it's outpitching Kelly Clarkson, it's all that kind of stuff. That's the great part.
"Then the rest of it is basically picking songs for people, which I love, coming up with musical arrangements with the band and the artist, which is really cool. It's actually a lot more interactive than I thought it would be with the artists."
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"And then the hardest part is they do, like, battles and knockouts, where they go up onstage, sing next to each other," Horan continued.
"Then you have to pick on the spot who's going through and who's not. That's when the empathy side of things kicks in. I don't think I'll ever lose that because I know exactly what it's like to stand on the other side of someone that's got, you know, your future in their hands. We're kind of shooting that part at the moment and it's horrible.
"You're looking at a 19-year-old up there who if I say 'no' has convinced themselves already that it's the end of their career, you know what I mean? But I think it's letting people know that there's actually more over the hills for them because they're only 19. But in the moment, it's just horrific seeing these little faces. It's not nice."
The new series of The Voice US premieres on 6 March.
Horan is gearing up for the release of his new album, The Show, on 9 June. His new single, Heaven, was released on Friday.
