After seeing Tony Bennett on the UK’s X Factor and hearing that he will also be appearing on the next series of American Idol, you would be forgiven for thinking that he is a huge fan of these genre of talent shows.

Tony however has spoken out this week against such shows and the people who run them (presumably Simon Cowell).

Bennett reveals he’s “disturbed” at the trials contestants face when the cameras stop rolling. He says:

“These amateur shows that they have internationally right now… make them (contestants) go right to the top and then there is no place for them to break in and learn their craft.

“I am a little disturbed over that, that the businessmen are making a fortune but, after the first record, they drop the artist and go with the next.

“It is not fair because the artists all have such good potential. They all have the good possibility of really becoming good performers if they just had the place that they could break in and learn how to do it properly.”