THE Voice contestant Kevin Simm has said he was "put off" the music business after the failure of his solo pop career.

On Saturday night's episode, viewers saw the Chorley-born singer have a second stab at fame when he auditioned before the all-star panel of coaches — will.i.am, Boy George, Paloma Faith and Ricky Wilson.

Kevin, who lived in Smithills before moving to Leyland, was a member of Liberty X, a pop group consisting of the runners-up from 2001 ITV talent show Popstars.

Alongside Michelle Heaton, Tony Lundon, Jessica Taylor and Kelli Young, he failed to make it into winning group Hear'Say, whose members included Myleene Klass and a pre-Coronation Street Kym Marsh.

Liberty X were signed by V2, the record label founded by Richard Branson, and topped the pop charts with Just A Little in 2002.

A year later, the song won a Brit award for best British single.

They went on to enjoy several more hits and even out-lasted Hear'Say, who had split in 2002.

"It was amazing," he said. "We just had the time of our lives for a couple of years, really. We had a couple of hits and then it started going a little bit downhill, chart positions weren't great so we got dropped."

Liberty X called it a day in 2007.

The 35-year-old focused on his own material and Brand New, his solo album, was released in Japan in 2008.

"At that point, I was like, this is going to be awesome, I'm going to be massive! Then I got shelved pretty much. What can you do? It puts you off music a little bit. It did knock my confidence a lot," he admitted.

"I was put off for a couple of years. Probably one of my biggest regrets."

Kevin, who used to gig at pubs and clubs in and around Bolton, wowed all four coaches with a stunning rendition of Chandelier by Sia.

In the battle to land the ex-member of Liberty X, an explosive on-air argument erupted between Paloma and Boy George.

The Culture Club singer reportedly made her cry after she pretended to fall asleep during his pitch for the one-time pop heartthrob.

Kevin ended up on the Only Love Can Hurt Like This singer's team, despite Boy George pointing to her lack of success in America compared with his achievements.