Since helping launch LaFace Records in 1989, Kenny "Babyface" Edmonds has nurtured the careers of artists like Usher, TLC, Outkast and Toni Braxton. He discusses our "American Idol" culture on "Oprah's Next Chapter" and shares a word of caution for young singers looking for their moment in the spotlight.
"They're on a crash course," Babyface says about reality show contestants. "And so there's no way in that crash course, with most people, that they're going to survive it."
Shows like "American Idol" throw singers immediately in front of the world, he explains. "And our pop culture today is so wishy washy. I'm into you. Now I'm not. You get beat up a lot quicker and a lot harder, and everybody's not strong enough to go through that," Babyface says.
"'American Idol' kids on those kind of shows, they don't get the chance to really work their craft," he says. "Most of them haven't been tested and will never really get that shot. There are those that kind of get through it, but most of them won't. And there are kids that really have good voices, and some that might have a shot."
"Oprah's Next Chapter" airs Sundays at 9 p.m. ET on OWN.
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