The Voice Australia: Singer claims he was promised spot in semi-finals before filming even began

The Voice coaches in 2018. Photo / Supplied

A singer has claimed he was guaranteed by producers of The Voice that he'd make it through to the semi-finals if he agreed to appear on the reality show.

The claim, which a Voice spokesperson dismissed as "ridiculous", suggests the celebrity coaches are told who to turn their chairs for in the blind auditions.

Singer Thom Phillips, who works as a producer on Australian radio show Mix 102.3, told radio hosts Jodie (Oddy) and Soda (Mark Soderstrom) that he was approached to appear on last year's season of The Voice.

"Early last year they found my online profiles and my music and then they reached out to me via email to ask if I wanted go on the show," he said.

Mr Phillips told the radio hosts that after turning down the offer, he was contacted by a senior producer who told him he'd definitely make it through to the second round of the talent show.

"They rang me up, the head honcho producer rang me up, and they just wanted to know a bit more about me, my story," he said on air this morning.

"Obviously because I've got a young daughter, Nala, I'm a young dad and that bodes well for this type of program. They said, 'We can promise you if you do decide to join the show that you will get through to the semis at least.'"

"These are stunning claims," co-host Jodie Oddy said. "So when Kelly (Rowland) hits her buzzer or Delta (Goodrem) or whoever is on there … they would have been told by producers, 'You have to turn around for this one?'"

"They're given a big heads up," Mr Phillips suggested before repeating what the senior producer allegedly told him on the phone.

"That's what they said, 'We can guarantee you, wink, that you'll get through to the later rounds on the show.'"

Despite being encouraged by his partner to accept, Mr Phillips again turned down the offer from The Voice.

The singer's claim comes after Grant Denyer yesterday exposed what happened during a "disastrous" day of filming on the current season of The Voice in Sydney.

"They were running three hours over and the audience had already been there for nearly nine hours for a record," Denyer said on the 2Day FM breakfast show.

"It got so bad that the audience … started booing in the record. When the judges started pressing the buzzers, people were like, 'Boo!' They were revolting.

"The staff had to lock all the doors to the recording studio and they manned the doors and refused to let anybody out. People were trying to storm out and leave and say, 'You can't stop me!' And they saying, 'Yes we can!'"

Denyer claimed that The Voice staff stood in front of the doors and blocked the exits and refused to let people leave before filming finished, a claim that a spokeswoman for The Voice has denied.

"It got so bad that audience members started ringing the cops," the radio star said on air. "They were calling triple-0 at the exits saying, 'I'm being held against my will at Studio 3 in Fox studios at The Voice set.'"

In a statement to news.com.au, a spokesperson for The Voice said: "As for Grant Denyer's ridiculous claims, no police were called to the Knockouts record, no doors were ever locked and no audience members are ever forced to stay.

"Equally ridiculous is the suggestion that any promises are made to any artists about how far they will progress in the competition."