‘The Voice’ Alum Discovered Singing Competition She Joined Was Fake

When Lana Love appeared on Season 22 of “The Voice,” many of the coaches were in awe at her voice, with John Legend even turning his chair around. “You showed so many different sides to your voice, and for a Blind Audition, that’s very strategic in a good way,” Gwen Stefani told her.

While she lost to Jose Cardona in the Battle, it seemed evident that, with or without “The Voice,” Love was a force to be reckoned with. When she received an email about a new HBO singing competition, it seemed like the natural next step. But in the middle of taping, she discovered the entire show was fake.

Former ‘The Voice’ Contestant Says HBO Show Cost Her $10,000

The singing competition that Love had signed up for was called “Wings of Voice,” but it wasn’t a competition at all. It was part of comedian Nathan Fielder’s series, “The Rehearsal,” but Love claimed no one told her — or the other contestants — that.

“I signed up to be a singer, not a lab rat,” Love told Variety. The singer stated that being on the show had cost her nearly $10,000: $5,500 for hair, makeup, travel, and hotel expenses, plus the almost $4,000 she lost by canceling her voice lessons to participate in the show.

“I’m legally not allowed to have this conversation with you right now, because I signed an NDA,” she confided. But she didn’t seem too worried about HBO finding out. “They don’t really have ground to stand on.”

In Season 2 of “The Rehearsal, Fielder decided to put his focus on preventing aviation disasters. He believed this could be best accomplished by helping pilots enhance their communication skills. So, real pilots were hired to pretend to be judges on the fake singing competition to learn to be more assertive. Neither the pilots nor the singers, such as Love, were aware that none of it was real.

Love Claims She Came Close to Exposing Fake Reality Show

Upon discovering the show was part of “The Rehearsal,” Love pulled other contestants aside to inform them that “Wings of Voice” was fake. Love told them that she was planning to draft a letter to shut down production of the show. She alleged that they pleaded with her not to. “I don’t care if the show is fake, I still want to do it. It could still be my big break,” Love recalled the girl telling her.

“I thought to myself, ‘You can’t expose the show,’” Love told Variety. “‘You can’t take away someone else’s dream. You’ll save your piece for another day.’ And that’s why we’re sitting here today.”

Months later, Love has mixed feelings about her experience. She’s proud that she stood up for artists’ rights. She also feels that she and the other contestants weren’t treated with “basic human respect.” Even so, she’s using her exposure on an HBO series to her full advantage. “We still have to go for our dream with our full heart, even if the game is rigged,” she said.