LEGENDARY Canadian music producer and composer David Foster has discovered many amazing singers during his career. He says it would be no surprise if the next big superstar is Asian.

“China is definitely going to have a superstar and I hope I can be a part of it,” Foster said during a visit to Shanghai earlier this week.

Foster will appear as the international music mentor for the upcoming “battle” phase of the ongoing “The Voice of China” Season III and produce a song for the eventual champion.

Fans of the show can look forward to Foster teaming with singer Wu Mochou, first runner-up of “The Voice of China” Season I, and a new adaptation of the tune “I Believe I Can.”

“The Voice of China” Season III (every Friday, 9:40pm, Zhejiang Satellite TV) is now in the elimination phase after concluding all the auditions.

Foster, who has won 16 Grammy Awards from 47 nominations, has produced songs for celebrated artists including Celine Dion, Madonna, Michael Jackson and Whitney Houston.

In his eyes, talent is everywhere but some “The Voice” contestants simply lack confidence.

Foster shares with Shanghai Daily his passion for music, how he discovers people with talent and his expectations for the industry in the digital era.

Q: What made you decide to take this trip and collaborate with “The Voice of China?”

A: “The Voice” franchise, of course, is huge all over the world and I was excited that there was one in China. I have been here before and love Shanghai. The landscape is musically just overwhelming with talent. I’m very glad I came to be an international mentor and see if I can help in any way to take some of these singers to the next level.

Q: How will you share your expertise and experience on the show? What suggestions would you like to give the producers?

A: I have been making music for 40 years and have had a lot of success and a lot of failures. I think you learn more from your failures than you do from your successes. It’s hard to teach what you know, you just come in and do what you do. That’s exactly what I did with these singers.

One of the things that I noticed was that many of the singers lacked confidence. Confidence is something you have to have if you are going to be a star so that is the most important piece of advice I gave some of the singers.

Q: You have been a producer for a lot of successful artists like Christina Aguilera, Celine Dion and Whitney Houston. How do you work with so many artists with different styles of music and personalities? What is your secret to success?

A: Growing up in Canada you have to work twice as hard to be taken half as seriously. By the time I was 16 years old I had studied classical music. I fell in love with the Beatles and I was a jazz lover as well. Then when I was 16, I played with Chuck Berry who was a rock ’n’ roller.

So before I got out of my teens I had played every kind of music and I think that’s maybe why I’m so comfortable in a lot of genres of music. However, having said that, when I lay my hands down on the piano it’s the ballads that usually come out and move me the most so that’s the kind of music I like making the best.

Q: Is it possible that you will discover some Chinese singers on the show and bring them to the international stage?

A: It’s absolutely possible to discover Chinese talent. There are 1.3 billion people here and I have said for a few years now that the next big superstar could easily come from Asia. I found Celine Dion and Michael Buble in Canada. I found Josh Groban in America. I found The Corrs in Ireland. I found Aida from Russia.

I’m working with an opera singer from South Korea now called Hana. There is just talent everywhere. I found Charice from the Philippines. There is talent in every nook and cranny of this planet. There is no doubt in my mind that a world superstar is going to come from China and take the world stage. No doubt about it.

Q: How do you discover people with a talent for music? In your opinion, what makes a good singer and what characteristics do you find appealing?

A: I don’t think I’m special in that department. If you are an elitist you are not going to be able to discover talent because I just see what I like and I’m hoping that millions of other people will like it as well. I think that makes me just the common average person.

It’s true that I can play piano and have a lot of classical training and I’m a good musician. For instance, when it comes to seeing a singer like when I saw Celine Dion for the first time, I just thought, ‘wow,’ this is absolutely incredible. You have to think like the average person otherwise you are going to find people that no one wants.

Q: Have you ever got involved in reality shows before? Star China has also presented “Sing My Song,” a show to encourage original music in China. What do you think of the influence of reality shows in the music industry?

A: Yes, I have been a mentor a few times on “American Idol” and was on a show called “Pop Stars” before that so I have had some experience doing this. I think these shows have a place in the culture, they are exciting to watch and they have made some stars. However, I do get annoyed when I see a 19-year-old singer being interviewed on one of these shows saying, ‘You know, if I don’t make it on the show, I’m dead, this is my final chance. If I don’t make it here, I just don’t know what I’m going to do.’

A lot of these singers have not paid their dues and did not sing in clubs night after night with people talking and things being thrown at them. You need to pay your dues. A lot of these singers come right from high school to a TV singing competition show and they think that this is how you become a star and that’s not how you become a star. That’s why these shows don’t make many stars.

Q: What are the new challenges and new opportunities for the music industry in today’s digital era? How do you see the Chinese market?

A: Well, there are a lot of countries that have bypassed the regular infrastructure and gone right to the digital age. I think Africa is a case in point, there is not an infrastructure of roads, highways and street lights but yet everyone is hooked into a phone and computer.

There is always going to be music and we have to find a new way and I think the subscription model is the way to revive the music business.

I’d like to say the music business is doing great and thriving but the record business is kind of in trouble. I know we are going to find a new way and the CD is going to disappear and streaming is going to become the norm. We will figure out a way to get paid for it so all these great musicians and songwriters could still make music and make a living at it.

Q: You have been to China before. What’s your impression about it and the music here? Do you have any favorite Chinese singers or songs?

A: Yes, I have been to China before and I love it. There are places here that are thousands of years old and the history is so rich, so is the culture. I do have some favorite Chinese artists. Tan Dun, the conductor and composer, is a good friend of mine. Yu Long, the conductor, is a great friend of mine. Lang Lang the pianist is a great friend of mine. I love these men and they are so talented and amazing. I got to meet Mo Mo the singer the other day and she is incredible. I think on my next trip back I will find a lot more singers and maybe work with some of them.

Q: To attract a wider audience, some Chinese musicians are making crossover attempts like combining jazz with traditional Chinese theater. What do you think of efforts like this?

A: I have not heard of these Chinese musicians combining jazz with traditional Chinese elements. However, I will tell you that if somebody cracks the code of infusing Western pop music with a little Chinese music in it much like Shakira did with the Arabic influence with one of her hits, I think they could have a worldwide hit without a shadow of a doubt because the Chinese scale is so different from our scale.

Q: What are you working on these days?

A: Currently I’m the chairman of Verve Records. In the past year and a half I have produced albums for Mary J. Blige, Stevie Wonder, Bryan Adams and just finished a Diana Krall album. I have a couple more albums on the horizon, Lionel Richie’s Christmas album this year. I’m working with a new artist named Brenna Whitaker (she is like a female Michael Buble). I’m working with a group called Dirty Loops from Sweden. I can’t wait to come back to China and pull back the layers and see what is here and what great singers there are here. China is definitely going to have a superstar and I hope I can be part of it.