Robin Thicke on judging gig on 'Duets': 'Nothing is outside of my comfort zone'

Thursday night's debut of network TV's latest singing competition, "Duets," marked the re-emergence of R&B singer Robin Thicke into the mainstream.

The 34-year-old singer-songwriter, best known for his 2006 hit "Lost Without U," admits that he isn't very well known outside of his more niche audience, but is excited to expand his brand to the rest of America.

"All my music lives on black radio," he told The Hollywood Reporter of his soulful songs. "So, TV is a huge opportunity to be seen by everyone in Middle America and all those other places where I don't really tour.

"I've really only had one song that played on the pop charts."

Thicke is the son of "Growing Pains" actor Alan Thicke and actress/singer Gloria Loring. He is married to actress Paula Patton, and the couple have a son Julian, 2.

Thicke, along with fellow "Duets" judges Kelly Clarkson, John Legend and Jennifer Nettles, took to the stage on the new singing competition show Thursday, a twist on the classic formula that Thicke says is a huge selling point.

"What's fun about it is it's very unpredictable because you get to see a free concert almost every show from John Legend, Jennifer, Kelly Clarkson and myself," he told "Good Morning America."

Thicke's own resume is laden with sultry singles, including "The Sweetest Love" and "Sex Therapy."

On the show, however, he recognizes that he'll often have to go against type and push his own limits.

"Nothing is outside of my comfort zone," he told USA Today of his own experience on the show. "For me, any song is just how you feel it, and if you can feel a lyric, then you can perform it well."

For the singer, being a part of the show is less about criticizing contestants than it is about mentoring them.

"For me, it's all about the music and all about the art, because that's what lasts forever, so I just try to put everything I've got into the music," he told the paper. "I want to use these opportunities to help inform more people about my music, because there will be a lot of people seeing this who've never heard of me before."