Sir Tom Jones Gives Seal of Approval to Kelly Rowland as LeAnn Rimes’ Replacement on The Voice
Legendary singer Sir Tom Jones has seemingly given his stamp of approval to Kelly Rowland, who has been confirmed as the new coach on ITV’s The Voice, replacing LeAnn Rimes. According to a report from GB News, Jones, 84, has been a coach on the show since its launch in 2012 and has sat alongside various faces on the coaching team over the years.
The new coaching panel for The Voice UK consists of Jones, Danny Jones, will.i.am, and Kelly Rowland, who will be replacing LeAnn Rimes. Rowland, a former Destiny’s Child star, is not new to the series, having been a judge on the Australian version of the show from 2017 to 2020. As reported by GB News, the official Instagram account for The Voice shared the update, which showed each coach and was captioned: "Kelly… can you handle this? Meet the Coaches newest recruit when The Voice UK returns." Jones, along with co-star Danny Jones, gave the post a like, and the singer also re-shared it to his own page.
Fans have expressed their delight at Rowland joining the panel, with many gushing over Jones’ continuing commitment to the show. "What a good choice! Kelly Rowland had formed Little Mix, so hopefully she can form another girl group," one fan shared. Another fan echoed: "Kelly was a fantastic coach on The Voice Australia. She would really do incredibly well as a coach in The Voice UK. Kindly bring back the battles and knockouts too." As quoted in the GB News article, a fan also commented: "Kelly was [really] good in Australia, have high hopes for this year’s series!"
Meanwhile, a Jones fan commented: "I am so HAPPY that Sir #tomjones is back. I was scared when there was some gossip last year that they wanted him gone. Ladies and Gentlemen TOM JONES is the original LEGEND!" Another fan enthused: "I will be rooting for you, Sir Tom. I love seeing you on this. Can’t wait. Come on Team Tom! X." As reported by GB News, Rowland stated: "I am excited to join The Voice UK as a coach, and am looking forward to working with the excellent and passionate coaches the show is known for. I can’t wait to hear all the new talent and to go to battle for my team. Let’s go!"
Quite a few fans also demanded for a change to last year’s series to be reversed. In the 2024 series, it was confirmed the famous "battles" had been removed. The battles used to see each coach pitting their singers against each other with a song and choosing the strongest of them, but this element of the show was removed last year, sparking disgruntled viewers to complain online. As quoted in the GB News article, some fans even went as far as to say they won’t be watching unless they bring back the competitive and brutal feature.
The Voice UK will return with its new coaching panel, consisting of Sir Tom Jones, Kelly Rowland, Danny Jones, and will.i.am, with Emma Willis fronting the series as presenter once again. According to GB News, LeAnn Rimes was a coach on last year’s series of The Voice, but she won’t be returning for this year’s series.
