Sir Tom Jones, 84, has come under from a number of ITV viewers following a key decision he made during Saturday’s grand finale of The Voice UK.
The Sexbomb hitmaker had already sparked controversy by picking Billy and Louie to represent him in the finale ahead of fellow semi-finalists Ace and Hollie Peabody but on Saturday, he faced a new test in the form of his fellow coaches’ finalists.
The controversy surrounding Billy and Louie’s inclusion in the finale even sparked calls for Jones to “retire”, although he later defended the decision by claiming he “had” to put them through.
Elsewhere in the final, Will.i.am had Storry representing his group, while Danny Jones and Tom Fletcher opted for young singer Ava, and LeAnn Rimes chose ballad singer Deb Orah.
At the end of Saturday’s finale, it was Ava who was crowned this year’s The Voice winner after performing a show-stopping rendition of The Beatles’ The Long and Winding Road as well as a flawless take on Hoobastank’s The Reason alongside Fletcher and Jones.
“Oh, my goodness. I’m speechless,” Ava told host Emma Willis as she was crowned winner. “(I’m) forever grateful, and these lot are amazing. So I feel really honoured to be the winner. I need that holiday. Thank you so much!”
ITV The Voice: Sir Tom Jones and Billy and Louie performed Farther Along
ITV
Billy and Louie applauded Ava as they graciously accepted defeat but fans at home soon flooded social media with criticism of Jones for supposedly damaging their chances at victory in the final.
The criticism centred on Jones’ choice of songs for the twin siblings. For their first song of the night, Billy and Louie took on a rendition of A Great Big World & Christina Aguilera’s smash hit, Fall On Me.
Later in the show, they were joined by Jones for a performance of gospel classic Farther Along, with the Delilah singer explaining beforehand: “I think it’s bringing them into what I like and it lends itself to three people singing it.”
The performance earned a rousing standing ovation from the studio audience before Billy and Louie praised their mentor: “He’s just the most incredible coach, honestly. We couldn’t ask for somebody better, it’s been amazing.”
Jones reciprocated the kind words, telling Willis: “(It’s been) wonderful, you can hear in the way they sing. And they are lovely, lovely fellas. So it’s been a pleasure working with both of you and I know you’re going to (shoot upwards) after here.”
But while the twin brothers and Jones were unanimous in their positive verdict of the performance, it’s safe to say fans watching at home weren’t.
In fact, some even accused Jones of ruining Billy and Louie’s chances at victory by choosing Farther Along for the duet segment of the finale.
On X, formerly Twitter, one fan blasted: “I love Billy and Louie, they have incredible voices, but that song did nothing for them #TheVoiceUK.”
“Tom and Twins, awful song choice. They wont’ win with that! #thevoice,” a second rightly tipped while a third said: “Very odd song choice by Sir Tom #TheVoiceUK.”
Elsewhere, a fourth critiqued: “I love Tom Jones but my god this is so boring! #TheVoiceUK.”
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS:
ITV The Voice: Sir Tom Jones accused of making costly mistake for Billy and Louie’s final song
ITV
And a fifth took aim at all the judges’ choices: “Weird song choices all round for the final of #TheVoiceUK. It feels a bit like going back in time somehow.”
However, there was some praise for Jones’ choice of music, with one fan arguing: “#thevoiceuk. @thevoiceuk omg goose bumps #TomJones with the twins just fab.”
And a second praised: “Tom Jones isn’t my kind of music but my god that man can sing #TheVoiceUK.” (sic)
Following Ava’s victory, the former dog groomer will be awarded a professional singing contract. She’s also bagged £50,000 and a holiday to Orlando, Florida.