Despite being there to judge, Sir Tom Jones just can’t resist the limelight on The Voice UK and this has led to several memorable duets on the show. Sir Tom has made several show-stopping performances on The Voice, with the most popular being his duet with Jennifer Hudson on “It’s a Man’s Man’s Man’s World”, which has been viewed 33 million times.
Sir Tom Jones sits next to Jennifer Hudson and asks his fellow judges, “If you could see anyone battle, anybody in the world, who would you pick?”. Olly Murs replied, “I would love to see you and Jennifer have a battle”. Jennifer says, “I can’t battle with Tom” as the crowd begin chanting “do it, do it”. The band begin playing the intro to “It’s a Man’s Man’s Man’s World” and the duo put on an impromptu vocal display that would end up going viral receiving over 33 million views.
During the blind auditions in November, Jones sang a feel-good duet with fellow judge Anne Marie on Ben E. King’s classic “Stand By Me”.
At 83, Jones has lost none of the sonorous baritone which made him a pop icon, and English star Anne Marie delivered a husky yet delicate R&B vocal to complement the Welsh Tiger. The two veteran entertainers instantly got the crowd clapping along to the beat, and the duet was quite playful, getting plenty of laughs from the audience. You can check out the performance below.
Jones and Anne Marie display loads of chemistry and the duet was really a match made in heaven. In the second half of the performance Anne Marie jumped out of her chair to serenade Jones and then added in a few gags. She began by cheekily repeating Jones’ lines back at him and then briefly broke the rhythm of her vocal to assure Tiger that she would, in fact, stand by him.
Fans online loved the performance, adding positive feedback such as “stunning duet – I’d love them both to bring out some stuff together” and “I love the way the other coaches look at Sir Tom with so much admiration and respect. Anne Marie always looks like she adores him. His voice is so amazing.”
Jones took to X, formerly Twitter, afterwards to compliment his co-star, saying “What a treat to perform with the sensational @AnneMarie!” The Welsh hitmaker has plenty of experience on The Voice under his belt at this point, having coached talent on the show from 2012 to 2015, and again from 2017 until the present.
“Stand By Me” was an inspired choice to showcase Jones’ vocal talent on the show. The song was penned by Ben E. King, Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller and initially released on April 24, 1961 by the former. “Stand By Me” peaked at number four on the Billboard Hot 100 upon release, as well as hitting the top 30 in the UK.
The song’s biggest impact on the charts would come many years later however, after appearing in the 1986 box office smash hit drama film of the same name. “Stand By Me” subsequently shot to number one in the UK, Canada and Ireland, as well as re-entering the US top 10. The universal message of the song has also made it a popular choice for covers, with many big names trying their hand at it, including John Lennon, Otis Redding, Tracy Chapman, Florence and even Muhammad Ali.