Sir Tom Jones reflects on career ending as he asks 'How long is this voice going to last?'

Sir Tom Jones shared his delight at still being able to perform in his 80s during a candid conversation on this series of The Voice UK. The Welsh singer, now 86, reflected on his age in an exchange with fellow coach Kelly Rowland. His comments came before he revealed that ITV had decided he would not return to the programme — a decision he insisted was not his own.

Kelly began by telling him, "85 years young," to which Sir Tom replied: "Oh, 85 years young." As the audience applauded, Kelly continued: "You've seen, heard so much. You have been around the world how many times? You know what I mean?" Sir Tom nodded and answered, "A lot." He then admitted: "I just love the fact that I can still sing," reports Wales Online.

It was not the first time the Delilah singer had spoken openly about his voice and getting older. In an earlier conversation in 2024 with fellow coaches will.i.am, LeAnn Rimes, Danny Jones and Tom Fletcher, he wondered how much longer his vocal abilities would last.

"It's a wonderful life, you know, show business," he said. "When you perform on stage and you get that love coming back from the audience. You think 'What could be better than this?' and that's the way I still feel today. Like I did when I was a kid."

will.i.am told him: "To see you here, still being that inspiration and still being active, is just mind-boggling." Sir Tom replied: "It is to me as well. As the years go on, you think 'How long is this voice going to last?'"

He added: "I'm on stage and I open up and there it is and I think 'Is that voice coming from me?' and that's the God's honest truth, you know."

Addressing his departure on Instagram earlier this month, he said: "To be clear, I did not want to leave The Voice as I love the show and really appreciate the audience. ITV made this decision - obviously a while ago, and I was just told recently."

ITV has announced that Aitch and Cheryl will join returning coaches Kelly and will.i.am for the next series. Alesha Dixon and Stacey Solomon will take on presenting duties.

The Voice is available to watch on ITVX.