Voicing their opinions
Tension is mounting as the knockout stages of The Voice UK begin – but which acts will make it through to the final? GEMMA DUNN investigates
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TTHE VOICE UK ITV, tonight, 8.30pm HE blind auditions are a distant memory, the battle (rounds) lines have been drawn and after 10 weeks of fighting it out, it’s time for The Voice UK’s merciless knockouts.
But it’s not just the remaining acts feeling the heat. The knockouts (the penultimate stage before the live finals) mean the four famous coaches – will.i.am, Sir Tom Jones, Jennifer Hudson and Olly Murs – have to whittle their teams of six to just two.
“You just have to do it,” says Tom, who returned to the spinning chairs last year, following a one-year hiatus after the talent show moved from the BBC to ITV in 2016.
“You have to try to explain,” continues the 77-year-old. “I keep saying, ‘There’s six of you, but there are only two going through. “It’s got to be done, so you have to understand that. Just do the best you can.’”
“You know what it’s like?” quips Will, 42, who has featured in all seven seasons of the hit series. “Imagine you’re a parent and you’ve got budget to send two kids to college but you’ve got eight kids... That’s messed up. Who you gonna send?”
“The thing is, they can all sing around the piano and knock it out the park, but it’s then the pressure of singing in front of a live audience,” chimes Voice UK newbie Olly, 33. “They might come out and fluff their lines.”
What about Jennifer, 36, who triumphed last year with winner Mo Adeniran?
“It still adds pressure for this year!” she exclaims. “I’m hopeful, but I can only continue to be passionate because that’s what got me there last time and that will never die.”
The fighting talk in full force and a star-studded line-up of mentors waiting in the wings, the coaches give us a rundown on each of their remaining performers, including those all-important steals...