There wasn’t a dry eye in the house as Sir Tom Jones performed an emotional tribute to his late wife during Saturday’s episode of The Voice.
Kicking off the new series, the mentor was handed a microphone as the audience begged him to sing – before belting out a crystal clear rendition of his song I Won’t Crumble With You If You Fall.
And as the singer, 82, dedicated the song his late wife Melinda Trenchard, who he lost to cancer in 2016, viewers took to social media to dub him a ‘legend’.
Moment The Voice’s Tom Jones performs emotional tribute to late wife
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‘Lost for words, what a legend’: The Voice fans were left in tears on Saturday as Sir Tom Jones, 82, performed an emotional tribute to his late wife during the show
Appearing on the show with fellow judges Anne-Marie, Olly Murs and will.i.am, Tom gave the performance from his chair – with the audience falling silent to listen.
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Before singing, he explained: ‘Now this song is very important to me. I try to pick songs that mean a lot to me. And this song is trying to tell you that people that you love, sometimes they need to be backed up. You need to give them strength and encouragement.’
And following the chilling rendition, the singer went on to explain that he had written the song in memory of Melinda, who he wed back in 1957.
Tom met Melinda, who passed away in 2016 due to lung cancer, when he was just 12 years old, before marrying four years later.
Spouse: Tom met his late wife Melinda, who passed away in 2016 due to lung cancer, when he was just 12 years old, before marrying four years later (pictured together in 1987)
What a performance: The mentor was handed a microphone as the audience begged him to sing – before belting out a crystal clear rendition of his song I Won’t Crumble With You If You Fall
Special: Before singing, he explained: ‘Now this song is very important to me. I try to pick songs that mean a lot to me. And this song is trying to tell you that people that you love, sometimes they need to be backed up. You need to give them strength and encouragement’
He told the audience: ‘My wife, you know, she was dying of lung cancer, so I said, you know, I was always able to fix stuff, to do things if she needed me I was always there.
‘She said, ‘Don’t crumble with me, don’t fall now, you’ve done everything you can, you must carry on and do what you do.’ So I put the song, when I heard it, it was like it was written for this situation. It’s a lovely song,’ continued Tom.
And pulling on the heartstrings of his fellow judges, Olly and Anne-Marie appeared to both have tears in their eyes – as the latter even describing it as ‘one of the best moments of my life’.
Emotional: And pulling on the heartstrings of his fellow judges, Olly Murs appeared to have tears in his eyes
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Sacred moment: While Anne-Marie even described it as ‘one of the best moments of my life’
While Olly tweeted crying emojis, as viewers at home appeared to feel the same way, taking to social media to dub Tom a ‘legend’, admitting they were ‘lost for words’.
‘Just balled my eyes out listening to Tom Jones singing about his wife on The Voice. What an incredible man’ wrote one viewer.
While another penned: ‘Tom Jones burst me into tears’, and one fan explained they ‘sobbed my heart out’ – describing the moment as ‘too close to home’.
‘Crying my eyes out’: Viewers at home took to social media to dub Tom a ‘legend’, admitting they were ‘lost for words’
The show marked the return of a live audience for the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic, with the performance welcoming them back in a special way.
While fans were emotional to see the performance – many also commented on Tom’s youthful appearance as they dubbed him ’82 years young’.
Elsewhere, the Not Unusual singer has recently revealed the quite unusual ways he keeps fit before heading on stage for gigs – explaining that he goes upside down.
Not a dry eye: While Olly himself tweeted out crying faces after the moment
Tom told the audience: ‘My wife, you know, she was dying of lung cancer, so I said, you know, I was always able to fix stuff, to do things if she needed me I was always there’ (pictured with Melinda in 1995)
Tom, who is currently walking with the aid of a cane, had his left hip replaced back in 2017, and now needs his right replaced too.
And using an inversion table, the performer hangs upside down in his dressing room to help his joints.
Explaining the pre-show routine, he told The Sun: ‘I hang upside down. It’s anti-gravity. You get on it, lock your ankles in and go upside down.
‘I do it just before I go on stage when I’m doing live shows and that’s why I can do four songs on the trot, because it’s pulled my leg down. I do it for about three or four minutes.’
Tom is set to head on a US tour later this autumn, admitting he has no plans to retire anytime soon and will ‘perform until I’m 100, if I can’.
Not stopping: Tom is set to head on a US tour later this autumn, admitting he has no plans to retire anytime soon and will ‘perform until I’m 100, if I can’
