LeAnn Rimes shares surprise 25-year Sir Tom Jones connection – decades before ITV The Voice stint

LeAnn Rimes has opened up about her historic ties to her fellow The Voice coaches ahead of the ITV show’s return on Saturday evening.

For the first time in the show’s history, five famous musicians will make up the coaching panel, with Sir Tom Jones and Will.i.am the only returning faces.

Rimes has been drafted in to take over from Anne Marie while Olly Murs has been replaced by not one, but two McFly stars.

Danny Jones and Tom Fletcher will share a chair for the blind audition stage, meaning they’ll have to unanimously agree on whether or not to smash their button for an act.

Rimes, meanwhile, is the only female judge on the panel and will be hoping that even though it’s her debut series, she’ll have the skill to pick out this year’s winner.

And if she does, the victory will undoubtedly be made all the sweeter due to the fact she’d be besting a certain Mr Jones who Rimes has known for decades.

Speaking to ITV ahead of the series’ return, Rimes admitted: “I met Sir Tom when I was 15 years old at Top of the Pops.”

Now aged 42, that means the Welsh hitmaker and country star have known one another for almost three decades.

And it isn’t just Jones that Rimes has history with as she continued: “I know I have met Will in passing and I had never met Danny and Tom until the show.

“It’s been so fun to hang out with them all and I feel like the chemistry on the show is amazing.”

Rimes also confessed she won’t be letting newfound friendships stand in her way when it comes to winning.

“I am competitive, but I’m here for more than winning,” she said. “I’m here to truly support my artists and help them grow. That’s the real win!

“Ultimately, it’s really about the artists, they are the ones who are competing and they’re just taking us coaches along for the ride.

“We are all competitive but in a good way. Everyone has their own style in how they slide in there to pitch to the singers, it’s really funny. My ‘style’ is to always speak from my heart.”

Meanwhile, Jones was on hand to tease what The Voice fans can expect from the new ITV series.

“We have our new coaches, LeAnn, Danny and Tom, joining myself and Will. It has brought afresh energy to the show,” he began.

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Jones went on: “What amazes me is the brilliant voices that we discover every single year.

“This year we have a fresh bunch of singers and that’s what we are looking for. I look at The Voice being an amazing platform for our homegrown singers to showcase to the world.”