Watch Tom Jones's tear-jerking performance of a Leonard Cohen classic on The Voice UK

3 September 2026, 12:12 | Updated: 3 September 2026, 12:15

Tom Jones and will.i.am on The Voice UK. Picture: YouTube/The Voice UK

By Mayer Nissim

Tom Jones gets the panel emotional with a special rendition of a Leonard Cohen song.

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The Voice UK is at its heart a showcase for new talent, but when you've got Tom Jones behind the desk you're going to look for any excuse to get him to show off his pipes.

And that's just what happened on the most recent episode of the show, when the legendary singer turned reality TV coach got everyone emotional with a very special performance.

"There's a song that Leonard Cohen wrote, it's called 'The Tower of Song'," Jones said.

"That song really touches a nerve with me. So maybe we could do it today... maybe."

As the crowed whooped and applauded, Sir Tom asked on-set pianist David if they could kick into 'The Tower of Song', and that's just what they did.

Sir Tom Jones brings Coaches to TEARS with this INCREDIBLE performance | The Voice UK

By the end of the stunning performance not only were the crowd on their feet, but there was an outpouring of emotions across the judging panel.

Sir Tom and will.i.am shared an embrace as the Black Eyed Peas man wiped away tears.

"I'm trying to make sense of my emotion right now, which just felt like the most purest of hearts," said will.i.am.

Leonard Cohen - Tower Of Song (Official Live in London 2008)

"85 years of every experience you can think of in this man's sponge of a soul, and he rinsed it out for us and we bathed in it. Thank you Sir Tom Jones for these moments."

One of Cohen's best-loved songs, 'Tower of Song' was released on his 1988 album I'm Your Man.

It has been much covered over the years, including by the likes of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Martha Wainwright, U2, and – at a 2017 tribute concert – a supergroup of the Shaar Hashomayim Choir, Willie Nelson, Céline Dion, Peter Gabriel and Coldplay's Chris Martin.