Olly Murs announced as new Voice UK coach

Cape Town - UK pop sensation Olly Murs joins will.i.am, Sir Tom Jones and Jennifer Hudson to complete the superstar panel of coaches on the new series of ITV’s The Voice UK.

And, in a coup for South African audiences, ITV Choice (DStv 123) has scooped up the exclusive broadcast rights and will transmit the hit music show on the channel in early-January. Each episode will air 24-hours after its UK premiere. (Read more here)

Murs, who has notched up four UK No.1 albums and four No.1 singles, first found fame on The X Factor, coming second in 2009, and has since gone on to sell more than 17 million records worldwide. His most recent album 24 Hrs hit the No.1 spot last November while this year he has played two consecutive tours selling in excess of 600,000 tickets.

Says Murs: “I'm absolutely buzzing about being a coach on The Voice UK and can't wait to sit in the big red chair alongside will, Jennifer and Tom.
"I'm excited to mentor new artists and without doubt, I'm in it to WIN!" he adds.

Pumped up ?????@thevoiceuk pic.twitter.com/XMMD0L8O7S

— Olly Murs (@ollyofficial) October 13, 2017

More about the coaches

Singer, songwriter, producer and entrepreneur will.i.am returns for his seventh series – the only coach to appear on The Voice UK since the very beginning. He is one of the most successful artists in the world, notching up 39 top 40 entries and selling more than 12 million singles in the UK alone. He has also produced international artists including Justin Bieber, Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake and Nicky Minaj while his group The Black Eyed Peas has sold more than 76 million records globally and won seven Grammy Awards. 

"I'm excited to sit alongside Jennifer and Tom again this year, and I know that Olly will add a fun new twist to this year’s coaches team,” says will.i.am.

Legendary artist Sir Tom Jones has had huge success in a career spanning six decades, selling more than 100 million records and clocking up 36 Top 40 hits in the UK and 19 in the US.

The recipient of Brit Awards for Best Male and Outstanding Contribution to Music as well as a Grammy, Sir Tom’s music career started in 1965 with the worldwide hit It’s Not Unusual and continues with great critical and popular success to this day. He was awarded an OBE in 1999 and received a Knighthood for services to music in 2006.
 
Sir Tom said: “I’m really looking forward to getting back into my big red chair alongside the other coaches for the next The Voice UK.
“I’m so proud of my discovery from last season, Into the Ark, so I’m excited to hear and see what undiscovered talent the UK has to offer this series.”

Meanwhile, Grammy, Oscar and Bafta-winning artist Jennifer Hudson returns after winning the 2017 series with her act Mo and fresh from her current stint as a coach on The Voice’s US version, the first time a coach has ever appeared on two different versions of the show at the same time. The singer, movie star and Broadway actress first found fame after her breakout Academy Award-winning performance in Dreamgirls, which followed her finalist-run on American Idol. She went on to make her recording debut with her self-titled album, selling millions of copies worldwide and garnering her first Grammy Award. Hudson's subsequent albums, films and television roles kept her in the Billboard Top 10 and earned multiple awards and attention. Her Broadway debut in the 2015/2016 musical revival of The Color Purple garnered her another Grammy win.

 “I am so excited to be returning to The Voice UK alongside this talented group of coaches," says Hudson.

The 2018 winner will again scoop a recording contract with music giants Polydor, home to global stars Take That and Ellie Goulding as well as the UK’s biggest breakthrough artists including The 1975 and Years & Years. 

Siobhan Greene, Head of Entertainment, ITV, said: “It's fantastic to finally reveal the coaching line up for the new series of The Voice UK; returning champion and THE voice Miss Jennifer Hudson, the legend that is Sir Tom Jones and the one and only will.i.am. 

“And this year we welcome Olly Murs, a pop star at the top of his game who I know will bring his incredible energy, charm and personality. The panel really has got it in bucket loads and I can't wait to see what happens next.

The new series of The Voice UK will air on ITV Choice early next year.