Sir Tom Jones has criticised Simon Cowell for making talent television shows too harsh. The Voice UK coach, 84, is gearing up to return to the panel of the ITV series for the 13th season but he didn't hold back when discussing similar shows and their treatment of contestants.
Specifically, he took a dig at talent show mogul Cowell, who has been head judge on The X Factor and now famously oversees the panel on Britain's Got Talent.
"Well those kinds of talent shows take it too far. Simon Cowell has done that. You know, by saying, 'Why are you on this show? What makes you think you can sing? Who told you you can sing'. I mean... Jesus," the Welsh legend said in an interview with MailOnline.
"The difference between The Voice and other talent shows is, they can sing. They've got rid of those who can't sing before the first auditions."
The Sex Bomb singer from Pontypridd and US Black Eyes Peas rapper Will. i.am are the longest-serving panellists on The Voice UK and are set to return for the 13th season, reports Wales Online.
When asked if they had discovered the next Taylor Swift, Jones responded: "No. Who could beat Taylor Swift? Nobody's like her, she's sensational."
This year, the veteran judges are joined by McFly's Tom Fletcher and Danny Jones and '90s pop icon, LeAnne Rimes after Ollie Murs was dropped from the show last year.
Meanwhile, Anne-Marie was also let go from the series ahead of the upcoming 2024 show.
Tom was the victorious coach of the inaugural series in 2012 when he guided Leanne Mitchell to victory. The Voice UK was then broadcast on BBC One and also featured Jessie J and Danny Donoghue as fellow coaches.
On Thursday's episode of The One Show (August 22), Tom confessed that his passion for the show remains unchanged. Speaking to hosts Alex Jones and Clara Amfo, the iconic crooner said: "I like listening to new voices and hopefully I can give some advice."
"So it's the perfect job for me- well it's not really a job- it's something that I love to do. I still feel the same way now because this is the 13th series, so I still feel the same way now as I did when we started because you get new voices all the time, new people coming on," he elaborated.
The Voice UK returns to ITV One and ITV X soon