The Voice UK series 12

The Voice UK is a British television music competition to find new singing talent. The twelfth series of The Voice UK premiered on 4 November 2023 on ITV. will.i.am, Anne-Marie, Sir Tom Jones and Olly Murs returned as coaches, whilst Emma Willis again returned as presenter. It was the final series to feature Murs and Anne-Marie as coaches, following their axing from the show after six and three series as coaches, respectively.

The Voice UK
Series 12
Hosted by	Emma Willis
Coaches	will.i.am Anne-Marie Sir Tom Jones Olly Murs
Winner	Jen & Liv
Winning coach	will.i.am
Runners-up	Jolie Stevens Callum Doignie Hope Winter
No. of episodes	9
Release
Original network	ITV1
Original release	4 November (2023-11-04) – 30 December 2023 (2023-12-30)
Series chronology

On 30 December 2023, Jen & Liv were announced as the winner of the season, marking will.i.am's second win as a coach on the adult version of the show. Their win marks the second occurrence that a duo won a variation of The Voice UK, the first being done by Shanice & Andrea Nyandoro in the seventh series of The Voice Kids, who were also on Team will.i.am. It also marks the first time in any variation ever that a winning act had a different coach turn their official coach's chair during their audition (as host Willis sat in will.i.am's chair for their audition).

Coaches

Coaches for series 12 of The Voice UK

will.i.am

Anne-Marie

Sir Tom Jones

Olly Murs

will.i.am, Anne-Marie, Sir Tom Jones and Olly Murs returned as coaches, whilst Emma Willis returned as the show's presenter.^[1]

In September 2023, it was confirmed by Olly Murs himself that since he had been axed from the show for future series, this would be his last as a coach.^[2] Speaking of his axing, Murs said he was "gutted" and added that receiving the news was a "bit of a shock".^[3][4]

In October 2023, a week prior to the show's premiere, it was announced that the twelfth series would also be Anne-Marie's last and that she had been "axed from the series" as part of producers' plans to "refresh the show".^[5][6]

Production

Auditions for the twelfth series were held via the usual online application process, as well as various pubs, karaoke bars and open mic nights throughout 2022.^[7][8] Groups were invited to apply for the first time along with the usual soloists, duos and trios.^[9] Applications closed in September 2022, and began filming at Dock10 in December 2022.^[10][11]

The first trailer for the series was revealed in October 2023, and featured all four coaches singing along to "Push It" by Salt-N-Pepa, before pushing their buttons and turning around in their chairs.

The series was again pre-recorded, and began on 4 November 2023, the latest the show has ever launched, due to ITV's coverage of the 2023 Rugby World Cup.^[12]

The blocked feature would not be returning to the blind auditions due to the controversiality of the button over the media.

Teams

Colour key

•   Winner
•   Finalist
•   Eliminated in the Semi-Final
•   Eliminated in the Callbacks
•   Withdrew

Coach	Top 40 Artists
will.i.am
	Jen & Liv	THePETEBOX	Katie Coleman	Sese Foster	Hayley Chart
	Laville	Matt Green	Zaza	Shane Brierley	Cleo Stewart
Anne-Marie
	Jolie Stevens	Deja Vu	Nia Ekanem	Lil Shakz	Chinchilla
	Ryan Barton	Gwannty	The Skylarks	Valntna	Rachel Burnett
Sir Tom Jones
	Callum Doignie	Bianca White	AV4C	Jerusha Frimpong	Fatt Butcher
	Daisy Gill	Keilah Rebekah	Jazz Morley	Brendan Sherk	Adaeze
Olly Murs
	Hope Winter	Kelly Hastings	Stan Urban	Marta Spizhenko	The Ashatones
	Sheridan Coldstream	Jack Desmond	Jess Hayes	Simon Simms	Imisi Peletu

Blind auditions

Blind auditions colour key

✔	Coach pressed "I WANT YOU" button
	Artist defaulted to this coach's team
	Artist elected to join this coach's team
	Artist eliminated with no coach pressing their "I WANT YOU" button
	Artist received an "All Turn"

Episode 1 (4 November)

• Coach performances: "Stairway to Heaven"
  • will.i.am — "Let's Get It Started"
  • Tom Jones with Stan Urban — "Great Balls of Fire"

Order	Artist	Age	Song	Coaches and artists choices
				will.i.am	Anne-Marie	Tom	Olly
1	Deja Vu	19–25	"Unholy"	✔	✔	✔	✔
2	Mitchell Chambers	29	"She Used to Be Mine"	—	—	—	—
3	Jerusha Frimpong	27	"Wish I Didn't Miss You"	✔	—	✔	✔
4	Laville	36	"Perfect Ruin"	✔	✔	✔	✔
5	Yoni Shine	16	"Let It Go"	—	—	—	—
6	Stan Urban	79	"Little Queenie"	—	—	—	✔
7	Lil Shakz	18	"Minimal Things" (original song)	—	✔	—	—
8	Hope Winter	23	"Mirror"	✔	✔	✔	✔

Episode 2 (11 November)

• Coach performances:
  • Tom Jones — "Sex Bomb"
  • Olly Murs — "Heart Skips a Beat"
  • Anne-Marie — "Kiss My (Uh-Oh)"

Order	Artist	Age	Song	Coaches and artists choices
				will.i.am	Anne-Marie	Tom	Olly
1	Liam Palmer	19	"XO"	—	—	—	—
2	Jen & Liv	21 & 23	"Woman"	✔[a]	✔	✔	✔
3	Callum Doignie	28	"Traitor"	—	—	✔	—
4	Sese Foster	31	"Thinking Out Loud"	✔	✔	—	—
5	Pete Restrick	31	"Love Will Tear Us Apart"	—	—	—	—
6	Chinchilla	25	"I Put a Spell on You"	✔	✔	—	✔
7	Sheridan Coldstream	59	"Listen Before I Go"	—	—	—	✔
8	Bianca White	35	"Chains"	✔	✔	✔	✔

1. The show's presenter, Emma Willis, took will.i.am's place as coach for this performance

Episode 3 (18 November)

• Coach performance: Tom Jones & Anne-Marie — "Stand By Me"

Order	Artist	Age	Song	Coaches and artists choices
				will.i.am	Anne-Marie	Tom	Olly
1	AV4C	32–39	"All My Life"	—	—	✔	—
2	THePETEBOX	—	"Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This)"	✔	✔	✔	✔
3	Mariama Goodman	44	"Out Here on My Own"	—	—	—	—
4	Gwannty	29	"Essence"	—	✔	✔	✔
5	Marta Spizhenko	33	"Not About Angels"	—	—	—	✔
6	Kurtis Joinson	27	"Damn Your Eyes"	—	—	—	—
7	Nia Ekanem	30	"Let It Be"	—	✔	—	—
8	Fatt Butcher	32	"This Woman's Work"	✔	✔	✔	✔

Episode 4 (25 November)

• Coach performance—"Rock Around the Clock"

Order	Artist	Age	Song	Coaches and artists choices
				will.i.am	Anne-Marie	Tom	Olly
1	Daisy Gill	24	"In the Name of Love"	✔	✔	✔	✔
2	Albert Stott	18	"My Heart Goes (La Di Da)"	—	—	—	—
3	Ryan Barton	31	"Just the Two of Us"	—	✔	—	✔
4	Hayley Chart	52	"Sinnerman"	✔	—	—	✔
5	The Ashatones	28–30	"About Damn Time"	—	—	—	✔
6	Scarlette Von B	26	"Blue Jeans"	—	—	—	—
7	Katie Coleman	28	"Natural Woman"	✔	—	—	—
8	Kelly Hastings	41	"Bird Set Free"	—	—	—	✔

Episode 5 (2 December)

• Coach performance: Olly Murs & will.i.am — "Troublemaker"

Order	Artist	Age	Song	Coaches and artists choices
				will.i.am	Anne-Marie	Tom	Olly
1	Liam Price	34	"Stop!"	—	—	—	—
2	Jolie Stevens	19	"Clearly"	—	✔	—	—
3	Matt Green	34	"Not Take Me Back to London" (original song)	✔	✔	—	—
4	Keilah Rebekah	23	"You Say"	—	—	✔	✔
5	Jack Desmond	22	"A Thousand Miles"	—	—	—	✔
6	Jess Hayes	25	"The Dark End of the Street"	✔	✔	✔	✔
7	Bob Strachan	44	"Folsom Prison Blues"	—	—	—	—
8	Zaza	30	"Back to Life"	✔	—	—	—
9	Jazz Morley	33	"Landslide"	—	—	✔	✔

Episode 6 (9 December)

• Coach performance: Anne-Marie — "Psycho"

Order	Artist	Age	Song	Coaches and artists choices
				will.i.am	Anne-Marie	Tom	Olly
1	Cleo Stewart	30	"Heaven"	✔	✔	✔	✔
2	Kim Palmer	30	"It Must Have Been Love"	—	—	—	—
3	Simon Simms	28	"Bibia Be Ye Ye"	—	✔	—	✔
4	The Skylarks	16 & 44	"Dancing in the Dark"	—	✔	—	—
5	Shannon Hurst	26	"The Joke"	—	—	—	—
6	Valntna	31	"I'm Going Down"	—	✔	—	✔
7	Brendan Sherk	24	"All For You"	—	—	✔	✔
8	Imisi Peletu	21	"Moon River"	—	—	—	✔
9	Shane Brierley	17	"Heal"	✔	—	—	Team full

Episode 7 (16 December)

Order	Artist	Age	Song	Coaches and artists choices
				will.i.am	Anne-Marie	Tom	Olly
1	Adaeze	18	"When You Were Mine"	Team full	✔	✔	Team full
2	Rachel Burnett	19	"Unintended"		✔	Team full

Callbacks

Guest mentors for series 12 of The Voice UK

Paloma Faith for Team Will

Clara Amfo for Team Anne-Marie

Raye for Team Anne-Marie

Jamie Cullum for Team Tom

Luke Evans for Team Olly

For this season, the 'Callbacks' returned. This stage aired on 16 December, following the final round of blind auditions. In this round, each coach brought in a mentor for their team. Paloma Faith, Clara Amfo and Raye, Jamie Cullum, and Luke Evans were invited by will.i.am, Anne-Marie, Tom Jones, and Olly Murs, respectively. Cleo Stewart from Team Will withdrew from the competition prior to the Callbacks.^[13]

In the Callbacks, the coaches divided their 10 contestants selected in the blind auditions into three groups, where they were given the same song to sing in their own styles. After all artists of the same group finished their performances, the coaches had to choose one to advance to the semi-final. A total of three artists were taken through to the semi-final per coach.

The Callbacks colour key

	Artist advanced to the semi-finals
	Artist was eliminated

Callbacks Results

Episode	Order	Coach	Winner	Song	Losers
Episode 7 (16 December)	1	Olly Murs	Stan Urban	"Hound Dog"	Jess Hayes
					Simon Simms
					The Ashatones
	2		Kelly Hastings	"Ordinary World"	Marta Spizhenko
					Sheridan Coldstream
	3		Hope Winter	"Feels Like This"	Imisi Peletu
					Jack Desmond
	4	will.i.am	Jen & Liv	"ABCDEFU"	Sese Foster
					Shane Brierley
	5		Katie Coleman	"She Blinded Me with Science"	Matt Green
			THePETEBOX
	6		—	"Ordinary People"	Hayley Chart
					Laville
					Zaza
	7	Anne-Marie	—	"Glimpse of Us"	Gwannty
					Rachel Burnett
					Valntna
	8		Deja Vu	"Lucky"	The Skylarks
			Jolie Stevens
	9		Nia Ekanem	"Virtual Insanity"	Chinchilla
					Lil Shakz
					Ryan Barton
	10	Sir Tom Jones	Callum Doignie	"A House Is Not a Home"	Fatt Butcher
					Jazz Morley
	11		AV4C	"Angel of Mine"	Brendan Sherk
			Bianca White		Keilah Rebekah
	12		—	"California Dreamin'"	Adaeze
					Daisy Gill
					Jerusha Frimpong

Show details

Results summary

Colour key

•   Team Will
•   Team Anne-Marie
•   Team Tom
•   Team Olly

Result's colour key

  Artist received the most public votes

  Artist was eliminated

Weekly results

Contestant		Week 1	Week 2
	Jen & Liv	Safe	Winner
	Callum Doignie	Safe	Finalist
	Hope Winter	Safe	Finalist
	Jolie Stevens	Safe	Finalist
	AV4C	Eliminated	Eliminated (Week 1)
	Bianca White	Eliminated
	Deja Vu	Eliminated
	Katie Coleman	Eliminated
	Kelly Hastings	Eliminated
	Nia Ekanem	Eliminated
	Stan Urban	Eliminated
	THePETEBOX	Eliminated

Week 1: Semi-final (23 December)

The Semi-final aired on 23 December 2023. The 12 contestants who advanced from the Callbacks competed, with each coach having to select one artist out of three to take through to the final.

Performances in the semi-final episode

Episode	Order	Coach	Artist	Song	Result
Episode 8 (23 December)	1	Sir Tom Jones	AV4C	"Stand Up"	Eliminated
	2		Callum Doignie	"Control"	Saved
	3		Bianca White	"Rescue"	Eliminated
	4	Olly Murs	Stan Urban	"Johnny B. Goode"	Eliminated
	5		Kelly Hastings	"Impossible"	Eliminated
	6		Hope Winter	"Jealous Guy"	Saved
	7	will.i.am	THePETEBOX	"Heat Waves"	Eliminated
	8		Katie Coleman	"Firebabe"	Eliminated
	9		Jen & Liv	"Sway"	Saved
	10	Anne-Marie	Deja Vu	"Beautiful Liar"	Eliminated
	11		Jolie Stevens	"What Now"	Saved
	12		Nia Ekanem	"Everybody Hurts"	Eliminated

Week 2: Final (30 December)

• Coach performance: "When Doves Cry"/"Kiss"
• Musical performance: Raye — "Oscar Winning Tears"; Anthonia Edwards — "All I Do Is Try"

The final aired on 30 December 2023. As in the previous series, the final was pre-recorded with the audience voting for the winner. For the first time in the show's history, there was only the winner reveal, with the remaining finalists placing as runners-up, instead of than fourth and third placements.

Performances in the final episode

Order	Coach	Artist	First song	Order	Duet (with Coach)	Result
1	Olly Murs	Hope Winter	"No Peace"	6	"I'll Be Waiting"	Finalist
2	Sir Tom Jones	Callum Doignie	"Breakaway"	7	"Bird on the Wire"
3	Anne-Marie	Jolie Stevens	"Forever"	5	"Girls Just Want to Have Fun"
4	will.i.am	Jen & Liv	"I'm Every Woman"	8	"Break My Soul"	Winners