Singer reduces Jessie J to tears

Jessie J was reduced to tears on BBC One's The Voice by a performance from Ruth Brown, who auditioned for the show just two days before her father's funeral.

The 20-year-old's version of Get Here by Oleta Adams, which closed the first of the live shows, prompted applause so loud the judges could not be heard.

Brown was one of Sir Tom Jones's five acts, who all performed alongside Black Eyed Peas star Will.i.am's five contestants in Saturday's show.

Voting opened at the end of the programme and on Sunday's results show, each coach will have to choose to send one of their artists home from the two who receive the fewest votes from the public.

Jones struggled to be heard after the performance as he battled with applause, saying: "I have heard a lot of singers in my life but this girl, it's from somewhere else, she is something I have never heard before. She is fantastic."

The Script frontman Danny O'Donoghue described the performance as "mesmerising", adding: "You talk about licks and riffs, and we could all lick it off your boots. Astonishing."

A tearful Jessie J told the 20-year-old: "Your voice is so natural, your timing, it doesn't feel like you are singing someone else's song. You did your father proud."

The show came in the wake of suggestions that some acts were being pressured to change their image.

Matt Fletcher, who performs with childhood sweetheart Sueleen as another of Jones's acts, revealed he refused to bow to pressure from BBC bosses to shave his beard.

But the self-styled Samson sported a tidier look as the duo, who said they slept in separate rooms, performed a version of Fleetwood Mac's Go Your Own Way.