Olly Murs weeps on The Voice, reveals tragic loss of 'good friend'

Olly Murs shares tears and empathy on The Voice UK amidst emotional audition

Olly Murs found himself overcome with emotion as one contestant's audition resonated deeply with him, during Saturday's episode of The Voice UK.

The 39-year-old singer was moved to tears when Sheridan Coldstream, 59, delivered a poignant rendition of Billie Eilish's Listen Before I Go, a song centered around the theme of suicide.

Unaware of the song's heavy subject matter, Olly hit his button to turn around for Sheridan, expressing his admiration for the vocal and confident coach's performance. 

It was only after his choice that Olly discovered the emotional depth of the song.

Sheridan revealed to Olly and the audience that the track was, in essence, a "suicide note." 

He disclosed his prior volunteer work for a charity suicide hotline, explaining, "I got very used to working with vulnerable people so I now can't separate coaching people to sing from helping them remove their mask and be openly vulnerable."

The singer, visibly moved, shared that he hadn't heard the song before and was caught off guard by its powerful lyrics, particularly the line "Tell your friends that I love them."

Expressing his genuine emotions, Olly said, "It just hit me, and I got quite emotional actually. I just went with my feeling in my heart." 

As Sheridan explained that the song was about suicide, Olly became visibly moved, stating, "And obviously, I lost er' before breaking down into tears."

Fellow judge Anne Marie rushed to comfort Olly as he tearfully revealed, "I lost a good friend to suicide a few years back." 

While not explicitly naming his friend, it is widely speculated that Olly was referring to Caroline Flack, who tragically took her own life in 2020.

Expressing gratitude to Sheridan, Olly reflected on the unexpected impact of the encounter, stating, "It hit me. I think there’s a lot of stuff I haven’t dealt with that I need to talk about. Sheridan walked into my life, and maybe I need that." 

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