will.i.am shows off his journalism skills on the set of U.K. talent show The Voice by interviewing his hero Tom Jones.

The Black Eyed Peas rapper is a panellist on the singing contest alongside Jones, Jessie J, and The Script frontman Danny O'Donoghue, and admits he still pinches himself when he takes his place alongside the Welshman.

He is so starstruck by the It's Not Unusual singer he bombards him with questions about Jones' heyday and fishes for rock 'n' roll anecdotes.

The I Gotta Feeling hitmaker tells Britain's Daily Mail newspaper, "I find myself interviewing him. We sit there and I say, 'Tell me about being backstage with Little Richard. Tell me about James Brown. Were there fights?'. I mean, he was up there with all the dudes.

"I remember once asking him if he'd seen much racial tension and he said, 'Damn right!'. People had only heard his music and assumed, with the voice and the name Jones, that he was black. He didn't know what sort of reception he was going to get when they realised he wasn't."