Crossword Genius

No Tolkien character gets backing to sing (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

croon

'sing' is the definition.
(crooning is a kind of singing)

'no tolkien character gets backing' is the wordplay.
'tolkien character' becomes 'orc' (orcs are creatures in The Lord of the Rings).
'gets backing' shows that the letters should be reversed in order.
'no'+'orc'='noorc'
'noorc' in reverse letter order is 'CROON'.

'to' is the link.

(Other definitions for croon that I've seen before include "Sing softly" , "Sing in a soft low tone" , "Sing like Bing" , "Sing with a soft voice" .)

I've seen this clue in The Guardian.
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