Singing in front of a crowd is one thing, but to perform a song you dedicated to your daughter, with her in the audience is a whole different challenge all together! But that is where Jake Hoot found himself on the Nov. 18 episode of The Voice, where he and the other top 13 aspiring singers performed. Jake was wholly unprepared for the emotions that would overcome him when he saw his young daughter in the audience. “I saw her before I walked out to sing and that got me to tear up,” Jake shared with HollywoodLife and other media outlets following the taping of the episode. “I had to talk to myself and tell myself not to look at her for the rest of the performance and then the coaches were talking and she was reaching for me and I wanted to breakdown.”
While Jake was very candid about how emotional he got, he still thought “it was wonderful to have her there.” It might have given the young singer a bit of inspiration to do his very best! Jake, like any of the contestants, is keeping his eye on the prize and isn’t ashamed to share he would love to win. “I think I am way to competitive to not want to win,” he confessed. “I am in this deep and invested so much time and emotion, since you are away from family and friends and everything, I can’t sit here and say I don’t want to win but I definitely want to go all the way!”
And Jake has even considered what winning would mean to the people he loves, especially his daughter. “I think, honestly, it has already changed a lot,” Jake went on. “Back home there is so much support, so it has changed a lot and the deeper I go the better it gets, but to provide for her, that is why I did this so if I can do that, then that is the best I can hope for.”
For his top 13 performance, Jake gave a country crooning rendition of “Danny’s Song.” The lyrics of the beautiful tune refer to the singer having a son “conceived in love” and essentially making the whole world brighter. Now, who wouldn’t get emotional singing that while their child is in the audience? Fans are keeping their fingers crossed that Jake will head into next week. Tonight will reveal which of the top 13 will move on to the top 11. The Voice returns to NBC tonight at 8 pm ET.