'The Voice' Season 17: Jake Hoot talks about being coached by Kelly Clarkson, says 'she's super encouraging, super uplifting'
'The Voice' Season 17 recently crowned its winner, and it was none other than Jake Hoot from Team Kelly.
From being a one-chair-turn to winning Season 17, Jake Hoot has come a long way all thanks to his Hooters. The 31-year-old is a single father to four-year-old daughter Macy. During the auditions, he performed his rendition to Luke Combs’ 'When It Rains It Pours'.
He was undoubtedly one amongst the front runners this entire season and was the only country artist who made it to the finale as well. During an interview with MEA WorldWide (MEAWW), Jake spoke about his journey on 'The Voice' Season 17, what was the best piece of advice he received from coach Kelly Clarkson and what was it like to work with her as his coach.
Revealing if he ever thought that he would be crowned champion this season, Jake shared, "I did not think I thought anybody else but me would win. So it was very much a shock when I heard my name." Talking about his journey on the series, Jake said, "It was a wild ride every step of the way. I thought I was going home the next week when I was in battles. I thought I would be going home when I was in the Knockouts. And then every week of the Lives, I thought the same thing. 'I'm going to be going home, I'm going to be going home', and then to make the final four and then to be up there, and to it whittled down to just me and Ricky Duran, and then to hear them call my name, it's just been the most incredible experience and most shocking experience I've ever been a part of."
Jake also revealed that it was fun to work with his coach, Kelly Clarkson, "Kelly is incredible. She's so much fun to work with. She's super encouraging, super uplifting, while also having a lot of knowledge about the industry and what sounds good and stuff like that, how to approach songs. And so she was very fun, but also very educational because I learned so much about how to approach songs because of what she taught me."
Talking about the best piece of advice he has received from her, Jake said, "Probably just to have more confidence in myself when I walk out on stage to act like I belong out there, rather than walk out, they're timid and nervous. I was nervous for a lot of the competition every time I stepped out on that stage. But you know, just to have more confidence, as I said, she's such an encourager and so every time I was around her, and for every time I sang, she would scream, 'Oooooh, or let's go' or something. And so she was there every step of the way. And I'm very grateful for that."