# Jake Hoot

Jake Hoot (born July 7, 1988) is an American country singer. He is the winner of season 17 of the American talent competition The Voice at the age of 31. He competed on the team coached by Kelly Clarkson, giving her third win as a coach on the show. Hoot was the second one-chair turn from The Voice U.S.'s blind auditions to win his season, after Team Alicia's Chris Blue, the final contestant to audition on season 12.

## Early life

Jake Hoot was born in Corpus Christi, Texas on July 7, 1988. Jake is the second oldest of nine siblings born to Aaron and Stacey Hoot, both of whom are Christian missionaries. At the age of nine, he and his family relocated to the Dominican Republic where his parents lived and worked as missionaries from 1998 to 2008. He learned the guitar and began singing while in the country, became fluent in Spanish, and played in the Dominican baseball league for a year. Upon returning to the U.S., he was homeschooled; in 2009, he attended Tennessee Tech. He had a back-up role playing football on Tennessee Tech's offensive line for his first year in 2010. He graduated with a degree in interdisciplinary studies in 2013 and found a job at a local media production company. At the same time, he pursued a music career and built his popularity by performing in many local gigs.

## Career
### The Voice (2019)

In 2019, Hoot entered the 17th season of The Voice. In his blind audition, he sang "When It Rains It Pours" by Luke Combs. Only Kelly Clarkson turned her chair; thus, he was on Team Kelly by default. He advanced to the finale, and won the season on December 17, 2019.
    – Studio version of performance was the most streamed song on Apple Music
| Stage | Song | Original artist | Order | Result |
| Blind Auditions | "When It Rains It Pours" | Luke Combs | 3.2 | Only Kelly Clarkson Turned, Joined Team Kelly by default |
| Battles (Top 48) | "Always on My Mind" (vs. Steve Knill) | Brenda Lee | 9.3 | Saved by Kelly |
| Knockouts (Top 32) | "Cover Me Up" (vs. Melinda Rodriguez) | Jason Isbell | 11.2 | Saved by Kelly |
| Live Playoffs (Top 20) | "You Lie" | Reba McEntire | 15.15 | Saved by Public |
| Live Top 13 | "Danny's Song" | Loggins and Messina | 17.12 | Saved by Public |
| Live Top 11 | "Every Light in the House" | Trace Adkins | 19.10 | Saved by Public |
| Live Top 10 | "That Ain't My Truck" | Rhett Akins | 21.5 | Saved by Public |
| Live Semi-finals (Top 8) | "Up Where We Belong" (duet with Marybeth Byrd) | Joe Cocker and Jennifer Warnes | 23. | Saved by Public |
| Live Semi-finals (Top 8) | "Desperado" | Eagles | 23.8 | Saved by Public |
| Live Finale (Final 4) | "Wintersong" with (Kelly Clarkson) | Sarah McLachlan | 25.7 | Winner |
| Live Finale (Final 4) | "Better Off Without You" (original song) | Jake Hoot | 25.2 | Winner |
| Live Finale (Final 4) | "Amazed" | Lonestar | 25.9 | Winner |

## After The Voice

"Better Off Without You", his coronation-winning song written by Hoot himself, became his first single. Hoot made his Grand Ole Opry debut on February 4, 2020.

## Personal life

Hoot married Jessica Lynn Steele, an emergency room nurse, in 2013. The couple had a daughter, Macy, born in 2015. Hoot released some songs on YouTube singing to his daughter. The couple divorced in 2017.
On March 7, 2021, he married Brittney Hoyt. They have one daughter, born July 24, 2022. In January 2024, they announced they were expecting their second child together.

## Discography
### Singles

| Year | Single | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions |
| Year | Single | US Country | US Country Digital |
| 2019 | "Better Off Without You" | 36 | — |
| 2021 | "I Would've Loved You" (feat. Kelly Clarkson) | – | 5 |

### Other charted songs

| Year | Songs | Peak chart positions |
| Year | Songs | US Country |
| 2019 | "Desperado" | 38 |
| 2019 | "Wintersong" | 30 |
| 2019 | "Amazed" | 50 |