'The Voice' Jake Hoot on Growing up on the Mission Field: 'It Made Me Who I Am'
When recently crowned champion of The Voice Jake Hoot was growing up, he couldn't even watch TV, [...]
When recently crowned champion of The Voice Jake Hoot was growing up, he couldn't even watch TV, much less dream of winning a reality TV talent competition. Hoot was born in Tennessee, but spent much of his formative years with his parents and eight siblings, as missionaries living in the Dominican Republic. It was a challenging upbringing, but one that Hoot is grateful for, especially now.
"The way we grew up made me who I was," Hoot told CMT. "I was blown away when we got to the United States and we had electricity 24/7. And I remember when one of my brothers stepped on grass for the first time when we were in the U.S., and he was like, "Dad, what is this?" We just weren't used to that kind of stuff, and that influenced me. There were moments when I thought that the things my mom and dad did were the norm, and then come to find out that there's not a whole lot of people like that."
Hoot, who has one daughter and is also helping raise his girlfriend's daughter, knows he will never live up to the standard his parents set for him, even though he will always try.
"I’ll never be as selfless as my parents are," Hoot reflected. "But you strive to be. As a parent, that’s obviously something you pray for. I pray my girls Macy and Hadley will always put others first. Next month, I’m going on a mission trip to Nicaragua, and I want them to see that.
"But you also can't force anybody to give back," he continued. "They just need to see that not everybody is well off, but that doesn’t mean they’re any less happy. That's something I pray about every day."
Hoot sang Luke Combs' "When It Rains It Pours" during the blind auditions, with only one coach, Kelly Clarkson, turning her chair around. Hoot had no idea he would even continue on the show, much less be crowned the winner.
"Honestly, I went into the whole thing thinking it was fake from the get-go," Hoot admitted. "Every step of the way I was like, 'This is fake. [Until they flew me out to LA for the first time. But even then I was like, 'I’m not gonna make it.' There was so much talent. You hear all that and think that there’s no way. All I wanted to do was give it my best shot. I wanted a chance to be on that stage. That's all.
"Even if nobody turned around," he continued. "When I started the song, though, I did start hoping Blake [Shelton] would turn around. Just because I love him and his music. Then when Kelly turned around, I was like, 'I’m still in this thing somehow.' Of course, Kelly told me that later on Blake was kicking himself."
Hoot is working on new music, but still has a day job, working as a sales executive for local radio stations in Cookeville, Tennessee, where he currently resides.