Instagram Jake Hoot from 'The Voice'.
Jake Hoot has taken the country by storm this season on The Voice. The singer grew up in the Dominican Republic and currently lives in Tennessee. While he was a student at Tennessee Tech University, he started playing music gigs at local college bars and restaurants.
For his blind audition on the show, Hoot performed, “When It Rains It Pours” by Luke Combs, which swiftly secured him a spot on Kelly Clarkson’s team. He has since sang everything from “Always On My Mind” by Willie Nelson to “Cover Me Up” by Michael Jackson.
With all this time in the spotlight, fans are curious about Jake’s personal life. What do we know about his kids and family?
Read on.
1. He Has Two Daughters
Jake is a devoted father of two and lists “daddy to a princess” as the first item on his Instagram bio.
Hoot’s daughters are named Hadley and Macy. He tells Becky Magura of local PBS affiliate WCTE, “[My support group] has always been my family and my little girl and my girlfriend and her daughter. And the community here in Cookeville has always been great to me.”
He adds on to the Upper Cumberland Business Journal, “As a dad you want to be able to provide for them and always to take care of them, so they are definitely my driving force in everything I do.”
2. He Is Divorced
While Jake is more than willing to share photos of his girlfriend and daughter, he has never discussed his ex-wife, other than in the capacity of admitting he is divorced.
Specific details about his ex-wife have not been shared in interviews. What Jake has shared is how appreciative he is to his hometown for their support.
He tells the Upper Cumberland Business Journal, “I’m not originally from Cookeville, but Cookeville is home,” Hoot said. “I’ve lived here seven or eight years, and I definitely want to give everybody as much love as I can.”
3. He Has a Girlfriend
Jake is currently dating a woman named Bekah.
In an interview with the Upper Cumberland Business Journal, Jake shared that he initially got on the show after being approached by producers when the series held open auditions in Nashville in February. He was subsequently chosen to travel to Los Angeles to participate in the blind auditions.
Hoot tells the outlet, “It’s just an insane thing standing out there on that stage with all those people and, of course, the judges.”
Discussing leaving his family during the interview, he said, “It was hard being gone from them, but it was really cool getting to get out there and be able to sing on a stage like that,” said Hoot. “It was kinda almost still a dream.”
When Jake performed on one of the Live Shows, he dedicated the song “Danny’s Song” to his 4-year-old daughter, Macy. He shared with Parade, “It was heart-wrenching… I saw her before I walked out to sing and that made me tear up, so I had to tell myself not to look at her anymore the rest of the performance. Then, of course, when the coaches were talking, I looked back out there and she was reaching for me, and that made me break down. It was definitely great having her there.”
4. His Parents Are Baptist Missionaries
According to his NBC bio, Jake’s parents are Baptist missionaries. When Jake was nine, his parents relocated the family to the Dominican Republic.
It was there that he honed his musical skills. Jake attributes his success so far on the show to his coach. He tells Parade.com, “I think having a coach that’s been through this type of process definitely gives her a different perspective than other coaches…”
He adds, “This is not to bash any of the coaches, because everybody’s great, but I feel like with us, Kelly is so involved, whether it’s song choice, choreography, or the arrangement of the song, she’s just so hands on with us. I think part of it is because she went through it, she knows what it’s like to be on this side of the competition.”
5. He Has 9 Siblings
According to his Facebook bio, Jake is the second of nine siblings born to Baptist missionaries.
His bio continues, “In addition to his red dirt roots, his family has lived Oklahoma and Haiti, but most of his childhood was spent in the Dominican Republic. In his late teens, Jake and his family relocated just outside of Nashville to Cookeville, TN, where he attended and played football for Tennessee Tech University.”
Jake says of his experience on The Voice so far, “Getting to work with so many incredible people, not just contestants and not just coaches, but people behind the scenes, people that make everything possible, it’s just been a really cool experience from the get-go.”
Be sure to tune in to The Voice Tuesdays at 8pm ET/PT on NBC to see how far Jake Hoot will progress in the competition.