Meet Season 26 Voice Contestant Jake Tankersley
Jake Tankersley left everything onstage when he covered an emotional Luke Combs song during the knockouts for Season 26 of The Voice.
Voice fans were first introduced to Tankersley on the Season 26 premiere. The Oklahoma native and father of four impressed the Voice coaches with his rendition of Zach Bryan’s “Something in the Orange.”
Tankersley earned a four-chair turn for his performance. But, country superstar Reba McEntire could not claim him for her team because she had been “blocked” by Gwen Stefani.
Despite Stefani’s clear enthusiasm, Tankersley ended up choosing Snoop Dogg as his coach.
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During the battles, Tankersley sang Lionel Richie‘s “Stuck On You” with his teammate Brad Sample. They left Snoop with a tough choice to make, but he eventually named Tankersley as the winner, sending him on to the knockouts.
Tankersley Lands On A New Team After Singing Luke Combs Cover In The Knockouts
When it finally came time for Tankersley to sing in the knockouts, he competed against his teammates Austyns Stancil and Christina Eagle.
Stancil covered “Dance with My Father” by Luther Vandross. Eagle performed her version of Maren Morris’ “My Church.”
As for Tankersley, he covered Luke Combs’ powerful #1 song, “Going, Going, Gone.”
With three talented contestants to choose from, Snoop had a hard time picking the winner of the knockout. After some thought, he named Stancil as the winner and used his “save” to keep Eagle on his team.
But that wasn’t the end of Tankersley’s journey on The Voice. After she used her block to try and win him over in the blind auditions, Gwen Stefani jumped to “steal” Tankersley for her team after the knockouts. Reba McEntire also hit her “steal” button, but Tankersley ended up choosing Stefani as his coach.
Now, Tankersley has a new home on Team Gwen!
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Tankersley shared a grateful post on social media after the knockout, writing:
“Coach Snoop! It was a dream to get to work with you! You are a phenomenal coach I’m sad to leave team Snoop, but it’s off to team Gwen and I’m excited to get to work with her! I wish I could be on all the teams honestly I love them all.“
The feelings are mutual, with Stefani saying:
“What I like about Jake is he feels genuine in all that you want in a country singer. But also, somebody who would take such a risk and pick me over Reba is maybe meant to be.”
Watch the video below to see Stancil, Eagle, and Tankersley deliver their knockout performances. We’re happy to see Tankersley stay on the show after he crushed his Luke Combs cover!