On December 17, country singer Jake Hoot was named the winner of Season 17 of The Voice. The 31-year-old single dad was the second-ever winner to only receive a one chair turn in the blind auditions (the first being Season 12 winner Chris Blue).
The one coach who turned for Hoot was Kelly Clarkson. Hoot’s win marked Clarkson’s third victory as a Voice coach.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B6GdA82h1nX/
Hoot has already been given a number of incredible opportunities since winning The Voice. Recently, he showcased his original song, “Better Off Without You,” while visiting the set of The Kelly Clarkson Show.
Clarkson’s talk show, which just started in 2019, is already one of the most popular talk shows in the nation. So Hoot had a huge audience to sing for.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Saf28KOuGqo
Soon, Hoot will perform for another nice-sized audience, only this time, he’ll be doing so at the Opry.
All country singers dream of the day they’ll be asked to make their debut at the Grand Ole Opry. It’s an invite that carries a lot of weight, as it serves as a signal you’ve “made it” in the industry.
After making their Opry debut, many singers will devote themselves to the institution in the hopes of one day becoming Opry members.
Those hopes came to fruition for bluegrass group Dailey & Vincent, who were asked to join the Opry in 2017.
https://www.facebook.com/grandoleopry/videos/10154904317393234/
Knowing how much the Opry means to artists, Jamie Dailey of Dailey & Vincent took it upon himself to invite Hoot to make his Opry debut sometime this year.
Dailey surprised Hoot during a live radio interview for WGSQ’S 94.7 The Country Giant on Monday (January 6). Seeing Dailey at his interview was surely surprising enough, but Hoot had no idea that the biggest surprise was yet to come.
Taking a seat next to Hoot in front of the mic, Dailey spoke to him on-air:
“On behalf of us all, we would like to extend an invitation to you to come and sing and play on the stage at the Grand Ole Opry. Would you do that for us?”
In disbelief, Hoot leaned over and began crying. He took a second to compose himself before speaking:
Wiping tears from his eyes, Hoot said, “I can’t thank you enough. I just, I’ve always said that’s the…if I could play that stage I’d be…you know…I could die happy.”
You can watch Hoot’s full reaction to Dailey’s Opry invitation by tuning in to the video below.
Congratulations to Hoot! We can’t wait to see him sing at the Opry!