The Voice 26 Knockouts: Austyns Stancil’s tribute to his father earns him a spot in the Playoffs
The Voice Season 26’s three-way Knockouts kicked off on Monday night (Nov 11) with four trios. Police frontman Sting mentored Team Snoop Dogg and Gwen Stefani. Former The Voice coach and American Idol alum Jennifer Hudson mentored Reba McEntire and Team Michael Buble. The night started off with a strong yet diverse group of singers from Team Snoop as his steal Austyns Stancil faced country singers Christina Eagle and Jake Tankersley. (Read our Recap)
Austyns Stancil ultimately was the artist who prevailed in this trio with a moving rendition of Luther Vandross’ “Dance with My Father.” A day before Knockouts rehearsals marked the one-year anniversary of Austyns’ father’s death. Snoop advised him to sing the song for him rather than for sadness. He planed to dedicate the song to his father, who made Austyns the man and father he is today. Austyns said, “It would be really cool to have that one last moment with my father.” Snoop gave him a hug after hearing him sing during rehearsal as Austyns was in tears.
Snoop Dogg became emotional thinking of the loss of his mother and other loved ones.
The performance reminded Snoop of his mother and other loved ones he’s lost. Sting joked, “I’m British, we don’t show emotions,” adding “You sang that song with such sweet regret.” Snoop suggested that he control his emotions, so he can still focus on the vocals and to think about the moments with his father and bring that joy.
Austyns began his performance with a pleasant soulful tone. He is a vocalist who sometimes sings with a lot of bells and whistles. But here, he delivered a simple yet effective vocal. Right when it felt like the performance was sitting there, the key changes, and then eventually, he hit his signature high falsetto notes. It’s a solid performance even though his Battle performance was even better.
Snoop Dogg chose Austyns Stancil as the winner
Reba commented about how healing music is and called Austyns’ performance “powerful.” Gwen remarked that his voice in the first verse was her “favorite part” of his voice. But then she noted when he took it up a notch with the falsetto. Michael called out what a great song Austyns sang, saying, “You need to be special if you are going to do that.” Snoop said, “By bringing that spirit to the stage, we felt you.” Ultimately, Snoop chose Austyns as the winner.
Coaches STOLE both Christina Eagle and Jake Tankersley
This trio of Knockouts continued on an eventful note as Christina Eagle ended up getting triple stolen and saved after an animated performance of Maren Morris’ “My Church” where she chose to stick with Snoop Dogg. Reba and Gwen stole Jake Tankersley after he performed a solid country performance of Luke Combs’ “Going, Going, Gone.” He chose Team Gwen mentioning that he appreciated her blocking Reba to get him.
Other performers who stood out on night one of the knockouts included Team Reba’s Adam Bohanon with a bluesy performance of “Colors” by The Black Pumas. Additionally, Team Reba’s Cassidy Lee ended up going home after a gritty performance of “Love Me Like a Man” by Bonnie Raitt. And Team Snoop picked Cameron Wright, but saved Sloane Simon after an enchanting rendition of “Can’t Catch Me Now” by Olivia Rodrigo.
