For a moment there, it looked like Austyns Stancil’s time was up on season 26 of The Voice. Despite an effortlessly suave performance of Sam Smith’s “Lay Me Down” in the Battle Rounds, coach Gwen Stefani opted to move forward with his opponent, Jose Luis. Stefani anticipated that her fellow coaches would seize the opportunity to snatch up the loser of this particular Battle. And she wasn’t wrong. All three coaches — Michael Bublé, Snoop Dogg and Reba McEntire — scurried to smash their big red buttons the second Stancil became a free agent. Here are three quick facts about the Team Snoop member currently taking The Voice by storm.
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1. He’s Doing It for His Dad
Austyns Stancil’s late father has been an integral part of his experience on The Voice. The 34-year-old Oakland, California resident dedicated his four-chair Blind Audition performance of Smokey Robinson’s “Ooo Baby Baby” to his dad, who passed in 2023 after a two-year battle with colon cancer.
“My dad showed me how to be a man and how to be a father. I wish he was here to see me now,” Stancil said prior to the audition. “I know my dad would give me props right now because honestly, my whole life, I’ve just been trying to make him proud.”
2. He Was Quite a Noisy Child
Before The Voice, Stancil grew up as the son of a church choir director in Paola, Kansas. It was his mother, in fact, who ignited his passion for singing. “[She] needed somebody to sing some solos,” Stancil said. “I was 9 years old and I was hollering around the house, so she said, ‘You’re gonna sing.’”
3. He’s a Proud “Girl Dad”
Competing for a $100,000 grand prize and recording contract isn’t exactly stress-free. However, thanks to Stancil’s four daughters, he never loses sight of the finish line on The Voice.
“They motivate me,” he said. “They inspire me.”
Prior to the airing of his Blind Audition, Stancil added, “This opportunity is absolutely amazing. I want to be able to be that example for my daughters. I gotta get a chair turn.”
And then he got four.
Featured image via NBC.com
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