Austyns Stancil’s performance of “Dance With My Father” had a special meaning to the 34-year-old from Oakland, California.
Austyns Stancil’s performance during the knockouts round on “The Voice” brought coach Snoop Dogg to tears.
On the Nov. 11 episode of the singing competition, Snoop brought Stancil, Christina Eagle and Jake Tankersley together in his first-ever knockouts on the show, where the singers are allowed to pick their own songs.
Stancil, who is from Oakland, California, told Snoop and guest judge Sting during rehearsals he would be singing “Dance With My Father” by Luther Vandross, before sharing the meaning behind his choice.
“Yesterday was the one-year anniversary of my father’s death,” Stancil told Snoop and Sting. “It’s going to be a rough one, but we’re going to get through this.”
Snoop immediately got up out of his chair to give Stancil a big hug, before telling him to sing it for his father, and not with sadness.
“Don’t cry, hold it in,” Snoop said. “Sing it, yeah give me that.”
Stancil delivered a stellar performance of the R&B track, which clearly moved Snoop. After the singer wrapped, Snoop got up and hugged him again, as he explained how Stancil’s performance made him start thinking of his late mother, and other people he had lost in his life.
“Look, he’s gone,” Sting said, pointing to Snoop as tears rolled down his face. “So am I, inside, but you know, I’m British — we don’t show our emotions.”
Stancil then asked Snoop how he handles performing in front of a crowd since his mom died in 2021. The rapper recalled breaking down during one performance, but then remembered what his mom would want — for him to keep pursuing his passion for music.
“After that, I never cried again on stage for my momma, because I know that’s what she wanted me to do. When she was here, I made her proud. I’m going to keep making her proud,” Snoop answered.
When Stancil’s performed the song during his knockouts round, coaches Gwen Stefani and Michael Bublé gave him a standing ovation.
“You just came out and sang one of the great songs from Luther Vandross,” Bublé said. “You need to be special if you’re going do that. If I was Snoop, I would probably have to pick you.”
Coach Reba McEntire called Stancil’s performance “very powerful.”
“It’s so amazing how healing music is,” she said. “Your dad’s not with us, my dad’s not with us, so this is a song that goes to the heart.”
Snoop singled out Stancil ahead of his decision to declare him the winner.
“Reba was crying, I was crying, I’m trying to hold them, push them back up, but … nothing I can do about them, they’re just gonna keep falling down,” the rapper said of his tears. “Truly honored to have you on my team.”
Eagle and Tankersley also remain in the competition due to a Save and a Steal as the show moves toward the Playoff rounds.
“Austyns was the winner based off of spirit, personality, and how he composed himself to hold in all of that pain and all of that loss to give us a great performance,” Snoop said. “Can’t stop emotion when emotion hits you. Tears start falling, chills on your back, that’s real music, that’s real singing.”
