Idol Chatter & Voice Views

On making the finals: “Top 12 means a whole lot to me,” says Jake Worthington, of LaPorte, Texas. “Honestly, just to get on the stage means the whole world to me. It’s icing on the cake from here. The live shows, you have to show you’re the whole, complete talent. There’s no messing up. It’s very nerve-wracking to know you’re being watched every split second while you’re on that stage by millions of folks from around the world. Everybody here is spot-on, A-1 talent.”

His audition: Jake, 17 at the time, auditioned with Keith Whitley’s “Don’t Close Your Eyes.” Adam Levine turned his chair early in the performance. Blake Shelton turned around shortly afterward and immediately recognized Jake as a returning contestant. Before Jake’s performance was over, Shakira was also facing the stage. Jake picked Team Blake.

Since then: He defeated Lexi Lucca in the first battle round; they sang “It Goes Like This” by Thomas Rhett. In the second battle round, he defeated Tess Boyer; they performed “Have a Little Faith in Me.” Tess was stolen by Shakira. Then he earned a spot in the finals by singing “Anywhere With You” during the Team Blake playoffs. The song was number 67 on the iTunes’ country chart the next day.

His background: Jake is another singer auditioning for a second time. He auditioned in Season 5 with the Georgia Satellites’ “Keep Your Hands to Yourself” and admits he had trouble with breath control during the upbeat number. Now a senior in high school, he returned determined that things would be different. “This season, someone’s going to turn around for me,” Jake told The Voice during his pre-audition interview.

What the show didn’t show: Jake said he appreciates The Voice because the initial focus is on just the voice. “It has nothing to do with how much of a gut you got,” he says in his Voice video, while tapping his own, “or how you talk. It’s how you sing. That’s pretty inspirational to me.” He says his approach to the competition will be to stay humble. He also says he wants to “wave the flag of traditional country music, saying ‘It’s still here.'”

Quote: “I know all I can do is me. And all I can do is my best. And that’s all I plan on doing. If that takes me to the top, man, let’s roll.”

On iTunes: Just his four songs from The Voice.

Keeping up with Jake:
Twitter: @JDW_Music
Facebook

Editor’s Note: For links to profiles of all the Season 6 artists on The Voice, go here.

“Keep Your Hands to Yourself” (Season 5 audition)