Kelly Clarkson Joins Jake Hoot on the Powerful ‘I Would’ve Loved You’ [Listen]
The Voice Season 17 winner Jake Hoot has made good on his promise from earlier this month to release "I Would've Loved You," the 32-year-old singer's duet with Kelly Clarkson. Not that fans of either vocalist would be surprised, but the results are nothing less than spellbinding.
Released on Wednesday (Jan. 27), the tune penned by Hoot alongside Lonestar keyboardist Dean Sams and Jamie Floyd proves to be a powerhouse showcase for both singers. Each performer takes a verse solo before joining in a compelling refrain featuring some soaring harmonies from Clarkson. We'd say the robust performances carry enough conviction to knock out any country music fan.
The song's subject matter mirrors those emotional vocals. Hoot says it's about "the choices we make and the consequences that follow. It is a story about someone who has so much love to give, but due to the other person's decisions, that love turns into a hate that lasts forever."
He couldn't have asked for a better collaborator than Clarkson. The American Idol alum and the Kelly Clarkson Show host was his coach on the 2019 season of The Voice. For Season 17, Hoot joined Hello Sunday, Shane Q, Max Boyle and Damali Gutierrez on Team Kelly. He eventually won the whole shebang, and when it came time to find a duet partner for recording, he knew just who to call. After all, the pair had duetted together on the NBC singing competition show before.
"When we wrote it, I said, 'I think this would be awesome if we got Kelly to sing on this,'" Hoot tells Everything Nash. "When I was on The Voice, she said, 'Hey, let's do something together.' So I sent it to her and didn't hear anything. And then later on in the year, when we were seriously considering putting this on the album, I said, 'You know what? I'm just going to text her again.' … She called me back immediately, and she said, 'I want to shout this from the rooftops. Yes, I'm in.'"
Listeners can find "I Would've Loved You" as the closing track on Hoot's 5-song, Love Out of Time EP. The release, which also contains his cover of Ritchie Valens' "La Bamba," is now available everywhere.
"I am beyond thankful to Kelly Clarkson for believing in me," Hoot adds, "and recording this song with me!"
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