Snoop Dogg cries as ‘The Voice’ contestant’s performance reminds him of his late mother

Austyns Stancil’s performance during the knockout round on “The Voice” brought coach Snoop Dogg to tears.

On the November 11 episode of the singing competition, Snoop brought together Stancil, Christina Eagle and Jake Tankersley in his first-ever knockout on the show, where the singers got to choose their own songs.

Stancil, who is from Oakland, California, told Snoop and guest judge Sting during rehearsals that he would sing “Dance With My Father” by Luther Vandross before revealing the meaning of his choice.

“Yesterday was the one-year anniversary of my father’s death,” Stancil told Snoop and Sting. “It will be a tough time, but we will get through this.”

Snoop immediately got up from 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, yes give me that.”

Stancil delivered a standout performance of the R&B track that clearly touched Snoop. After the singer broke up, Snoop stood up and hugged him again while explaining how Stancil’s performance made him think about his late mother and other people he’s lost in his life.

“Look, he’s gone,” Sting said, pointing at Snoop as tears streamed down his face. “I am too, inside, but you know, I’m British – we don’t show our feelings.”

Stancil then asked Snoop how he is handling performing in front of an audience since his mother passed away in 2021. The rapper recalled collapsing during a performance, but then remembered what his mother would want – for him to continue pursuing his passion for music.

“After that, I never cried for my mom on stage again because I know that’s what she wanted me to do. When she was here, I made her proud. I will continue to make them proud,” Snoop replied.

When Stancil performed the song during his knockout round, coaches Gwen Stefani and Michael Bublé gave him a standing ovation.

“You just came out and sang one of Luther Vandross’ great songs,” Bublé said. “You must be special if you do that. If I were Snoop, I’d 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 father is not with us, my father is not with us, so this is a song that touches the heart.”

Snoop singled out Stancil before deciding to declare him the winner.

“Reba cried, I cried, I tried to hold her, push her back up but… I can’t do anything about it, they’ll just keep falling down,” the rapper said of his tears. “It is a great honor to have you on my team.”

Eagle and Tankersley also remain in contention thanks to a save and a steal as the show approaches the playoff rounds.

“Austyns was the winner because of his spirit, his personality and the way he endured all that pain and all that loss to give us a great performance,” Snoop said. “I can’t stop emotions when emotions hit you. The tears start to flow, a shiver runs down your spine, this is real music, this is real singing.”