Renner takes judges by storm during blind audition, joins Reba McEntire's team
Tate Renner talks with the judges following his blind audition on "The Voice," which aired on Oct. 7. The red-headed singer chose Reba McEntire as his coach, citing "ginger power." (Tyler Golden photo courtesy of NBC)
Hinsdale native Tate Renner barely sang the first half a dozen words of "Hurricane" during blind auditions for "The Voice" when Michael Bublé hit his button and turned his chair.
"I couldn't turn fast enough," Bublé told him after his performance. "I don't usually say it, but I was the first because I knew that America would love you as much as I did."
Fellow judges Snoop Dogg and Reba McEntire also wanted in on the chance to coach Renner, turning their chairs as well.
"Your sound, the way you handle the stage, the way you play that damn guitar, like your look, it just fits," Snoop said.
McEntire complimented Renner on his sexy sound.
"I'm just tickled to pieces that you got on 'The Voice' and we got to listen to you sing today, and I would love to have you on my team," she said.
Renner said he has only a vague idea of what happened during his audition.
"To be honest, there is very little I remember from the performance," he said. "I had to piece things together from watching it on the TV."
A graduate of Belmont University in Nashville who got interested in music his junior year at Hinsdale Central said he signed up on the show's website and sent in a video of himself singing "Shake the Frost" by Tyler Childers to secure his audition. He worked with the show's producers to choose the Band of Heathens song he performed for the blind audition.
"We sit down with them and figure out the best song for us vocally and what would be the best show-stopping or biggest attention-grabbing song for each artist's voice," Renner said.
Then it's time to hit the stage.
"It was definitely one of the most wild feelings, especially being such a fresh performer," he said. "I've performed in speech and a high school band when I was in Hinsdale. It was a crazy feeling knowing that I'm getting to sing in front of four incredible icons in the industry - and America."
Excited and terrified before taking the stage, Renner said his nerves calmed when he began singing. His confidence improved when Bublé turned his chair so early.
"In my mind, it didn't matter who - I just wanted to see one of their faces before the song ended," he said. "It was real quick, which made the rest of the performance a lot easier. Even just singing to Michael Bublé for a couple of seconds was amazing."
The 24-year-old ultimately chose McEntire as his coach.
"I definitely have been a Reba fan the majority of my life," said Renner, who spent his early years in Texas before moving to Hinsdale at age 6. "My mother is as well."
His grandfather - who is pictured with Renner at Page's in a photo in the video montage on the show's website - also was a big influence when it came to country music, he added.
Renner said he's always known he wanted to be a performer.
"I wasn't the best student for sure, never had been, never will be," he said. "Growing up, that was just something you were judged off of. Your accolades were based off of a grade. That was never really where I shined or my strong suit. I always found that in performing for sure."
After attending Monroe School and Clarendon Hills Middle School, Renner went on to Hinsdale Central, where he was part of the speech team and won state with partner Tim Moser in humorous duet acting his senior year.
Renner's favorite memories of growing up in Hinsdale are the time he would meet up with his friends in Burlington Park and then hang out downtown.
"My dad would give me as $20 bill, which was crazy at the time," he recalled. "You'd meet at the fountain. My favorite part was really how close everybody was, just being down the street or a bike ride away."
He recently completed his degree at Belmont University in Nashville and now spends his days writing and singing as much as he can, posting his songs on social media and playing on stage in events called Writers' Rounds to get more experience and exposure.
"That's really popular here in Nashville," he said.
Renner can't reveal what happens on the show. After the taped auditions are aired, the live rounds begin, usually in late November.
Even his mom and dad, Jill and Matt Renner, who now live in Chicago, don't know all that will happen with his journey on the show. They weren't even sure when his blind audition - which they witnessed in person in L.A. - would air.
"Watching him on TV was blast, because we don't get much information ahead of time from the show, and so literally at a moment's notice our closest buddies from Hinsdale just hopped in their car and fought the traffic and came down here," she said. "It was a blast to share that with them.
"I had already lived it, so I knew what the outcome was like. It was next level to share it with our friends," she added.
She said Tate and other members of his high school band, The Spins, took lessons at Hinsdale Music Studio and would have breakfast next door at Page's. She said so many people in town have had a positive influence on her son, from his coaches to members of her book club. She also spoke highly of the forensics program at Central.
"So many people have commented to me of how composed he seemed. He definitely credits that to being on forensics at Central," she said. "I can't even tell you how much those coaches poured into him and all the other forensics team members. I couldn't recommend it more."
Coach Paul Woods described Renner as an important part of the team, capturing first in his event and helping the team earn a state championship.
"He was definitely a charismatic goofball in the best way," Woods said, noting Renner's ability to work with his partner and put the effort into rehearsals. "He had a good work ethic when it came to stuff he was motivated to put on display."
Woods said he enjoyed watching the blind audition and noted that Renner has a lot of fans at Central.
"We're pulling for him," Woods said. "The speech team is watching and rooting him on."
