Oklahoma
Which coach won over OK3 on ‘The Voice’? Here’s the music icon the Oklahoma trio picked
EGOT winner John Legend won over OK3 following the Oklahoma pop group’s attention-grabbing blind audition on the new season of “The Voice.”
On the Monday, Feb. 26 “The Voice” Season 25 premiere episode, the Oklahoma City-based vocal trio achieved a coveted four-chair turn with their charming cover of the Meghan Trainor hit “Made You Look.”
The Season 25 coaches — Oklahoma Country Music Hall of Famer Reba McEntire, who is in her second season as a “Voice” coach; Legend, who’s in his ninth season; three-time Grammy winner Chance the Rapper, who is returning for his second season; and three-time Grammy-winning country duo Dan + Shay, who are first-time coaches on “The Voice” and sharing a double chair this season — vied fiercely to convince OK3 to choose their team as the blind auditions got underway.
But Monday’s episode ended on a cliffhanger, so viewers had to wait until the opening moments of Tuesday’s installment to find out which coach the OKC trio will be working with this season.
“I’ve never had a trio before (on Team Legend); this will be fun,” Legend said after OK3 picked him. “I love how vibrant and tight OK3’s harmonies were, and I just felt like they’re going to be so much fun to work with — and so much fun for our audience to watch.”
Which previous ‘The Voice’ contestants inspired OK3 to reunite?
As the group’s name indicates, OK3 consists of three singers from Oklahoma.
The new season of the NBC singing competition is just getting started, but the Sooner State performers are already gaining a lot of attention for their stellar vocal harmonies, sassy stage presence and coordinated choreography they showed off in their blind audition.
Sierra Sikes, who was 23 when the trio auditioned for “The Voice,” is a University of Central Oklahoma alumnus who earned her bachelor of music degree in musical theater in 2021.
Kenna Fields, 22, is a senior at the Academy of Contemporary Music at UCO who is majoring in contemporary music.
Courtney Hooker, 25, is an ACM@UCO graduate who received her bachelor of applied technology in commercial music in 2020. She also earned an associate’s degree from UCO in performance in 2019.
The singers met through their vocal coach, Amanda Earhart, whom they brought onto “The Voice” stage to help them pick their celebrity coach for the show.
The Oklahomans revealed on the series that they have been best friends and musical collaborators since they were teenagers, performing together at various shows and competitions.
They broke up in 2017 because they were in different phases of their lives. After not seeing each other for four years, they were inspired by successful “The Voice” runs for groups like Girl Named Tom and Sorelle to reunite at the Oklahoma Opry and then audition for the NBC music contest.
Coaches battle hard to win OK3 for their team
OK3’s blind audition set off a fierce and funny battle among the Season 25 coaches, who all proved eager to add the trio to their team.
Fellow Oklahoman Reba pushed her button about seven seconds into the group’s performance, followed quickly by Dan + Shay and Legend. Chance the Rapper didn’t turn his chair until late in the trio’s blind audition.
“I loved your performance. … I grew up arranging songs for groups, and then, when I went to college, I was an award-winning a cappella arranger. If there’s nothing else that I do, I do this,” Legend said. “I feel like there’s a lot of space for a big pop girl group right now, and I would love to be your coach.”
Dan + Shay’s Shay Mooney gushed that the trio’s singing made his heart race and declared OK3’s audition “my favorite performance that we’ve seen so far.” He noted that Trainor is a good friend.
His musical partner, Dan Smyers, added, “I don’t want to bash John too bad early. He was saying he’s an award-winning arranger for groups. We’re an award-winning group. We have a double chair.”
“We have two (chairs). We could get a third,” Mooney added with a grin. “I have two sisters. I grew up singing in the church and doing exactly what you guys are doing right now. Your voices are phenomenal.”
To neutralize what he called Dan + Shay’s “unfair advantage,” Legend introduced his “partner,” pushing a button to deploy a blue inflatable tube man emblazoned with the words “Pick Team Legend.”
Despite claiming that Legend’s inflatable tube man had “taken all of my spirit away, it was so loud and distracting,” Chance the Rapper also praised OK3.
“You guys did great. A couple seasons ago, I worked with a trio, and I have a lot of fun working with harmonics, with arranging for groups. I could kind of expand your palette in terms of what genres you want to play around with,” he said, adding that his signature “3” cap matched the trio.
Reba addressed OK3 as “fellow Okies,” reminded the group that she started out performing in her family band The Singing McEntires and praised the trio’s harmonies.
The Oklahoma Hall of Famer also brought props to bolster her argument, pulling out one of her three Grammys as well as a sparkly scepter.
“I would love to have you gals on my team. We’d have a blast,” Reba said. “I am the Queen of Country Music. I’m just saying, I would love to have you in my kingdom.”
Ultimately, OK3 opted to become the first act this season to join Team Legend
“I got my first artist, and it was a four-chair turn. Usually, you see these inflatable guys at the car wash. They’re like, ‘Come get your car wash.’ And I’m like, ‘Come to Team Legend.’ And it worked,” Legend said on Tuesday’s episode. “I’m back: my mojo has not gone anywhere.”
“The Voice” airs at 7 p.m. Mondays and Tuesdays on NBC. Episodes stream the next day on Peacock on-demand. The streaming service offers full episodes from the show’s previous 24 seasons, too.
Oklahoma
Oklahoma Sooners and the Oklahoma State Cowboys play in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Oklahoma State Cowboys (9-0) vs. Oklahoma Sooners (6-3)
Oklahoma City; Saturday, 1 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: Oklahoma takes on Oklahoma State at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
The Sooners are 6-3 in non-conference play. Oklahoma is 1-0 in games decided by less than 4 points.
The Cowboys are 9-0 in non-conference play. Oklahoma State ranks eighth in the Big 12 with 16.9 assists per game led by Jaylen Curry averaging 5.1.
Oklahoma averages 84.7 points, 8.3 more per game than the 76.4 Oklahoma State gives up. Oklahoma State scores 16.3 more points per game (91.3) than Oklahoma gives up to opponents (75.0).
TOP PERFORMERS: Nijel Pack is scoring 17.2 points per game with 3.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists for the Sooners. Tae Davis is averaging 13.3 points and 6.8 rebounds while shooting 53.3%.
Vyctorius Miller is averaging 15.9 points for the Cowboys. Parsa Fallah is averaging 14.6 points.
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
Oklahoma
Oklahoma Sooners 2026 Football Schedule Revealed
The Oklahoma Sooners are trying to finish the 2025 college football season with a championship run that begins with a first-round playoff matchup with the Alabama Crimson Tide on Dec. 19 in Norman. After a 10-2 season, the Sooners found out during the SEC schedule reveal when they’ll play their 2026 opponents.
New to the SEC schedule this year is a nine-game conference slate. Also, Oklahoma will begin at least a four-year stretch with permanent rivals Texas, Missouri, and Ole Miss.
The Sooners open the season with nonconference matchups against UTEP, Michigan, and New Mexico. Michigan will be breaking in a new head coach after the surprising dismissal of Sherrone Moore.
Oklahoma will go on the road for their first conference game, taking on the defending SEC champion Georgia Bulldogs on Sept. 26. That marks the first time the Sooners will play in Athens for the first time in the history of the program. The Bulldogs own the only win in the series, which came in the infamous 2017 Rose Bowl. If the Sooners were to play the Dawgs in the 2025 College Football Playoff, it would come in the national championship game.
After the trip to Georgia, Oklahoma will have its only bye week of the season before facing the Texas Longhorns in the Red River Showdown on Oct. 10 in the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, Texas. The Sooners will return home to play the Kentucky Wildcats on Oct. 17. Kentucky will have a first-time head coach in Will Stein, leading the Wildcats to Norman for the first time since 1980.
Then, Oklahoma will go to Starkville to take on former offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby and the Mississippi State Bulldogs on Oct. 24 before closing the month welcoming another former assistant in Shane Beamer and the South Carolina Gamecocks on Oct. 31.
Then begins the month that will decide the Sooners’ College Football Playoff fates. They’ll open November with a road trip to the Swamp to take on the Florida Gators on Nov. 7. The last time the Sooners took on the Gators, Oklahoma earned a 55-20 win in the 2020 Alamo Bowl.
The Sooners will then return home on Nov. 14 to take on the Ole Miss Rebels in Norman for the second year in a row. Oklahoma lost a heartbreaker to the Rebels at the end of October, but that gave way to a magical November run that catapulted the Sooners into the College Football Playoff.
After the Rebels come to town, the Sooners will welcome the Texas A&M Aggies on Nov. 21. Texas A&M hasn’t been to Norman since a 41-25 win by Oklahoma. Landry Jones threw for 255 yards and two touchdowns, and Blake Bell ran for two scores out of the Belldozer package.
The Sooners will then close the season on the road against the Missouri Tigers. The former Big 8 and Big 12 foes have split their two contests as members of the SEC, each team winning at home. Oklahoma owns a decisive 68-25-5 record over the Tigers dating back to 1902.
There will be big expectations for the Sooners coming off of a 10-2 season and a College Football Playoff berth. They’ll bring back a lot of talent from this year’s roster, but 2026 will provide new challenges.
Oklahoma Sooners 2026 Schedule
- Sept. 5 vs. UT-El Paso Miners in Norman, Okla.
- Sept. 12 at Michigan Wolverines in Ann Arbor, Michigan
- Sept. 19 vs. New Mexico Lobos in Norman, Okla.
- Sept. 26 at Georgia Bulldogs in Athens, Georgia
- Oct. 3 BYE WEEK
- Oct. 10 vs. Texas Longhorns in Cotton Bowl in Dallas, Texas
- Oct. 17 vs. Kentucky Wildcats in Norman, Okla.
- Oct. 24 at Mississippi State Bulldogs in Starkville, Miss.
- Oct. 31 vs. South Carolina Gamecocks in Norman, Okla.
- Nov. 7 at Florida Gators in Gainesville, Fla.
- Nov. 14 vs. Ole Miss Rebels in Norman, Okla.
- Nov. 21 vs. Texas A&M Aggies in Norman, Okla.
- Nov. 28 at Missouri Tigers in Columbia, Missouri
Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on X, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow John on X @john9williams.
Oklahoma
Oklahoma’s Tate Sandell on CFP, Groza Award: ‘This Is What Eighth-Grade Me Dreamed Of’
NORMAN — To say that Oklahoma’s Tate Sandell has become a legitimate weapon for the College Football Playoff-bound Sooners would be putting it lightly.
The Sooners’ dynamite placekicker has already wrapped up First Team All-SEC honors and Special Teams Player of the Year in the conference.
Now, Sandell hopes to check a few more boxes off his wish list as early as Friday.
“It’s what me in eighth grade dreamed of in high school,” Sandell said on Wednesday when asked about the season he’s had. “These are all things you think about when you’re lying in bed, like, this is really happening. This is something that you work for, and it’s just such a blessing.”
Sandell is 23-of-24 on field goals this season — hitting 23 in a row since he missed his first kick of the season against Michigan. Not only is this consistency a school record at OU, but it’s a single-season record in the SEC as well.
Sandell has had a busy week already. He’s been jetting around the country doing community events for the Lou Groza Award — the coveted trophy that goes the the nation’s best kicker every season. He will find out Friday night if he will take the award home during the Home Depot College Football Awards show (ESPN, 6 p.m.).
Should Sandell win, he will become the first Sooner kicker to win the award.
More Oklahoma Football
“That’d be great, but it’s not in my hands,” Sandell said. “That’s not what I set out to win this season; it’s just to win games and make kicks, and that’s just a byproduct of our work. If that happens, that’s great.”
Sandell is up for the award against Hawaii kicker Kansei Matsuzawa and Georgia Tech’s Aidan Birr. Each kicker has their résumé that demands respect, yet it appears that Sandell is the favorite to win.
The University of Texas-San Antonio transfer did it in big moments in ballyhooed environments. Sandell’s four field goals, where he made three 50-plus yarders — 55, 51 and 55 — was a Neyland Stadium record So was the distance. Oklahoma’s “Red November” run, in large part, was aided by Sandell’s big leg.
“My swing is my swing,” Sandell said. “I’m not going to try to be somebody I’m not or swing like I’m not. I’m not going to swing out of my shoes. I’m going to give myself the best opportunity to make the kick as possible, and if it goes in, great. If it’s not, then it is what it is.”
“Another guy that’s a team guy, hasn’t flinched,” said head coach Brent Venables. “He’s been Boomer Sooner since the moment he signed his contract. And then he’s been just a stud when it comes to leading and just being a really good teammate.”
Humble he may be, but the Groza Award would be a cherry on top for any college kicker. Still, Sandell’s main focus is on Oklahoma’s rematch with Alabama on Dec. 19.
And yet, Oklahoma’s placekicker is not short on confidence — in himself, or his team.
“For us, it’s not about who we play,” Sandell said. “If we play our brand of football, we can compete with anybody in the country.”
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