When a celebrity coach on “The Voice” compares a contestant to Whitney Houston, viewers sit up and take notice.

That’s exactly what happened on Tuesday’s episode of the NBC reality series, when John Legend said Birmingham’s Val T Webb reminded him of the iconic pop and R&B singer.

True, Webb was singing one of Houston’s hits at the time, performing a duet with one of her teammates, RLETTO, during the show’s Battle Rounds. But her stellar vocals on “Saving All My Love for You” made a big impression on Legend, who rated the Battle as A+.

“RLETTO, your voice has so much character and vibe, and you have such an artistic point of view,” Legend said. “And then Val, you voice is pure and beautiful. You have such wonderful control over it. Your tone sounded so sweet.”

Both contestants were on Chance the Rapper’s team, so Chance had the final decision on the Battle.

“Do you want this pure, beautiful vocalist like Whitney, or do you want RLETTO, who’s, like, a little funkier? I’m not going to tell you what to pick,” Legend said.

Chance had a tough choice to make, as all celebrity coaches on the show agreed. Along with Legend, Reba McEntire and Dan & Shay offered effusive kudos to Webb and RLETTO, with Reba leaning to Webb and Dan Smyers of Dan & Shay urging Chance to “Pick them both!”

“That was one of the most iconic performances I’ve ever seen,” Smyers said. “It was special. Val, you’ve got such range and such a beautiful tone in your higher register there, and just such control. RLETTO, you’re a star, man. I mean, that richness in the lower register of your voice, man, I was getting goosebumps. I was feeling it.”

“Val, you just reminded all of us why you got a four-chair turn,” McEntire said. “Your vocals are stupendous, beautiful, sweet. I can sit and listen to you all day long. RLETTO, I love your style, the way you sing, but Val just slays me with her vocal. I’d have to choose Val.”

In the end, Chance picked RLETTO as winner of the Battle, which meant Webb would be eliminated. She responded graciously to her defeat, hugging Chance and thanking him for his encouragement and support. But as Webb began to walk off stage, Legend hit the “steal” button on his chair, saying “You ain’t going nowhere, Val!”

According to “Voice” rules during Season 25, each coach has one steal during the Battle Rounds, and can scoop up an eliminated contestant for his or her team.

“As soon as Chance said, ‘RLETTO,’ I was like, well, Val’s coming to Team Legend,” Legend said. “Her voice is smooth, she has gorgeous range, gorgeous tone. Val can SANG.”

Webb now moves on to the Knockouts, where she’ll choose a song to perform as a solo artist in a head-to-head contest with another teammate. She’s one of three Alabama singers who made it past the Battles this season on “The Voice,” joining Asher HaVon of Selma (Team Reba) and Ducote Talmage of Auburn (Team Dan & Shay).

Two other Alabama contestants, Rivers Grayson and Corey Curtis, lost their “Voice” Battles and were eliminated this week. Grayson, from Muscle Shoals, performed a duet with teammate Mafe on Tuesday’s episode, singing Carole King’s “You’ve Got a Friend.” Their coach, Legend, chose Mafe over Grayson, but said it was a difficult decision.

“Rivers, what is amazing about what you did is, it’s so hard to sing low and quiet and be, like, on pitch and resonate in the room,” Legend said. “Perfect job, Rivers.”

Curtis was eliminated on Monday’s episode, after singing “Best Part” by Daniel Caesar with teammate Dani Stacy. This Battle wasn’t shown in full on TV, but their coach, Chance, opted for Stacy instead of Curtis, saying she had ”a better grasp on the song” and more vocal control.

“The Voice” features five stages of competition: Blind Auditions, Battle Rounds, Knockouts, Playoffs and live performance shows. The next episode, set for April 1, will feature highlights of the Season 25 Blind Auditions and Battle Rounds. The Knockouts begin on April 8, with Keith Urban on hand as a “mega mentor.”

Alabama’s never had a winner on “The Voice” during its 13-year history on television. However, more than 30 contestants from the state have made their marks on the show over the years, starting with Nakia Reynoso in Season 1 and continuing through spring 2023 with four Alabama singers moving through the competition in Season 23.

D. Smooth, an R&B singer from Birmingham, took third place on “The Voice” during the Season 23 finals in May 2023. Three other Alabama contestants — Ryley Tate Wilson, Jerome Godwin III and JB Somers — were eliminated earlier in the season.

READ: 5 Alabama singers who excelled on ‘The Voice’ (and why we loved them)

If you watch: “The Voice” airs at 7 p.m. CT on Mondays and 8 p.m. on Tuesdays on NBC. The series also streams on Peacock. Early episodes in the season are filmed in advance.