Birmingham native Val T. Webb feels blessed by time on 'The Voice'

A family story going back to Val T. Webb’s earliest days may give some insight into why the Birmingham native was picked for this season of NBC’s “The Voice.”

Webb’s parents had taken her to church, and the pastor offered the young girl a blessing.

“He prayed over my hands because I also play keyboard, and he prayed for my throat. He said, 'She will sing and play,'” Webb said.

The blessing seemed to take. By the time she was around 5, Webb was playing and singing “Lord Prepare Me To Be a Sanctuary.”

As years passed, she married, moved to Texas, became a mom of five in a blended family, and performed on many big stages — though there’s something a little special about the stage on “The Voice.”

“I was always really nervous right before I was about to walk out,” said Webb, who is a church worship director in New Braunfels, Texas. “It’s funny, because they would say, ‘Girl, you do this all the time.’ But not that stage… But once I start singing, it’s like it instantly all goes away.”

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Webb’s run recently came to an end on the show, but it was an amazing one. She started “The Voice” with a four-chair turn for her rendition of Deborah Cox’s “Nobody’s Supposed to be Here” during the Blind Auditions  — during which she said her legs were shaking.

Then came time to pick a celebrity coach, and it was a tough call for her since she had to pick between her two favorites, Chance the Rapper and John Legend.

“I had no idea who I would pick between Chance and John if they both turned,” Webb said.

Having both country-leaning Reba McEntire and Dan & Shay turn also was surprising for her.

“I didn’t think I was an artist that they would be interested in,” she said.

In the heat of the moment, Webb heard herself say she wanted to join Team Chance.

“I had battled and struggled with that decision so bad,” Webb said.

During the battles rounds next, RLETTO was picked to move forward in their duet of Whitney Houston’s “Saving All My Love for You,” but that wasn’t the end. Webb was stolen to John Legend’s team.

In the knockouts next with Legend, Web performed “Sweet Love.”

Webb said both Chance and Legend were great sources of feedback and constructive criticism.

“They give great advice, although they did not have lots of notes for me at all when I was rehearsing with them,” Webb said. “Those that they gave were things that I took and ran with it. They also both gave me a level of creative freedom, even with my arrangements with the band. I appreciated that.”

“We grinded hard,” Webb said of her time on the show. “There were long nights and long days of filming. Even right before you’re about to sing, you don’t know really how long you’ll have to wait. But overall, it was such an amazing, incredible experience. I would do it all again, even if I knew I was going to be eliminated.”

Unfortunately her run was cut short during last week’s episode.

“It was fun,” Webb said. “I met great people. I made some great connections. I feel like some lifelong friendships have come from this.”

One of them is fellow Alabama singer Asher HaVon of Selma.

“I am her biggest fan,” HaVon said. “Valerie is such an amazing talent with a voice that soars to the universe. It makes me so happy because we definitely made a genuine very strong connection out in LA, and I really love that a lot.”

So what’s next for Webb? Along with having a single release song coming out soon, Webb is teaching other independent artists how to release their own music.

“I have a course available that teaches how to release new music, talks about performance rights organizations, copyrights, things like that,” Webb said.

She’s also planning on a a small tour, and has a celebration show lined up May 3 in New Braunfels.

Asked what she’s gained from her experience on “The Voice,” she said: “If I learned anything, I would say that you don’t lose when you get eliminated. It’s still a win.”

Webb described the show as a reflection of her life and faith in Christ.

“Lives were touched,” she said.

Montgomery Advertiser reporter Shannon Heupel covers things to do in the River Region. Contact him at sheupel@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Birmingham native Val T. Webb feels blessed by time on 'The Voice'