It was a surprising moment on The Voice’s Top 9 performance show when Team Reba McEntire’s Asher HaVon performed Beyoncé’s “Irreplaceable” and host Carson Daly cut to John Legend for a critique of his performance and John declared the 31-year-old from Selma, Ala., the best vocalist in the competition. It was even more amazing when you consider that John still has Nathan Chester and Bryan Olesen in the finale.

John told Asher, “My dad texted me this week and said, ‘Asher is the Voice,’ Now, I’m a little biased toward my team, but I will say this: No matter what other factors people are voting on, I think you’re the best vocalist in this competition. And you show that with every song, no matter what you sing.”

Asher HaVon

Photo by: Casey Durkin/NBC

Parade had the opportunity to speak with Asher on a Zoom call afterwards to get his feelings about what John said.

“I’ve never heard that in my life,” Asher commented. “Of course, I believe in myself and I think that I do well. I think I do well because if you practice at something, you become really good at it. So, I think I’m a good singer because I’ve practiced all my life. But it’s different from when your Mama tells you that. She’s your Mama and she’s supposed to say nice things, but when John Legend’s dad says it, it hits me in my gut and almost ignites a fire to my destiny and says, ‘You actually are supposed to be singing, sir, and you’re right where you belong.’”

It was an important moment for Asher, who says he came into the competition “broken.” In fact, between the filming of the Playoffs and the Live Shows, when the artists were back home, Asher says he kept checking his email to make sure it was real and not a dream and that he would be returning to Los Angeles to continue on as one of the Top 20.

Asher HaVon, Carson Daly

Photo by: Trae Patton/NBC

“I was very uncertain about a lot of things in life including my voice,” he tells Parade. “I didn’t feel worthy to be here. I thought it was a joke. I thought they felt sorry for me. They heard my sad story and they had me on the show. Getting the chair turn was the greatest validation I’ve ever received in my life. For no one to know what I look like, but only my voice alone touching these mega stars to turn around. And when Reba turned around and our eyes locked and that smile, I felt safe in a smile that felt familiar and warm. So, from Blinds to now, I definitely feel I am where I belong. I have grown in confidence. I’ve grown believing in myself. I told the producer, ‘I think I’ve healed on national TV.’”

So, for tonight’s Top 5 performances—each artist will sing twice, Asher just wants to continue to show the world his killer vocals as someone who made it into the finale.

“You know what? I just want to sing, honey,” he says. “This is called The Voice and I’m going to try to just continue to slay these vocals. I just want to continue to bring the world’s biggest ballads.”

The Voice airs tonight at 8 p.m. ET/PT for performances and then again on Tuesday night at 8 p.m. ET/PT on NBC when the winner of Season 25 of The Voice will be revealed. Streams next day on Peacock.