San Antonian Britton Moore thought the Zac Brown Band song “Free” was a good choice for his knockout round on “The Voice,” but he still was a little nervous about it.

Adam Levine, his coach on the NBC vocal competition, helped quell the butterflies.

“He really helped me to lean into my uniqueness and what makes Britton Britton, and I think that I definitely took that advice and used it on this song specifically,” Moore said in a telephone interview. “And I kind of put my little twist on it.”

It worked. The Reagan High School graduate won the round, which pitted him against Ari Camille from Chicago.

Both of the 21-year-old vocalists nailed their performances. Camille went first, showing great stage presence with a strong rendering of Faith Evans’ “Love Like This.” Then Moore delivered a pitch-perfect take on “Free,” with just the right catch in his voice.

They were so evenly matched that coach John Legend declared “I’m stealing somebody” after they finished. Legend and Kelsea Ballerini, who seemed to be mouthing the lyrics to “Free” as Moore sang, called the round a tie. Michael Bublé gave it to Moore.

Levine stalled a bit before rendering his verdict, saying the strength of their performances was “super-crappy for me” since he could only choose one to go into the playoffs.

Ultimately, Levine said, he had to go with the singer that he felt was in the best shape to move forward, and that was Moore.

“Britton is so good that I just couldn’t let him go,” he said. “Britton has a lot of amazing control of his voice. You wind him up and he goes. He can literally sing for the fences.”

Legend did make good on his promise, using his one steal to bring Camille back to his team. It was the second time the gifted performer’s run on the show was extended. Levine had scooped her up after she lost her battle round.

Moore seemed a little dazed in his final moments on camera.

“I just won,” he said, flashing a joyful grin. “I don’t know how. Team Adam, let’s go to the playoffs!”

As he sang, he said, he couldn’t really tell how things would end up.

“At the end of the day, you never really know if you’re going to move on or not,” he said. “I had a lot of confidence in that song. I loved the fact that it was so different and showed a different side of me as a singer and as a person.

“It showed a little bit of my roots, honestly. So singing ‘Free’ by the Zac Brown Band was pretty special for me.”

The entire experience of being on the show has been special. It was appointment television for him and his family when he was a kid, he said, during Levine’s first stint as a coach. The Maroon 5 front man took a break from the show in 2019, returning this season just in time to coach Moore.

“We would sit down and watch it, and Adam would be on there, so it’s cool seeing him back on the show,” Moore said. “And to be on his team is insane. When I was real young, I always said, ‘I could totally do that, I could totally be up there.’ And now that it’s a reality, I don’t want to say ‘dream come true,’ but it’s definitely a dream come true.”

The experience has been even better than he expected, he said. He’s made a lot of new friends, including Darius J, whom he vanquished in the battle round. They delivered a goosebumpy spin on Radiohead’s “Creep.”

“We’re completely opposite artists,” Moore said. “We’re very different, our vocals are different. But I think what made that special was coming together as a team and making the performance itself good. We both did a really good job of not trying to outdo the other or compete against each other.”

Another highlight of his experience on the show has been working with a stylist to pull together outfits. The cream ensemble he wore for knockouts, which included billowy slacks, was a particular favorite.

“Those pants, they’re huge, but I loved them. And I think this kind of goes all the way back to my sports years. You look good, you play good,” said Moore, who played baseball and football for Reagan. “In my eyes, what you wear is a big deal, for me personally. If I feel good in what I’m wearing, I’m comfortable and I am more confident.”

He’s clearly making an impression on the coaches and on fans. He’s released two singles, the love songs “Harmony” and “Divine,” and he’s gotten positive responses to them.

“That’s why I’m on the show, ” he said. “It’s to grow your platform and show what you’re capable of and not necessarily grow your fan base, but really connect with people. So I think releasing  my own music simultaneously while I’m on the show just helps people connect with me as an artist.”

He’s also starting to be recognized around San Antonio.

“It’s not like I’m having to wear a hat and sunglasses everywhere I go, but people definitely have come up to me,” he said. “I’ve taken some pictures. It’s been real fun, just to share the experience with other people and get to meet some fans.”

At least one of the fans sought him out at NorthRock Church, where his parents are pastors. She and her father were in town for the Final Four, he said, and she wanted to meet him and get a picture with him.

“We got a little picture after one of the services,” he said. “I thought that was so sweet. It made my day.”