Mississippi pastor wins it all on ‘The Voice’

Todd Tilghman is about as unlikely a guy as you’ll find to win a big national singing competition but win he did.

Tilghman is a pastor at the Cornerstone Pentecostal Church in Meridian, Mississippi, where he grew up. The 41-year-old father of eight has no professional music experience. He is married to his high-school sweetheart, Brooke, and two of their children are adopted.

“‘The Voice’ could change everything for me,” Tilghman said on the show early on. “Right now, I only sing at church. I don’t perform or record. To be able to support my family strictly through music would be a dream.”

Introducing your winner of #TheVoice… @todd_tilghman! ✌️🎤 https://t.co/C58a6Ux2dg pic.twitter.com/i5Jflm5Jcx

— The Voice (@NBCTheVoice) May 20, 2020

His dream began to be reality Tuesday, when Tilghman was named the winner of NBC’s “The Voice” after 18 episodes of competition, from auditions to performances, much of it virtual due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The pastor had the judges from the beginning when he belted out Bob Seeger’s “We’ve Got Tonight” in his on-air audition in February.

“I’ve literally never performed. I just sing at church,” Tilghman said after he delivered a performance that had the judges on their feet and competing to be his coach.

The pastor won $100,000 and a record deal with Universal Music Group.

See his final performance below.