At the age of 42, Todd Tilghman became the oldest person to win The Voice when he was crowned the Season 18 champion on Tuesday night (May 19).
The pastor and father of eight turned all four coaches’ chairs during his blind audition, during which he sang “We’ve Got Tonight.” He picked Blake Shelton as his coach, and Blake went on to pick him as the winner of his battle and knockout.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0hDuvlrJ2I8
The Voice then moved in to the live shows, which were held remotely this year due to the current world environment. For multiple weeks, Tilghman delivered his performances from home, and didn’t have any in-person rehearsals with his coach.
Despite the challenges he faced with the new remote format, Tilghman managed to pull through all the way to the finale. He sang two songs: an original titled “Long Way Home” and a cover of MercyMe’s “I Can Only Imagine.”
Both performances were praised as some of the best of the season. Votes came pouring in for Tilghman, who competed against Toneisha Harris, Thunderstorm Artis, Micah Iverson, and CammWess to claim the winning title.
Shelton let out an excited cheer as soon as Tilghman was named as the winner. He was joined by his family and Gwen Stefani, who threw confetti to celebrate Tilghman’s win.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-i8UJ_724uc
After the show went off the air, Shelton took to Twitter to celebrate Tilghman and all he had accomplished.
“YES!!! That’s what I’m talking about!!!!!! CONGRATS @todd_tilghman!!! Season 18 @NBCTheVoice WINNER! You deserve this – so proud of you! Let’s go!!!!!!!” Shelton wrote.
YES!!! That’s what I’m talking about!!!!!! CONGRATS @todd_tilghman!!! Season 18 @NBCTheVoice WINNER! You deserve this – so proud of you! Let’s go!!!!!!!
— Blake Shelton (@blakeshelton) May 20, 2020
Tilghman led Shelton to his first Voice win since Chloe Kohanski won Season 13 in 2017. He is now the seventh Team Blake contestant to ever win the show.
Shelton holds on to the record for the most-ever wins as a Voice coach.
Congratulations to Tilghman and Shelton! We can’t wait to see what they’re able to accomplish together in the future.
Tune in below to watch Tilghman sing a virtual duet with his coach just moments before they found out he was the winner of The Voice. They work so well together!