‘The Goodness of God’: Mississippi Pastor Advances to the Finale of NBC’s The Voice
A Mississippi pastor advanced to the finals of NBC’s The Voice during Tuesday night’s results show and expressed surprise in a late-night video he had made it that far.
“I cannot believe this,” Todd Tilghman, the lead pastor of Cornerstone Church in Meridian, Miss., said in a Facebook Live video on his Facebook page. “… I’m grateful for every minute of it.”
Tilghman will sing in next Monday’s finals, which includes five performers. The winner will be revealed in next Tuesday’s show. He joked he’s “four or five episodes past” his goal.
Tilghman sang the 1991 country song Love, Me by Collin Raye during Monday’s performance, with his eight children sitting around him, watching. His performance impressed Kelly Clarkson, one of the show’s four coaches.
“If I could sound like a man singing, I would want your voice,” she said.
Tilghman told his Facebook Live audience he couldn’t have advanced to the finals by himself. The show relies on the votes of the audience.
“I just sing – and that’s it. The rest is all you. … and the goodness of God,” he said. “… I am so, so thankful that God has seen fit for this to go the way that it has.”
Tilghman is a member of Team Blake, which means he works with and is coached by country singer Blake Shelton.
“I think America’s connecting with Todd because he’s just the happiest person on the planet,” Shelton said in Monday’s episode. “He’s got more energy than he knows what to do with, and more talent than anybody should have.”
Tilghman said next week’s song gives him “the opportunity to return to my roots.” He is not allowed to disclose the song title.
“I’m excited about that,” he said. “… Next week is gonna be exciting.”
Although The Voice normally takes place in front of a live audience, the pandemic has forced the singers to perform at remote locations.
Tilghman’s church has also gone virtual. On Sunday, he preached out of Ecclesiastes 4.
Related:
Mississippi Pastor Advances to Final 9 of ‘The Voice’: ‘I Am So Very Grateful’
Photo courtesy: Bogomil Mihaylov/Unsplash
Michael Foust has covered the intersection of faith and news for 20 years. His stories have appeared in Baptist Press, Christianity Today, The Christian Post, The Leaf-Chronicle, the Toronto Star and the Knoxville News-Sentinel.
