Worship leader and pastor Todd Tilghman recently auditioned on the singing reality show The Voice, and his performance of the classic rock song “We’ve Got Tonight” instantly got the attention of all four judges—Kelly Clarkson, Nick Jonas, John Legend and Blake Shelton.
And, even though this song wasn’t overtly spiritual, Todd’s presence soon got the entire panel talking about church.
“I just saw the joy and the spirit that you have,” Legend said before Tilghman revealed he was a pastor. “You’re a pastor! My grandfather was our pastor. My mother was the choir director. I was at church on Sunday morning, Sunday night, Wednesday night, sometimes Friday night.”
Nick Jonas told Tilghman, “I’m a PK—I’m actually a pastor’s kid. My most fond memories were with my dad at the piano singing praise and worship songs.” Jonas went on to reference CCM trio Phillips Craig and Dean, which drew the excitement of Kelly Clarkson.
“I love that you pulled out Phillips Craig and Dean!” she said. “I grew up singing in church too.”
Shelton noted that Tilghman had a “great hop” when he sings, and Tilghman says it’s because he goes to a Pentecostal church, to which Shelton said, “That’s a holy hop!”
As for Tilghman’s future on The Voice, he’ll be coached by Shelton in the coming weeks.
You can see the full clip below:
