Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Todd Tilghman performs during the knockout round on The Voice Season 18. (NBC Photo)

Todd Tilghman kicked off the 18th Season of The Voice with a four-chair-turn blind audition and now he’s bound for the voting round.

The pastor from Meridian, Mississippi, 41 when he auditioned, was named the winner of a knockout round match with Cam Spinks.

Todd performed Travis Tritt’s “Anymore,” dedicating the performance to his wife. Cam countered with Lee Brice’s “Rumor.”

Blake opted to advance Todd, complimented his attitude and positive energy as well as his vocal.

Here’s what Todd told Voice Views about his knockout round experience.

Voice Views: Can you elaborate a bit on that knockout round sound choice? Why you decided to go with “Anymore?”

Todd: Between the blind auditions and the battles/knockouts, my wife and I were driving and listening to ’90s country. “Anymore” came on, and we did that thing where you look at each other at the same time, and say, “Oh man! I LOVE THIS SONG!” and then turn up the radio. When the song ended, she said something like “When you get the chance to choose your own song, you should do that for me.” The rest, as they say, is history.

Voice Views: What’s your performance history with that song? Is it one you’ve performed live often?

Todd: I have actually only sang that song in the car or around the house (1000+ times), and covered one minute of it on Instagram once. That’s pretty much it. Of course, that’s basically the rundown of my performance of nearly any song. Hahaha.

Voice Views: How did you feel about your chances of advancing once the performances were completed?

Todd: That’s an interesting question because there are so many factors at play. First, I felt really good about the song, and I felt like I did okay performing it. But Cam is an unbelievably gifted artist. His skills alone had me questioning my chances … just because he’s so good at what he does. It also didn’t help my thought process very much that we are two members of Team Blake Shelton (of all people) and Cam is the only pure country artist. So, in a nutshell, I felt like my chances were fair, but certainly not guaranteed.

Voice Views: Anything else you’d like to add about the knockout round experience?

Todd: Of course. I’d like to add a couple things: First, I just want to congratulate all the artists who made it through blinds and battles, and took the stage for a knockout performance. That’s no easy feat. Second, I would love to go on record and congratulate Cam Spinks. We’re not only Team Blake members or knockout partners. Cam and I are friends, and I know I join thousands of other people in saying how proud I am of that guy. He has a unique gift, and he’s just an amazing person all-around.

Voice Views: Singers are now through three rounds of the show. Can you pinpoint / explain the biggest improvement you think you’ve made to this point as a result of the show?

Todd: For me, I think the biggest improvement has been intangible. Something is happening on the inside of me that’s boosting my confidence, and giving me a curiosity about new horizons musically, and making me feel like my voice is one people might want to actually listen to. I don’t know that I’d feel that way without this experience.

Voice Views: And, finally, during this lockdown period, what have you been doing to stay musically sharp and make sure you’re ready when competition resumes?

Todd: I’ve used this time to work on parts of my voice that I hadn’t previously utilized a lot. I’m kind of a loud, belting singer. Now I’m trying to fine tune some of the more delicate places in my singing. Every little bit helps!

See also …
Meet Todd Tilghman
Todd talks about his blind audition
Todd talks about his battle round match