Todd Tilghman was declared the 2020 winner of The Voice during a special three-hour finale episode on Tuesday night (May 19).

It's been a whirlwind 2020 for everyone, to say the least, but reality talent shows have been tasked to a serious degree figuring out how to bring the warmth of live performances to viewer's homes in the midst of a global pandemic. NBC's The Voice followed in the footsteps of ABC's American Idol in handling the "from-home" format gracefully for several episodes, ultimately crowning Team Blake Shelton's Tilghman the winner of Season 18.

Tilghman, who won fan favor throughout the season as a pastor and father of eight kids, pulling ahead of competitors Micah Iverson, Toneisha Harris, Cam Wess and Thunderstorm Artis, has nothing but praise for his coach Shelton.

"It has meant the world to me in all of this. If there's anything I've taken away if this, is that I'm a good singer because Blake has made me feel that way and make me feel that I can do something with that," he said.

This marks the seventh time Shelton has won in the history of the show, putting a further stamp on his reign as most-decorated coach.

Tilghman paired up with Shelton earlier in the evening for an unexpected cover of John Mellencamp's classic "Authority Song," a somewhat amusing choice for someone walking a line as straight as Tilghman. As Shelton noted, "You're the guy next door, somebody you hope to get a chance to meet one day." However, "I thought this would be a fun song to do because there's the verse when he calls up his preacher."

Indeed, the preacher did put a growl on the duet that showed he's got a future beyond being the "nice guy." Tilghman has shown his sensitive side throughout the season, most notably bringing coach Kelly Clarkson to tears with a MercyMe cover, but he's also demonstrated a commanding grip on everything from Shenandoah to Bob Seger during his time on air and is going to undoubtedly be a multifaceted artist to watch.

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