Todd Tilghman continues to cross things off his bucket list, including recently making his Grand Ole Opry debut. The Season 18 winner of The Voice  performed on the Opry for the first time on Saturday, September 10, introduced by his good friend, and former coach on The Voice, Blake Shelton.

“First, Blake invited me to perform for the first time at the Grand Ole Opry, and then I found out he wanted to introduce me,” Tilghman recalls to People. “I found both of those [things] out on the same day. It was crazy.”

Shelton did indeed introduce Tilghman, who was part of a lineup that included fellow The Voice alum Jake Hoot and Wendy Moten.

“Every time I do anything like this, people say I’m not going to remember anything because it’s going to be a blur,” Tilghman reflects. “But really, that doesn’t happen. I remember my blind audition, and I will always remember singing on the Opry stage.”

Not that he is likely to forget, but he did get one memento from the night, one he will have for the rest of his life.

“Because it was my debut, they had a parking sign with my name on it,” Tilghman shares. “Then, at the end of the night, they gave [the sign] to me. I couldn’t believe it was a legitimate metal sign. I thought it was just cardboard or something!”

Tilghman became the oldest winner ever on The Voice when he won in 2020, at the age of 42. The former pastor hopes his life and his story can now serve as an inspiration for others who still have dreams they long to fulfill.

“I hope that if my life and our family can do anything for other people, it can help them believe in miracles,” Tilghman says. “I was a nobody from nowhere. And now I get to stand at the artist entrance of the Grand Ole Opry. It’s just wild.”

Tilghman just the autobiographical “Home Wasn’t Built in a Day.” The song, which Tilghman wrote with Lance Carpenter and Kelli Johnson, is very much true to Tilghman’s own life, down to even the smallest details.

“I don’t think we intended for it to be my story, but it turned out to be just that at the end of the day,” remarks Tilghman with a laugh. “Every word of that song is true. We really did live in a one-bedroom apartment over [Brooke’s] grandma’s garage.”

Tilghman has been performing all over the country, and releasing song after song since his time on The Voice, but that doesn’t mean his path to success in country music has been easy.

“We’re out here, and I’m not complaining,” Tilghman reflects. “I’m excited, but we’re just sort of out here on our own. It’s just me and the team. We don’t have a label or anything. We’re just here fighting it out.”

Find “Home Wasn’t Built in a Day” and all of Tilghman’s music, by visiting his website.

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