Theo Tams • Unexpected on iTunes

Before he was voted Canadian Idol, a young Theo Tams was a student at the University of Lethbridge, majoring in both Classical Music and Psychology. In 2005, he recorded and released Unexpected, an EP that has been out of print for some time. (I will admit I got my copy last year, via a cool Canadian connection who had Theo's permission to get it to me.) In 2008, he auditioned for Canadian Idol, after taking a break from school to pursue a career in music. In September of that year, Tams was voted the winner and began work on Give It All Away. I love the album, and have openly whined about the need to import the album, as it wasn't available in the US.



So imagine my delight when I discovered Theo's Unexpected just became available to the American audience on iTunes! The 5-song effort includes the gorgeous ballad, Broken. I love this song. When I heard him sing it live, I got a bit choked up. Cause I've been there. We all have.



The EP begins with Let Go, a song that skirts the edges of anger and disappointment, yet still delivering a soaring chorus. On One Of Them, there is no skirting the anger. There is some hurt, and a bit of vengeance. All with a sweet rock guitar. On Trying To Make You Proud, Theo combines a folk sensibility with a strong blues base to create a strong sound. And, finally there is first cut off the EP, Blacklight. This is where Theo's youth pays off so very well. He captures the pain of that first love, the first betrayal, beautifully. I can't tell you how much I loved hearing this song when I was in Toronto.



You can find it on iTunes here. For less than $5, you can have some amazing music from a brilliant and talented young Canadian. He is also the only out performer to win on the Idol franchise in North America, and from the way the voting has gone, it seems unlikely to happen anytime soon. Unexpected would be great way to acquaint yourself with Theo's music before his next release in early 2012. For more about the handsome and sweet Canadian, you can find him on FaceBook here, and Twitter here.

30 Minutes with Theo Tams

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Last Wednesday, and again this Wednesday night, Canadian singer Theo Tams performed live in Toronto at a space called The Supermarket. As the regulars here know, I am a big fan of Theo. In my humble opinion, he is clearly the most talented man to come out of the Idol franchise in North America. Obviously, fans of some of the others might disagree, but I think Theo has the voice, musicianship, and interpretive skills that are unmatched. So I am posting a video from the most recent show, and thought I would share them with my readers.

The video of Theo starts at about 02:30 and runs for 30 minutes. I've watched several times, and just love it. Theo plays Wait For You, his last single. Then he plays Broken, a song from an out-of-print EP he made in 2005, and one of my new favorite songs. Then comes a lovely version of Regina Spektor's Samson. Then there is These Clean Walls, an achingly beautiful new song written by Theo recently. That is followed by an Theo-tastic version of Lady GaGa's Bad Romance. Then comes the first single he co-wrote from his debut, Lazy Lovers. He ends with a cover of Missy Higgins' Where I Stood, a haunting version that actually brought a tear to my eye when I first heard it.

There is a commercial at the beginning, and then it goes to the concert. Once that is over, you can use the slider below the video to move to 02:30 and see Theo starting the show. Once you see Theo, you can click on the full screen button on the right below the video, sit back and enjoy.


Watch this show and more at SyncLive.com

You can order your copy of Give It All Away from Amazon here. It is an import, so it costs a more than usual, but I bought it and thought it is worth every penny. For my money, it is one of the best Idol debuts, certainly in North America, and possibly the world. Of course, your mileage might vary, but for me, Theo is the real deal. You can follow Theo on Twitter here. This morning on Twitter, Theo announced his next single will be Manhattan Blue! So, my Canadian friends, time to start making the requests to your favorite radio stations.