Happy Birthday, Theo Tams!

A very happy birthday to my favorite Canadians, Theo Tyson Tams. He was born 26 years ago in Alberta, Canada. In September of 2008, he was voted the winner of Canadian Idol by the viewers. His first single, released on the night he won, was Sing, a song he performed on the finals to rave reviews from the judges. The song went to #2 on the Canadian Billboard Singles Chart.



In May 2009, his album, Give It All Away, was released. The first single, Lazy Lovers, was my introduction to Theo, and I have been a fan since. Lazy Lovers made it to #14 on the Canadian Singles Chart, and to #8 on the Hot Adult Contemporary chart.



Later in the year, Wait For You was released. Theo made a brave move with the video, as it was shot with him performing a live acoustic version of the Pop song that was on the album. And it was shot in black and white. And it was amazing. The song made it to #14 on the Adult Contemporary chart. And it solidified my admiration of the singer.



Last year, he released Manhattan Blue. I would run a the video here, except Sony Canada has not made it available to be even seen by fans in the US, let alone embed in a post. Yes, over a year later, and they are keeping a tight rein on things. LOL When I originally reviewed the album on this blog (here), I mentioned he managed to do what few other Idol contestants have done, and put out a damn good first album! He was also the first LGBT contestant in North America to win, as certainly it has not happened in the US, nor does it seem likely in the near future.



Well, I kept talking about wanting to see Tams live, and it became obvious I need to take the bull by the horns to get that job done. So, once he had a tour in place for the summer of 2010, I made my plans to visit Toronto and finally hear him playing with my own ears. In fact, I timed it so I caught three different shows, and it was an absolute pleasure. Along with my favorite from the clips above, he also played most of the songs from the album, and some covers as well. One of my favorite was a performance of the Serena Ryder's Weak In The Knees.



So, have a Happy Birthday, dear Theo. May your day be filled with love, luck and laughter! To wish him your best, you can find him on FaceBook here, and Twitter here.

Visit Theo Tams for the Holidays

Well, it should come as no shock to anyone that my next subject is in my list of favorites. In 2008 he was named winner of Canadian Idol, and can truly say his is the only winner of that brand that I listen to. He is still the only franchise winner to be out during the run of the show, which is impressive. I didn't see the show, and only became aware of his music with his debut album, Give It All Away. I caught the video for Lazy Lovers online, and was hooked. I got my import CD, and when I talked about it on this blog, named it one of the very best Idol-related albums I had heard, world-wide. I so enjoyed his music, I drove to Toronto this past summer to see him performing live, my first ever trip to Canada. I had seen the video for Wait For You, where Tams made the gutsy choice to shoot it live, creating a new version of the song off his debut.



Well, the trip was quite worthwhile, for I not only got to meet several other Theo fans, now my friends, I also had the chance to meet Theo, and he is even more charming and sweet in person than I thought he would be! And I had the chance to hear some new music live, which certainly enhanced the trip. So, when it came time to put this series together, I had no choice but to ask him about his favorite holiday music.

"By far my favorite Christmas Album is Home For Christmas by Amy Grant," Theo remembered. "It speaks volumes about the family that I come from. My sisters would always belt out these songs at the top of our lungs while Mom and Dad would drive us around looking at Christmas lights." Well, I would be just a Grinch if I didn't help recapture those memories, right? So here is Amy Grant singing Grown Up Christmas List.



Knwoing he had written a Christmas song, I couldn't wait to hear his favorite holiday song to perform. I was a bit surprised. "Do You Hear What I Hear was always my favorite Christmas song," he answered. "I finally got a chance to record it as a duet with another emerging Canadian singer, Ali Slaight. It went to number 1 last year which was a craaazy great Christmas gift," he said, laughing. Here is the video for the song, made to raise money for the War Child charity, offering assistance to children affected in areas of conflict, and post-conflict. You can check out War Child's website here.



As I asked the others, I was eager to know about his hopes for the New Year. "To keep on keeping on," he answered. "Simple as that. To find more balance. To make more melodies, and tell more stories." I think that is what many of us would like, my friend.

Trying to dig into Theo's iPod, I asked what was his favorite song and/or music from 2010. "That's hard," he said, thoughtfully, "there has been a lot of great music this year. I would have to give the edge to Lady Antebellum. Need You Now has struck a chord with a lot of listeners, the vulnerability is exposes is very human."

With 2011 on the horizon, I wanted to know what he was looking forward to musically. "Working on the new record already, so 2011 will be writing, recording, and waiting (not patiently!)," he said excitedly. "Then it'll be a bunch more touring which I love - life on the road brings me closer to my fans and those are always very special times. I feel like I am meeting more family every day - what a wonderful part of this crazy journey." I had mentioned before he had written, with Luke McMaster, Simon Wilcox and Greg Johnston, so I thought it might be nice to hear it now. The name of the song is Christmas Dream, and it is quite lovely. This video was recorded at a radio interview Theo had, which also raised money for abused and neglected children.



Theo is currently hard at work on his follow-up album, due out in the new year. I, of course, will be eagerly awaiting that one. And, hopefully, the tour to support it, when I might be making my second trip to Canada! You can find more about Theo at his official website here. You can also find him on FaceBook here, and Twitter here. And, quite regularly, you can find him playing on my iPod!

Theo Tams - Lazy Lovers

As I was surfing the internet a year ago, I ran into a mention of a Canadian singer/songwriter and his new video. I found it on YouTube, and that was the start to my complete infatuation with the music of Theo Tams. I purchased his album, and thought it was wonderful. Then I did my research, and found out he was named the Canadian Idol in 2008, and won it as an out man. I checked out the clips from the show, and thought he really was talented. He also has some great fans who have been very sweet to me, and even have had the occasion to chat online to Theo, only to discover he is a funny, sweet, and interesting man. One I hope to see live and in person someday soon. But here is the video that started it all, Lazy Lovers form his debut effort, Give It All Away.



Theo recently released a video for Wait For You which I found intriguing. A live performance of the song captured on video, just a boy and his piano giving a heart-wrenching reading of a good song. I, for one, was truly impressed by this video.



For more about Theo, visit his official website here. Go there and check out the sneak peek of the music video for Manhattan Blue.

New Video - Theo Tams

This rather impressive young man did something out of the ordinary, which is to release a video for his current single, Wait For You from his debut Give It All Away, not with a story-heavy video of him lip syncing to the song, he instead has a video of just him and a piano, performing live, moving me greatly. Theo Tams, whose talent I already appreciated greatly, stepped it up, and made me love the song even more.



After watching this many times over, I still can't get enough. And I curse Theo under my breath, thinking I will have to go to Canada to see him performing live, which means I will have to cross the border and tell a guard I am going to see a boy singing who is more than half my age. And I might have to scream for him like I was a teenage girl at a Jonas Brothers concert. I hope the Canadians will be ready for me.

For more about Theo Tams, check out his official website here, his MySpace here, and his Twitter here. Damn, I love this video.

Happy Birthday Theo Tams

Happy 24th Birthday Theo Tams. According to his Twitter, Theo is taking the weekend off and enjoying it with friends at Niagra Falls. Here he is playing Wait For You live.



Listen to more of Theo's music on MySpace.