Theo Tams

Theo Tyson Tams (born 12 July 1985) is a Canadian singer and the winner of the sixth season of the CTV reality show Canadian Idol. His debut album, Give It All Away, was released on 19 May 2009 by Sony Music Canada.

Early life Tams grew up in Coaldale, Alberta, and he attended Immanuel Christian High School in Lethbridge. Tams played trumpet in high school, and is self-taught on piano. Before Idol, he was a student at the University of Lethbridge, studying classical music and psychology. He is taking a leave from his studies to pursue a music career.

Tams released the EP Unexpected in 2005.

Canadian Idol At his audition for Canadian Idol in February 2008, Tams drew laughs from the judges as he demonstrated evidence of his anxiety-related perspiration, having soaked through his shirt.

Tams most often performed while playing piano. His performances included "Apologize" by OneRepublic, "Collide" by Howie Day, Bob Marley's "No Woman, No Cry", and Jann Arden's "Good Mother". Idol judge Zack Werner described Tams' performance of Bryan Adams' "Heaven" as "one of the top two or three performances in the history of the show." which was the winner's single chosen for him. The runner-up, Nova Scotia carpenter Mitch MacDonald, performed a different song as his own potential winner's single, the first time this has been done on Canadian Idol.

Although the Idol winner's first album usually is released about two months after the show's finale, Tams had much longer to prepare his. Tams said he appreciated the longer time, and hoped to have some songs he wrote himself included on the album. It peaked at No. 69 on the Canadian Hot 100.

Tams also performed with Eva Avila and David Archuleta for Toronto's CHUM FM's annual Christmas Wish Breakfast.

Give It All Away (2009–2010) On 17 March 2009, his first single from his album was released, "Lazy Lovers", written by Tams, Hawksley Workman, and Greg Johnston.

His debut album, Give It All Away, was released on 19 May 2009. It features seven songs he co-wrote, which is more than any previous "Idol". Writing collaborators on the album include Simon Wilcox, Hawksley Workman, Sarah Slean, and Damhnait Doyle. A cross-Canada tour is planned for September.

Tams released a charity Christmas single alongside Ali Slaight called "Do You Hear What I Hear." This song went to No. 1 on the Canadian AC Chart.

Tams's next single is "Manhattan Blue." The music video for the song was released 28 May 2010. The video features So You Think You Can Dance Canada second season winner Tara-Jean Popowich and Vincent Desjardins. The video premiered on ET Canada on 17 June 2010.

In April 2010, Tams sought out a new management and business team to handle his career, as he moved forward with future albums.

Tams headlined a 15 date cross-Canada tour with special guests StereoGoesStellar, which started 7 August 2010 and met with much critical acclaim as he toured smaller more intimate venues playing in an up close and personal presentation of his songs solo on piano.

Second studio album (2011–present) Tams explains that his second album, which will be released in 2011 will be a real "artist" album in so far as it will showcase just exactly who he is and what he stands for as a singer-songwriter. It will dig deeper emotionally than his debut album and represent almost a "song diary" that comes from a mixture of his life experiences since "Give It All Away" and from other parts of his life before his Idol experience. One of his new songs focuses on his experience in Afghanistan. Theo has already begun the intense writing process with one of his heroes, who will also be producing the record. It is expected that the project will be formally announced towards the end of January 2011 and the production team named.

On 28 September, Tams released his third EP, Call The Doctor, through Hidden Pony Records. The release was noted by several critics as a significant artistic development, with reviewers highlighting its exploration of personal themes such as relationship dynamics, the experience of coming out to a Christian family, and the emotional aftermath of a past relationship.

In 2024 Tams organized The Rainbow Collective, a group of Canadian LGBTQ musicians who recorded the charity single "This Little Light" to benefit The 519. Participating musicians included Amanda Rheaume, BAYLA, Billy Newton-Davis, Bryn, Chrisy Hurn, Erica Fox, Iskwē, Jeffery Straker, Kayla Diamond, memyself&vi, Micah Barnes, Priyanka, Ralph, Raymond Salgado, Ryland James, Sebastian Gaskin, Steven Taetz, T. Thomason, Tafari Anthony, Your Hunni and Zenon. This made him the first openly gay performer to win an Idol series in North America. He subsequently endorsed Adam Lambert in the 2009 edition of American Idol, and included two gay couples, one male and one female, in the video for his single "Lazy Lovers."

On 28 June 2010, Tams took a trip to Afghanistan to perform for the Canadian troops on Canada Day. This was an opportunity for him to visit Canadian and allied troops not only on the base in Kandahar but he travelled by Blackhawk outside of the wire to meet with and hear the stories of the front-line troops. On 14 July, he told Canada AM that it was "the most surreal experiences I've ever had."

Discography Studio albums Year Album Peak CAN 2009 Give It All Away Released: May 19, 2009 Label: Sony Music Canada Format: CD, digital download 29 2014 Back Pocket Released: September 16, 2014 Label: Slaight Music — 2018 Call The Doctor Released: September 28, 2018 Label: Hidden Pony Records — "—" denotes the album didn't chart.

Extended plays Year Album 2005 Unexpected Released: 2005 Label: Independent Format: EP, self released 2008 Christmas Dream Released: November 25, 2008 Label: Sony Music Canada

Singles Year Single Peakpositions Album CAN CANAC2008 "Sing" 12 — Give It All Away "Christmas Dream" 69 —Christmas Dream "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)" — 432009 "Lazy Lovers" 88 8Give It All Away "Wait for You" — 14 "Do You Hear What I Hear?" (Feat. Ali Slaight) 63 1 Charity single 2010 "Manhattan Blue" — — Give It All Away 2011 "Mayday" (Feat. Ali Slaight) — — 2012 "Where Are You Christmas" (Feat. Ali Slaight) — — "—" denotes releases that did not chart

Music videos Year Single Album 2009 "Lazy Lovers" Give It All Away "Wait For You" 2010 "Manhattan Blue"

Awards and nominations Year Presenter Award Result 2009 Gemini Awards Best Performance or Host in a Variety Program or Series (Canadian Idol Top 6 Show – "Sweet Ones" performance) 2010 Canadian Radio Music Awards Mainstream AC Artist

Tours 2008: Canadian Idols LIVE! Tour 2008 2009: Give It All Away Tour 2010: Taking It All Back Tour : 2010 w/sg StereoGoesStellar