Canadian Idol: Theo Tams speaks about his win
"Feet on ground,
Heart in hand,
Facing forward,
Be yourself."
— Good Mother by Jann Arden
There are no words to really describe Theo Tams. He is everything that Canadian Idol viewers saw on screen all summer.
Talking with Tams about an hour after he was crowned the Canadian Idol, he is articulate, touching, funny and himself. He comes across as genuine, and perhaps as a truly deserving winner — no one in the history of the show has shown as much emotion as Tams did when Ben Mulroney called his name as the winner. As he reflected on his win, he admitted he too was at a loss for words.
"With each passing moment, I have been trying to find words. I just can't. I am just so overwhelmed and I just feel truly blessed to finally be able to fall asleep at night saying I have something that I've always wanted. I think that everyone has [a time] in their life where they really wonder: is this what I'm supposed to be doing? Is this where I'm supposed to be? And tonight for me is one of the first times that I've been able to be like, this is exactly what I am meant to do. So for Canadians to realize that and to vote for me and to help me help that dream be realized," he begins.
The 22-year-old admitted that he confessed to his parents the night before the finale that he was nervous. His parents asked him why, pointing out that the final performances were done. There was nothing he could do at this point. Tams admitted he was nervous because he didn't want to come in second place.
"Not that it would be bad because opportunities would come my way, but when I started the whole process I was just like, I want to win this thing. I just had such a passion to win," he explained.
But then, Tams suddenly had a turning point, at perhaps the oddest moment. Just before Mulroney announced his name, but after he teased the crowd with "and the next Canadian Idol is," Tams realized something.
"In that moment, it was a complete turnaround and I was like, you should be proud of yourself regardless. If he says Mitch's name, then Canada made the right choice. And it was just — I had finally come to terms with the fact that I could be runner up. That was just the most peaceful moment that I've ever had on the show. It was just like, it's okay, either way.
"Then when he said my name and I think that's why, you know, tears just started coming. And I think that's why, because I'm just so ecstatic that it ended up being me."
Tams admitted his life is about to change in ways he cannot even begin to imagine right now, but he said he will be able to go home before it all happens.
"I get to go home on Friday," he giggles. "I'm so excited."
"I come from a quiet, quiet, quiet small town and they are just in an uproar right now, I'm sure. I'm just so proud to be from there and I'm just excited to hang out with my friends, to watch movies with my dog, I'm just excited to go back to my old normal. Obviously, I'm going to have to create a new normal now, but to go back to the old normal is going to be a really, really nice break.
"At the same time, I'm so excited about this new beginning: to just get into the studio, be creative and really just step up and assume the role of the Canadian Idol, to maybe prove people wrong who have misconceptions about the show, about the winners. To me it's really important to just say we are all musicians and we can be artistic, and we do have things to say and hopefully my album will do this."
In Tams' audition tape played during the finale, he admitted to the judges it was his first time auditioning for Canadian Idol. When the judges asked why he hadn't auditioned before, he said he wanted to make sure he was completely ready for the competition. So was there any part of that Theo Tams, back in February, who had any idea that he would be crowned the season six Canadian Idol?
"No," Tams said immediately.
He said he forced himself to take it week by week, performance by performance. He never allowed himself to look too far ahead because "then there's just this whole added element of pressure." He said his goal was to act like every performance he gave would be his last one on the Idol stage. He did this every week, except for one.
"There were a couple moments where I let the pressure get to me and it showed. And I was in the bottom three that week," Tams gives a little laugh about it now, but you can tell that there is much more bubbling under the surface.
Tams said winning Idol for him was not about the record contract, or the exposure, or the fame. The show actually taught him more about himself — and about being himself — than he ever imagined.
"This experience has just changed my life — not only as a musician and a performer, but as a person. I just really learned to have the courage to be myself. And, for me, that's so much more than winning, so much more than putting out a record. And I'm just so thankful that I'm able to end this experience being the Canadian Idol.
"The whole entire time, I was quoting that Jann Arden song, you know, I was facing forward and I was being myself. And that's what it's about. And I just hope that my album reflects that and that my album can help other people realize they can do that as well. Because that's what music is about."
source: http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/theampersand/archive/2008/09/12/canadian-idol-theo-tams-speaks-about-his-win.aspx
Heart in hand,
Facing forward,
Be yourself."
— Good Mother by Jann Arden
There are no words to really describe Theo Tams. He is everything that Canadian Idol viewers saw on screen all summer.
Talking with Tams about an hour after he was crowned the Canadian Idol, he is articulate, touching, funny and himself. He comes across as genuine, and perhaps as a truly deserving winner — no one in the history of the show has shown as much emotion as Tams did when Ben Mulroney called his name as the winner. As he reflected on his win, he admitted he too was at a loss for words.
"With each passing moment, I have been trying to find words. I just can't. I am just so overwhelmed and I just feel truly blessed to finally be able to fall asleep at night saying I have something that I've always wanted. I think that everyone has [a time] in their life where they really wonder: is this what I'm supposed to be doing? Is this where I'm supposed to be? And tonight for me is one of the first times that I've been able to be like, this is exactly what I am meant to do. So for Canadians to realize that and to vote for me and to help me help that dream be realized," he begins.
The 22-year-old admitted that he confessed to his parents the night before the finale that he was nervous. His parents asked him why, pointing out that the final performances were done. There was nothing he could do at this point. Tams admitted he was nervous because he didn't want to come in second place.
"Not that it would be bad because opportunities would come my way, but when I started the whole process I was just like, I want to win this thing. I just had such a passion to win," he explained.
But then, Tams suddenly had a turning point, at perhaps the oddest moment. Just before Mulroney announced his name, but after he teased the crowd with "and the next Canadian Idol is," Tams realized something.
"In that moment, it was a complete turnaround and I was like, you should be proud of yourself regardless. If he says Mitch's name, then Canada made the right choice. And it was just — I had finally come to terms with the fact that I could be runner up. That was just the most peaceful moment that I've ever had on the show. It was just like, it's okay, either way.
"Then when he said my name and I think that's why, you know, tears just started coming. And I think that's why, because I'm just so ecstatic that it ended up being me."
Tams admitted his life is about to change in ways he cannot even begin to imagine right now, but he said he will be able to go home before it all happens.
"I get to go home on Friday," he giggles. "I'm so excited."
"I come from a quiet, quiet, quiet small town and they are just in an uproar right now, I'm sure. I'm just so proud to be from there and I'm just excited to hang out with my friends, to watch movies with my dog, I'm just excited to go back to my old normal. Obviously, I'm going to have to create a new normal now, but to go back to the old normal is going to be a really, really nice break.
"At the same time, I'm so excited about this new beginning: to just get into the studio, be creative and really just step up and assume the role of the Canadian Idol, to maybe prove people wrong who have misconceptions about the show, about the winners. To me it's really important to just say we are all musicians and we can be artistic, and we do have things to say and hopefully my album will do this."
In Tams' audition tape played during the finale, he admitted to the judges it was his first time auditioning for Canadian Idol. When the judges asked why he hadn't auditioned before, he said he wanted to make sure he was completely ready for the competition. So was there any part of that Theo Tams, back in February, who had any idea that he would be crowned the season six Canadian Idol?
"No," Tams said immediately.
He said he forced himself to take it week by week, performance by performance. He never allowed himself to look too far ahead because "then there's just this whole added element of pressure." He said his goal was to act like every performance he gave would be his last one on the Idol stage. He did this every week, except for one.
"There were a couple moments where I let the pressure get to me and it showed. And I was in the bottom three that week," Tams gives a little laugh about it now, but you can tell that there is much more bubbling under the surface.
Tams said winning Idol for him was not about the record contract, or the exposure, or the fame. The show actually taught him more about himself — and about being himself — than he ever imagined.
"This experience has just changed my life — not only as a musician and a performer, but as a person. I just really learned to have the courage to be myself. And, for me, that's so much more than winning, so much more than putting out a record. And I'm just so thankful that I'm able to end this experience being the Canadian Idol.
"The whole entire time, I was quoting that Jann Arden song, you know, I was facing forward and I was being myself. And that's what it's about. And I just hope that my album reflects that and that my album can help other people realize they can do that as well. Because that's what music is about."
source: http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/theampersand/archive/2008/09/12/canadian-idol-theo-tams-speaks-about-his-win.aspx
Comments
Post a Comment