Theo Tams Crowned Canadian Idol

09/11/08 11:53am

by Michelle Singerman (CHARTattack)

Well folks, this is it, the moment we've been waiting for all summer. This year's Canadian Idol is Theo Tams.

The 23-year-old music student from Lethbridge, Alta., who watched the past five seasons of the show on television, took the competition by storm. He clearly was one of the strongest competitors right from the start — armpit stains and all.

Wednesday night's show was hyped as spectacular, and host Ben Mulroney couldn't stop reminding us for weeks of who would take the stage. American imports Mariah Carey and John Legend were the finale's headliners, while homegrown acts Hedley, Jully Black and last year's Idol, Brian Melo, performed at various points throughout the evening.

This year's top 10 were the first performers of the night, singing Bryan Adams' "Can't Stop This Thing We Started" as a group, with each doing short solos.

Here's a rundown of what the two non-finalists did:

Hamilton's Adam Castelli, the first of the top 10 to go, sang Bo Diddley's "Who Do You Love?" It was OK, but made me long for the original.

Cute Sebastian Piggot sang Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Down On The Corner" and had a great time doing it.

Amberly Thiessen chose Linda Ronstadt's "When Will I Be Loved." I think she, like many others, performs better when the pressure's off.

Future Broadway star Mark Day fittingly chose Phil Collins' "You'll Be In My Heart." I still can't believe he made it as far as he did.

Earl Stevenson was back singing, wearing shades, holding a skateboard and grooving Dave Matthews-style.

Katherine St-Laurent sang Madonna's "Crazy For You." The judges would have said it was a good song choice.

Mookie Morris worked the crowd with James Brown's "Papa's Got A Brand New Bag" as he spent his entire performance in the theatre's aisles schmoozing with the audience.

Drew Wright ended the first segment with Lenny Kravitz's "Are You Gonna Go My Way." He was OK, but chose to do a vocal solo instead of guitar at one point. I think it would have worked better the other way around.

After one more video montage meant to elicit emotion and fill television time, Hedley performed "Old School" on a stage that frontman Jacob Hoggard knows all too well.

After a video clip of MacDonald's uncle offering moral support, we were treated to yet another montage. This one showed Black's time covering Canadian Idol. The last part showed her getting hit in the head by overhead equipment. I'm told I'm evil because I laugh when people fall or trip, so this mishap made the two minutes worth it for me. Black then took the stage and performed "Queen" for the eager crowd.

Next, we took a trip to Tams' hometown to hear positive encouragement from his fifth grade music teacher. After another montage, R&B singer Legend performed "Green Light" with his gelled hair glistening under the bright stage lights.

Carey was next. I thought it was pretty impressive to have her on the finale, and she did a standard job with her renditions of "I'll Be Lovin' U Long Time" and "We Belong Together."

It turns out that Idol isn't all cheese. Earlier in the year, judge Farley Flex and Mulroney travelled to Malawi in southern Africa with UNICEF, and a video summary showed what Idol is doing to aid the impoverished country's journey to establish a stronger infrastructure.

When the video ended, the top 10 returned again to perform a meaningful song in a "We Are The World" sort of way.

Reigning Idol Brian Melo performed "Back To Me" before handing over his crown.

All eyes eventually turned to the two finalists. Each contestant performed a final song, with MacDonald doing Joel Plaskett's "Love This Town" and Tams singing Serena Ryder's "Weak In The Knees." They then duetted on Blue Rodeo's "Hasn't Hit Me Yet."

After three months and Mulroney painfully drawing out each show, Tams was named the winner. His reaction was classic. He was truly stunned. Even as he sat at the piano, ready to perform his first single, "Sing," he hadn't yet shaken the shock.

"First of all, I just want to say thanks to Mitch," said Tams, before breaking into tears. "He's a great guy, he's become a great friend and I'm going to be first in line to buy his record. Thanks so much."

Normally, I think crying over these things is silly, but Tams' tears were endearing, even if only for a bit.

Tams immediately signed a recording contract with Sony BMG Music Canada, which may bring tears to people who will have to put up with the marketing of his debut album.

After three months, 33 million votes, and too many nights spent with a Mulroney family member, we can now at last put Canadian Idol to rest for another year.