Tams grew up in Coaldale, Alberta, and he attended Immanuel Christian High School in Lethbridge.

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.

His performances included "Apologize" by OneRepublic, "Collide" by Howie Day,[2] Bob Marley's "No Woman, No Cry",[3] and Jann Arden's "Good Mother".

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.

Tams released the single "Christmas Dream", a song he cowrote with Luke McMaster, Simon Wilcox and Greg Johnston.

The B-side of the single is a cover of "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)", and all proceeds are being donated to the charity Free the Children.

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

On 17 March 2009, his first single from his album was released, "Lazy Lovers", written by Tams, Hawksley Workman, and Greg Johnston.

Writing collaborators on the album include Simon Wilcox, Hawksley Workman, Sarah Slean, and Damhnait Doyle.

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" Theo is also a fan of Ellen DeGeneres, and wants to be on her show.