A piano player and vocalist, in 2007 he began performing and recording, and in 2010 his track "We Fight Back" became the theme song for Susan G. Komen for the Cure.

He was a Top 24 American Idol contestant for season 10, and afterwards released his 2011 debut album, Rise and Fall, which peaked at no.

[3] According to Allmusic, Halperin's style is "a soulful blend of modern and classic pop, which has been favorably compared to everyone from Jason Mraz and The Fray to Ben Folds and Coldplay.

[5] He has stated he didn't write his first serious song until his second year,[6] and has cited Coldplay, The Fray, OneRepublic, Ben Folds, and Elton John as early musical influences.

[7] While studying business[5] he continued to pursue songwriting, performing at a school talent show his second year.

[7] For the middle of 2008 he was an intern in human resources at the First National Bank of Omaha, while from May 2009 to January 2011 he was a Wyndham Account Rep at Range Online Media in Fort Worth.

[9] It was tweeted by Jimmy Kimmel, covered by New York magazine, and featured in August episode of The Real World[7] and MTVU.

[9] Also in summer 2010, Tim volunteered to write a song for a TCU mentor and breast cancer survivor involved with Susan G. Komen for the Cure.

"We Fight Back" became the Komen theme song, frequently featuring in their promotional material, including in commercials associated with Belk, Inc. and General Mills.

[9] While attending school and working on his debut album in the fall of 2010, Halperin was encouraged by a friend to audition for season 10 of American Idol.

[8] Hours after his elimination in March 2011[8] he offered "The Last Song" as a free download, though the track was already in rotation on various radio stations in Omaha.

[12] In response to Halperin's elimination, radio personality Kidd Kraddick on 106.1 KISSFM in Dallas,[12] started an "Idol Got It Wrong" campaign.

[17] He had started work on the album over a year earlier, only to put the release date on hold to fulfill his Idol contract.

[20] In November 2012 he released the EP Under that Christmas Spell,[21] which includes five arrangements of classic songs[22] and the eponymous single written by Halperin.

In his rendition of 'Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,' Halperin's sincerity bleeds through as his voice dances over minimalist guitar lines and dainty xylophone.