I still think he’s a 2016 version of Buddy Holly. Ignore the sappy backstory garbage. He’s a singer, not a reality show contestant.
The sappy backstory will probably get him marriage proposals, indecent proposals, and probably a few proposals that would make a man twice his age blush. Fame is an aphrodisiac, apparently, and Tommy is getting very famous.
Can he win? I doubt it, but he’s a white guy with a guitar, a chip and a chair.
Tommy’s showcase performance:
Strangely, there aren’t any good videos for Tommy; he did a serious of videos that are all 16 seconds long if you are really into him. You can find them through the link to his showcase video.
Semifinal performance: “Creep” – Radiohead
My only reservation comes from liking the original version of the song so much that Tommy’s version was a little jarring. The judges hammer singers for not sounding emotional enough all the time, but what it actually means is that they want to hear a more emotional delivery, not that they need to actually feel the emotions. Tommy doesn’t ever have to worry about it because his natural delivery is emotional. Tommy has to be careful on his high notes – he was on the edge (or over the edge, depending on your tolerance for edges) of screeching there for a few notes.
Tommy with Nick Fradiani “Man in the Mirror” – Michael Jackson
Tommy has a better voice than Nick – hell, Emily has a better voice than Lauren too, these kids all have strong voices – and I think he sang the song fine. Was it earth shaking? Of course not; they might as well have been singing karaoke with the lyrics on the screen in front of them. The arrangement was exactly the same as Michael’s and Nick didn’t give him much to play off.
