Who is Tom Ball?
Tom Ball, a former school teacher, recently rose to fame as a finalist on America’s Got Talent: All-Stars. He initially pursued a degree in musical theatre before teaching in Sussex. Despite his success, Ball remains passionate about teaching and inspiring his students.
Tom first gained recognition after his impressive audition for Britain’s Got Talent, where he sang “Writing’s on the Wall” by Sam Smith. Judge Simon Cowell noted his friendly personality and how much the crowd loved and adored his performance. He then performed Tom Jones for the finale finishing in third place in Season 15.
America’s Got Talent: All-Stars
Tom then returned to feature on America’s Got Talent: All-Stars 2023 in which he received a Golden Buzzer from the judges for his performance of ‘The Sound of Silence’ by Simon & Garfunkel.
“You’re like Susan Boyle’s grandson,” Simon said to Tom shortly before he received a Group Golden Buzzer. “What you do is not what we expect. For me, this is the best performance I’ve seen all series.”
During the live finale, Tom performed a breathtaking rendition of Radiohead’s ‘Creep’. He truly took the classic 90s rock anthem and made it his own, embracing the song’s message – turning it into a just as powerful, almost operatic version.
On why Tom performed ‘Creep’ by Radiohead for the finale, Tom said:
“Growing up, I didn’t feel like I belonged, and a big part of that was because of my diabetes. When I was diagnosed I used to hide myself in music rooms so people wouldn’t see me inject,” So I sang ‘Creep’ as a message for me, and to anyone out there that feels like they don’t belong, but they do. And I wanna make a campaign that celebrates our differences. That’s where you come in!”
Ball then introduced his fans to his #IBelong campaign, designed to embrace our differences and uniqueness and provide an online space to cultivate a positive environment.
“Let’s build a happy, safe environment to celebrate our differences. And remember: You belong.”
Music Gateway & Tom Ball
Alongside Tom Ball’s exciting journey with AGT, Tom and his team worked with us in distributing & promoting his tracks ‘The Sound of Silence’, ‘Creep’ & ‘Falling Slowly’.
For Tom’s catalogue, our artist services team focused on increasing Tom’s reach & engagement on Spotify, and YouTube as well as across social media platforms through bespoke targeted advertising & playlisting campaigns. In collaboration with Tom’s team, we saw Tom’s tracks and videos accumulate millions of views/streams.
Tom Ball was also the first artist with us who utilised our Ignite program – a music fund designed to invest in the future of indie music. This allowed us to advance Tom with our promotional campaigns and recoup via royalty earnings, all while Tom retained 100% ownership of his rights.
Jay James, Head of Artist Management at The Fly United and who is working closely with Tom, said:
“I had a solid plan & strategy for Tom, and the highly dynamic MG team were able to provide every aspect of what I needed with speed, ambition and such positivity.
The ignite programme really did set alight our campaign, releasing additional services & financial support which enabled us to reach & access everything we needed in one place. The results speak for themselves. I’ve been around the Industry a long time and am genuinely so impressed with both the MG team & the programme. The ‘Ignite’ scheme is a game changer for so many talented, up & coming music makers”.
Westway Music & Debut Album
Following Tom’s exciting journey with AGT & Music Gateway, Tom announced that he signed a record deal with Westway Music and his debut album is on its way now available for pre-order. His single, ‘I (Who Have Nothing)’ – a hit for Shirley Bassey in 1963, and Tom Jones in 1970 – will be released on 16 June ahead of his debut album Curtain Call in November on the UK independent label, Westway Music.
We couldn’t be happier for Tom & his team and are very grateful to have played our part in his journey. Pre-Order his Debut Album below:
https://officialtomball.com/subscribe
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