#10 on the UK TOP 100 Singer/Songwriter Singles Chart
"Tom Tikka is among the best in music today."
– HEADBANGERS NEWS
"It's time we bring him into the mainstream."
– INDIE MUSIC FLIX
"I don’t normally use the word genius for many musicians, however the cap fits with Tom Tikka."
– TUNEDLOUD
"Power-pop exponent who should be way more better known than he currently is."
– BALLROOM BLITZ'S MAN AT THE BACK
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"Tikka has been at this a long time so I rue not discovering him sooner..."
– THE HOLLYWOOD DIGEST
"He is working at a higher level than many of his contemporaries."
–CAMDEN MONTHLY
"He's got charisma that I can't get enough of, and if you check out his new record, you're going to see exactly what I'm talking about."
– VENTS MAGAZINE
Tom Tikka picked up the guitar at the tender age of six after hearing Paul Anka’s “Lonely Boy” in his father’s old Chevrolet. Soon afterwards, he began writing songs. Tom’s infatuation with music only deepened after his uncle Timo "Oippa" Oinonen introduced him to the concept of lead guitar and even more importantly to the music of such legendary groups as The Beatles and The Doors.
Tikka formed almost as many groups as he disbanded in his late teens and early twenties. Yet, when he finally signed his first recording contract on his 21st birthday, it was a solo deal and not a band effort. He recorded a three-song EP for Olarin Musiikki, a small indie label in Espoo (Finland), under the alias of Tom Spark. Unfortunately, the EP disappeared as quickly as it was released. Consequently, Tikka found himself in square one, without a band or a record deal.
Disappointed, Tom withdrew from music for a few years but began writing songs again once his brother Lappe Holopainen suggested that they form a songwriting team. Lappe had founded a group he was convinced would go far and he needed tunes for his new outfit. This group was Carmen Gray.
Carmen Gray was signed to Sony/BMG in 2005 and during the next nine years, they went on to record three albums and one EP. The group's entire catalog (including such radio hits as “Lost In My Mind Again”, “Gates Of Loneliness” & “Life Can Be Beautiful”) was penned by Tom Tikka & Lappe Holopainen.
After Carmen Gray disbanded in 2013, Tikka formed The Impersonators with poet Antti Autio. In 2017, The Impersonators signed with FBP, a German label based out of Frankfurt and released one album Life Of Grant to considerable amount of radio attention and chart success: “Rodeo” rose to #1 on the International iTunes charts and “Scarlett Hell” to #9.
In April 2020, Tom began his solo career and has since released two critically-acclaimed albums This Is My Happy Face and Better Man (2023 Album of The Year nominee at the Josie Awards). The former included two #1 hit singles, "Doormat" & "With Eyes Closed", while the latter featured the #2-hit "Done With Blues" and "By 2022" that reached #14 on the charts. Tikka's latest singles "Something New" & "Fire and Ice" were both UK Top 10 hits (peaking at #4 and #10 respectively) while his recent collaboration with the British group WILLJACK gave Tom his first transatlantic hit! Their song "Overnight Sensation" reached #3 on the Canadian Rock Chart and #51 in the UK Rock Chart.
Tikka has been featured on Huffington's Thrive Global, Authority Magazine, Melody Maker Magazine, Ballroom Blitz, The Hollywood Digest, VENTS Magazine and many others, while his music videos have won at film festivals around the world. Tikka is also a two-time ISSA Award winner as well as a Josie Music Awards and Hollywood Music in Media Awards nominee.
In addition to his career in music, Tikka is also an author. His debut novel titled Perfect Reflections, came out on February 15, 2023. Partly based on his father's merchant-marine diaries, this book is an adventure thriller cum detective story that is full of unexpected twists and turns. Through trackbacks and flashforwards it takes the reader through time and space to the sources of dark secrets and scars that plague the life of its protagonist, Tom Sundell.
