Tim Ayo, born Ayodele Timothy Oluwatosin in the western part of Nigeria, is a magnetic character.
Just talking with him you get a sense that there is more than what appears on the surface.
Ayo moved to the Sault in 2023 to study at Sault College in the Healthcare Leadership program.
Ayo is a pharmacist in his own country.
“I went to Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Kumasi Ghana to study Doctor of Pharmacy for six years,” he says.
“All the smart people in my high school class wanted to become doctors because being in the medical field was the highest pay kind of job you could get at the time. I was smart, so I went into that field of study.”
But medicine wasn’t his original passion.
“I’m from musical home,” he says.
“My dad used to sing. He recorded four gospel music albums before he passed. My brother and I used to follow my dad into the recording studio since I was 6-years-old. We also got to be featured on some of his tracks.”
So singing was something Ayo did in his youth.
“In my first grade of junior high school, the seniors used to call me into their class so I could sing for them,” he laughs.
“I have also been part of the choir in church all my life and everybody just kept complimenting my voice so I knew that was something special I could do.”
So why didn’t Ayo get into music professionally?
“I just couldn’t tell my parents I wanted to study music in school because they wouldn’t let me,” he laughs.
“They always say that music is something you should rather do on the side, like a hustle, and not necessarily what you go to school to study cause there’s only a 50/50 chance of making money from it.”
In addition to singing, Ayo plays guitar, a ‘little piano’ and drums.
“I dance for fun sometimes too,” he laughs.
Then Ayo and his brother found out The Voice Nigeria, the popular Nigerian franchise of the TV series The Voice, was having an open audition.
Like the US version of the show, The Voice Nigeria is a singing competition that features undiscovered music performers and has produced many artists who are now celebrated in the country and Africa at large.
“My brother told me about the Season 3 auditions and we both applied,” he says.
“We both eventually got selected and got on the show. How nice is that?”
Ayo says that getting on The Voice Nigeria was one of the “happiest moments” of his life.
“I was super excited especially because I got in with my brother Nuel. Just before we auditioned, we saw some of our friends, who could also sing well, go into audition but got no chair turn,” he says.
For those who haven’t watched The Voice, the “chair turn” is the judges’ approval of a performance and advances a performer to the next stage of the competition.
“I cried just before my performance because my very good friends did not get accepted and they had to go home.”
During the audition, his brother Nuel had all four chair turns.
“My brother sang just before me and he had all four chairs turn for him so I was under pressure to give my best because I did not want to let him down,” he says.
“I also did not want to go home. I got one chair turn which allowed me to advance in the competition. It happened for me just at the last second of my singing. I was so shocked that I fell flat on the ground. My fall made my video trend all over the country and I became a viral sensation because the blogs kept posting about me and celebrities kept reaching out to me.”
As he advanced forward, one of Ayo’s highlights was his performance of a song called “Sade.”
The song showed off Ayo’s vocal skills, showing a huge vocal range and strong character.
“I chose ‘Sade’ because it’s a love song in my local dialect, which is the Yoruba language,” he says.
“I had previously sung the song at events in my school so I knew it was a song I could easily pull through even through for The Voice Nigeria, I had to be more dynamic with the highs and lows of the song just to show my vocal skills. Lots of people commented that it was a risky thing to do while some loved the vocal transitions I did on that song.”
Although he didn’t win the season, Ayo ultimately landed at twenty-four out of the thousands of performers.
“The fans did not stop talking about me even after I left the show because my brother was still on it. Some people thought we were twins,” he laughs, noting his brother eventually landed at the number eight position.
Even after his time on The Voice Nigeria, Ayo kept gaining fans and did a couple of professional studio recordings.
“It wasn’t that easy to keep going with the music, but I tried anyways and I still am trying.”
Ayo has about 40,000 followers on Instagram and over 1 million followers on TikTok.
“Fair enough right? The audience is still growing,” he says.
On his social media channels, he also promotes fashion in addition to his music.
Despite Ayo’s success in music, he knew he had another calling that he could pursue.
So in 2023, Ayo followed his healthcare journey to Sault Ste. Marie.
“I just wanted to explore more about my medical side while still doing music,” he says.
“I’m currently in my second year for Healthcare Leadership program.”
Since being in the Sault, Ayo has focused heavily on his studies, but hasn’t lost the love for music.
“I was part of Soo Sings,” he says.
“I haven’t done much music since I came to Canada. I’m looking forward to doing lots of things in the future and meeting lots of people in music. I haven’t met many musicians yet.”
For the time being, Ayo is “taking it all slowly.”
“I lost my dad just one month after I came to Canada which was a sad moment for me and made me put lots of things on pause,” he says.
“It basically changed my whole life. May his soul rest in peace, Amen. So, although I am not cooking anything musical right now, I open to new music ventures.”
With a foot in both worlds, Ayo’s journey is just beginning, and he’s ready to make his mark in Canada.
Find out more about Tim Ayo below: