Tom Rosenthal (born 26 August 1986) is an English singer-songwriter and composer. His music has been described as "short, expertly crafted pop songs".[1]
Tom Rosenthal | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | 26 August 1986 |
| Origin | London, England |
| Genres | Indie pop, indie folk |
| Instruments | Vocals, piano, ukulele |
| Years active | 2010–present |
| Website | tomrosenthal |
Music
editRosenthal has released 7 albums to date, all of them self-released on his own label Tinpot Records.[2] Keep a Private Room Behind the Shop was released in 2011, and the latest is Zz-sides (2023). His songs have received well over a billion streams on Spotify.[3] [4]
Rosenthal's audience has grown rapidly in recent years due to a number of his songs going viral on social media platform Tiktok. With his songs 'It's Ok', 'Lights are On', and his cover of Edward Sharpe's 'Home' (which he released via the pseudonym 'Edith Whiskers') being used millions of times across the app.[5] In, 2023, as a result of this widespread usage, both 'Lights Are On' and his cover of 'Home' were certified Silver by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) for selling 200,000 equivalent units.[6]
Rosenthal often makes fun music videos for his songs, which have over 200 million views on YouTube channel.[7] For instance, his video for "Watermelon" was noted in the Top 30 music videos of 2014 by The Huffington Post as, "Best use of a grown man in a watermelon suit. (*Close call though.)"[8]
Rosenthal's music has been used on television soundtracks. "Forgets Slowly", "Lights on But Nobody's Home", and "Take Care" featured in the Skins episode "Alo".[9][10] "Go Solo" was featured on the soundtrack of the German film Head Full of Honey (2014), the documentary Kid Poker (2015), the NFL documentary Hard Knocks, the film trailer for Felix and Meira, and the Netflix documentary The Least Expected Day: Inside the Movistar Team 2019.[11] "It's OK" features on the film trailers for Comet (2014),[12] Anesthesia (2014).[13] and L'odyssée (2016)[14] From 2016 through to 2018 his songs It's OK and Woes have been used on Neighbours.[15][16][17] Rosenthal's song "Go Solo" featured in a TV commercial for the Renault Zoe E-TRON in 2021[18] and in a 2022 episode of the NBC drama series New Amsterdam.
Rosenthal played his first concert at St Pancras Old Church on Wednesday 13 March 2019, followed by a tour around Europe and a gig at Union Chapel, with over 40 concerts in 2019.[19]
Rosenthal also releases music under the pseudonym 'Edith Whiskers'. This started when his cover version on the single "Home", recorded in 2015, went viral on the social media platform TikTok in 2020.[20] Wanting to keep his original songs and covers separate, he created the pseudonym for the release. Edith, who now has a substantial Spotify following of her own, is depicted as an older lady who "enjoys long hot baths, a spot of beekeeping and the occasional bike ride."[20] Rosenthal released the song as a single on October 16, 2020 and on a covers album titled Stop Stealing the Covers.[21] "Home" was certified Silver by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) in 2023.[22]
Personal life
editAt age 4, Rosenthal's daughter Fenn composed the song "Dinosaurs in Love", which went viral on the Internet in 2020.[23][24]
Rosenthal co-founded the UK charity Grand Plan, which funds four grants of £1,000 to artists of colour looking to realise a creative project.[25]
Rosenthal was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes some time in 2021.[26]
In 2024 Rosenthal made a podcast called 'Strangers on a Bench', launching on September 30th. Rosenthal recorded and interviewed strangers sat on benches in London parks, all of whom remain anonymous on the podcast.[27] The podcast reached the top ten of the Apple Podcasts Great Britain chart.[28] The Guardian newspaper picked it as one of their best podcasts of the week, describing it as 'a charming series of rambling chats', and The Times described it as 'moving and true'.[29][30]
Discography
editAlbums
edit| Title | Album details | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Keep a Private Room Behind the Shop |
|
[31] |
| Who's That in The Fog? |
|
[31] |
| Bolu |
|
[31] |
| Fenn |
|
[31][32] |
| Z-Sides |
| |
| Denis Was a Bird |
| |
| Zz-sides |
|
Extended plays
edit| Title | Detroit |
|---|---|
| The Pleasant Trees |
|
| The Pleasant Trees, Vol. 2 |
|
| The Pleasant Trees, Vol. 3 |
|
| Don't Die Curious |
|
Compilation albums
edit| Title | Album details |
|---|---|
| B-Sides |
|
| The Pleasant Trees (Volumes 1, 2 & 3) |
|
Non-album singles
edit| Year | Title |
|---|---|
| 2007 | "Smells Like Christmas Time" |
| 2011 | "Superfresh" |
| 2012 | "Christmas Quiet" |
| 2014 | "Hey Luis Don't Bite Me" |
| 2017 | "Melania" |
| 2019 | "Big Pot of Hummus" |
| 2019 | "It's Been a Year" |
| 2020 | "If We All Die Tomorrow" |
| 2020 | "157" |
| 2020 | "If We All Die Tomorrow (Acoustic)" |
| 2020 | "Hope" |
| 2020 | "Hope - Acoustic"
with Lizzy McAlpine |
| 2020 | "Albert Camus" |
| 2020 | "Jim and Dwight" |
| 2020 | "FLOURISHING" |
References
edit- ^ "Tom Rosenthal – Keep A Private Room Behind The Shop". musicOMH. 9 October 2011.
- ^ "tinpotrecords.com/".
- ^ Spotify most streamed artists of all time. kworb.net.
- ^ Tom Rosenthal. Open.spotify.com.
- ^ Edith Whiskers artist page. tiktok.com.
- ^ Lights Are On award page. bpi.co.uk.
- ^ Tom Rosenthal channel page. youtube.com.
- ^ "The 30 Best Music Videos Of 2014". The Huffington Post. 11 December 2014.
- ^ "tom-rosenthal". Sabotagetimes.com. Archived from the original on 11 March 2016. Retrieved 10 March 2016.
- ^ "Skins Season 6 Episode 7: Alo Skins Music : what tracks were played on Frankie's Episode". Skinsmusic.com.
- ^ FÉLIX ET MEIRA Trailer – Canada's Top Ten Film Festival 2014. YouTube. 4 December 2014.
- ^ Comet Official Trailer #1 (2014) – Justin Long, Emmy Rossum Romance Movie HD. YouTube. 27 October 2014.
- ^ Anesthesia Official Trailer 1 (2016) – Kristen Stewart, Sam Waterston Movie HD. YouTube. 10 December 2015.
- ^ "L'odysée". Allocine.fr (in French). 23 August 2016. Retrieved 12 April 2019.
- ^ "Neighbours Episode 7498 from 2016 - NeighboursEpisodes.com". Neighboursepisodes.com. Retrieved 16 December 2018.
- ^ "Neighbours Episode 7625 from 2017 - NeighboursEpisodes.com". Neighboursepisodes.com. Retrieved 16 December 2018.
- ^ "Neighbours Episode 7831 from 2018 - NeighboursEpisodes.com". Neighboursepisodes.com. Retrieved 16 December 2018.
- ^ "Renault Zoe E-TRON advert music". sounds-familiar.info. Retrieved 24 April 2021.
- ^ Tom Rosenthal – an ordinary weirdo. 26 March 2020. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
- ^ a b "Edith Whiskers: How an imaginary gran got millions of Spotify streams". BBC. 26 November 2020. Retrieved 5 December 2020.
- ^ "Viral TikTok Musician Talks Money and Reveals His Profits". bay 93.9 Geelong. 23 September 2021. Retrieved 27 June 2023.
- ^ "British certifications – Edith Whiskers – Home". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 27 June 2023.
- ^ "Three-Year-Old's 'Dinosaurs in Love' Song Is a Real Tear-Jerker". Rolling Stone. 29 January 2020. Retrieved 30 January 2020.
- ^ Kolirin, Lianne (29 January 2020). "Toddler's adorable song about ill-fated dinosaurs in love goes viral". CNN. Retrieved 20 March 2020.
- ^ "grandplanfund.co.uk".
- ^ "ZZ-Sides".
- ^ "Strangers on a Bench".
- ^ "Chartable.com Great Britain Apple Podcast Chart".
- ^ "Best podcasts of the week: Tom Rosenthal chats to strangers on a bench".
- ^ "Strangers on a Bench review — gripping encounters with ordinary people".
- ^ a b c d Silva, Vic (31 January 2018). "Tom Rosenthal inspires an awaiting audience through lovely song-crafting". The Chimes. Retrieved 20 March 2020.
- ^ Hillier, David (18 May 2017). "How to be a DIY pop star: lollipops, kung fu and other fail-safe strategies". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 20 March 2020.