Tim Omaji
Timothy Ugbedo Omaji (born 9 September 1987), better known by his stage name Timomatic, is a Nigerian-born Australian singer-songwriter and dancer. Omaji rose to fame as a contestant on So You Think You Can Dance (Australia) in 2009 and placed seventh in the competition. In 2011, he appeared as a contestant on the fifth season of Australia's Got Talent and was placed third. This led to his most recent rise in fame by sparking the now infamous Facebook page "Timomatic was robbed on Australia's Got Talent",[2] a Facebook page dedicated to the victimisation that Tim was forced to undergo on 'Australia's Got Talent'. Later that year, Omaji signed with Sony Music Australia and released his first single, "Set It Off", in November 2011, which peaked at number two on the ARIA Singles Chart and was certified four times platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association.
Tim Omaji
Timothy Ugbedo Omaji
Timomatic or Mitch Crotty
9 September 1987
Kaduna, Nigeria
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Singer-songwriter, record producer, dancer, choreographer, magician
Vocals
2009–present
Early life[edit]
Timothy Ugbedo Omaji[3][4] was born in Kaduna, Nigeria, on 9 September 1987.[5] He emigrated to Australia with his family when he was 10 months old. His father was an academic and was sent to different positions around Australia.[5] Omaji has an older brother and sister, and a younger sister.[6] He came from a musical family, with his father often playing guitar and the rest of his family displaying their passion for singing and dancing.[5] At the age of nine, Omaji formed a band with his family and he was the percussionist for that band.[5] During the intermission of their shows, Omaji would go on stage mimicking Michael Jackson's singing and dancing skills.[5] His parents have now moved back to Nigeria.[6] He spent part of his life in Darwin, Northern Territory where he taught a break dancing class. He left Darwin in 2003 and moved to Canberra.[7]
At the age of 15, he was nicknamed "Timomatic" by his friends, because of his hip-hop dancing skills.[5] He also secured a part-time position as artistic director and choreographer of dance company Kulture Break in Canberra.[8] He represented Kulture Break in overseas performances, including the United States, China and Singapore.[9] Timomatic finished Year 12 at Narrabundah College and then spent six months at University of Canberra before dropping out.[9] In 2008, he attended music school JMC Academy for a year and got a diploma in entertainment, majoring in vocal training.[5] Omaji stated: "I did this because I wanted to get my vocals and music up to scratch; that was me paying attention and focusing on my music."[5]