Drumming to his own rhythm: Adam Taormina’s journey to TikTok fame

If you’re scrolling on your ForYouPage, you might come across a blonde-haired kid jamming out on a giant drum set in his garage. To any TikTok user who comes across his videos, Adam Taormina’s dedication to music is evident. With his headphones on and head moving to the beat of an 80’s rock song, it’s clear that he’s in his element.

Music has been a passion of Taormina’s since the beginning. He said he was introduced to drums by his father.  “I used to sit in his lap and play when I was like two years old,” Taormina said.

Fast forward to second grade, which was when he “really picked it up.” Taormina said he began by taking lessons at the Guitar Center, where he learned to read notes.

But he found he enjoyed playing by ear more, and so from then on, “I’ve just taught myself,” Taormina said.

Over the years, he’s perfected his process of adapting songs.

“I listen to it, then get all the rhythms down, and play it a couple of times over and over again to get everything down,” Taormina said.

But nine months ago, a new step was added to this routine: opening TikTok and hitting record.

It started when Taormina started feeling particularly inspired by one of his favorite classic rock songs. Just for fun, he decided to take out his phone and film himself playing it. He posted the video to YouTube as an experiment. And then he posted another and another.

His first few videos flopped. “When I started on Youtube, I didn’t get a lot of likes or a lot of views,” Taormina said.

So he decided to try his luck with Tiktok. And from there– “I kind of just blew up.”

His first viral video, posted in June of 2025, earned 10,400 likes. His next popular one, posted in November, earned 32,000– and he’s only grown from there. Taormina’s most recent viral video, posted in February, earned over 104,600 likes. Now, his profile boasts over 232,000 likes across all videos and 5,670 followers.

When Taormina first started to see his notification box fill up, he was ecstatic. “I thought it was amazing because I’ve never really gotten much attention from playing drums, and if I posted more, I would just get more followers and more people seeing what I can do,” Taormina said.

Taormina also noted how getting this much recognition on social media has changed his mindset around himself as a musician.

“The more recognition I get, the more big time creators will see my videos,” he said. And as his following grows, he hopes to start making money from Tiktok through the Creator Rewards Program, which takes effect once users hit 10,000 followers and 100,000 video views in a 30-day span.

But for Taormina, the most important part has always been being able to share what he loves. He said what the really enjoys about playing is the freedom to explore all different genres of music. “You can play along with any song if you have the right groove,” Taormina said.

His favorite types of music to play are rock – specifically grunge rock and alternative 80s. Taormina’s favorite bands, RUSH, Tears for Fears, The Smiths, are mostly 80s as well, but also include Nirvana and Vacations.

Taormina said his biggest musical inspiration is Canadian drummer Neil Peart. “His tempos and grooves are really inspiring,” he said. “I really want to be able to play like that when I grow up.”

But as for college, Taormina is fascinated with pursuing computer science. “My father does IT, and how computers work and programming has always been interesting to me,” he said. Right now, he is taking AP Computer Science Principles at GHS.

Whatever career he goes into, music will always be a part of Taormina’s life. He said if he has to choose between music and computer science, “I would choose drums.”