Taylor Hicks

Taylor Reuben Hicks (born October 7, 1976) is an American singer who achieved fame in 2006 as a contestant on the fifth season of American Idol, which he won later that year. Hicks got his start as a professional musician in his late teens and performed around the Southeastern United States for well over the span of a decade, during which he also released two independent albums. Upon winning Idol, he was signed to Arista Records, under which his self-titled major label debut was released on December 12, 2006. His energetic stage performances and influences derived from classic rock, blues, and R&B music had earned him a following of devout fans, who have been dubbed the "Soul Patrol." He is currently on tour in Grease playing Teen Angel, the role originated by Alan Paul. The new CD, The Distance, was released March 10, 2009, with the first single, "What's Right Is Right", going to AC adds January 27, 2009. The second single was confirmed to be "Seven Mile Breakdown" via his myspace page.

Biography

Early life

Taylor Hicks was born in Birmingham, Alabama, on October 7, 1976, to Bradley Hicks and Pamela Dickinson. His hair started turning gray by the time he was 14. He and his family had moved to suburban Hoover, Alabama when he was eight years old. His parents divorced, and stepmother Linda shared custody of their son until he became of age. Hicks has attributed his difficult childhood as the reason for his turning to soul and blues music for solace. publisher= Gray Charles: The Official Taylor Hicks Weblog He has a younger half-brother, Sean, who later convinced him to audition for American Idol.

He bought his first harmonica when he was 16, for $2 at a flea market in Bessemer, Alabama,"Taylor Hicks Bio" and taught himself to play blues harp

. He discovered that he possessed absolute pitch when he was able to recognize the pitches of ordinary noises and mimic them on the harmonica. Hicks was 18 when he wrote his first song, "In Your Time", and he taught himself to play guitar when he was 19.

Hicks graduated from Hoover High School in 1995. He played varsity baseball, soccer, and basketball while studying in Hoover. He then pursued a major in business and journalism at Auburn University, but lost interest and dropped out after three years.

Independent music

ed in [[Seattle, Washington]] on May 12.December 16, 2007, Hicks performed "Do I Make You Proud" live together with 6 Asian Idol finalists in Jakarta Indonesia. Hicks also performed on the American Idol (season 6) finale at the Kodak Theatre on May 23, 2007.

In July 2007, Hicks released his autobiography, Heart Full of Soul: An Inspirational Memoir About Finding Your Voice and Finding Your Way.

2008: Early Works

Despite winning American Idol 2006, Hicks' post-Idol career had its ups and downs. Arista Records confirmed in January 2008 that it had dropped Hicks from its roster. Hicks has the lowest selling American Idol winner's album.

Early January, Taylor Hicks made this statement on his MySpace page:
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As of June 2008, Hicks has signed a distribution deal with Vanguard/Welk records to distribute a compilation album "Early Works". At this time, he is also starring in Grease in the national tour as the Teen Angel after playing the role on Broadway. Early Works was released on August 12, 2008.

Taylor has also been part of the concert series that airs on HDNET.

2009–Present: The Distance

In 2009 Hicks released his second album, The Distance, on his own label, Modern Whomp Records, on March 10, 2009. The first single, What's Right Is Right, was added to AC adds on January 27, 2009. So far the single reached #24 on Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks. It was produced by Simon Climie and Dennis Morgan. On the day of the album's release, Hicks wrote on his MySpace,

Hicks returned to the American Idol stage on April 29, 2009 during Season 8 and performed the second single from The Distance, Seven Mile Breakdown, which was re-released in a country format.

Both What's Right is Right and Seven Mile Breakdown were made into music videos.

In May of 2009, Taylor Hicks made Forbes "Top Ten earning American Idol stars" list, coming in at number 10, with over $300,000 earned from album sales and from his role as "Teen Angel" in the national tour of Grease.

Soul Patrol

Hicks's fanbase has been dubbed the "Soul Patrol". The phrase started among his Internet fanbase after the episode of Hicks's Idol auditions aired, but it is difficult to trace its exact origin. Hicks frequently mentioned the Soul Patrol after performances on Idol, which was best shown after winning the competition—Ryan Seacrest asked if he had any parting words and Hicks yelled, "Soul Patrol!".

During a promotional event for Idol in Alabama, Hicks "inducted" Governor Bob Riley and his wife into the Soul Patrol.
In addition to zealously following the musical career of Taylor Hicks and related artists, the Soul Patrol is also known for its charity work on behalf of various organizations such as Studio By The Tracks, Kid One Transport, Habitat for Humanity, and American Red Cross among others.

The first Soul Patrol Convention was organized in Birmingham, Alabama, USA on May 9th and 10th, 2008, with event proceeds earmarked for Kid One Transport. The Soul Patrol was represented from all over the US, Canada and the United Kingdom.

Popular culture

Hicks became the subject of two Weekend Update skits on NBC's Saturday Night Live on April 15 and May 20, 2006, portrayed by cast member Jason Sudeikis. In a reference to Hicks's quirkiness and disposition, Sudeikis mocked playing Hicks's trademark harmonica and repeatedly shouted out "Soul Patrol!" Hicks, when interviewed by Ryan Seacrest on the subsequent episode of American Idol on April 18, 2006, as to whether or not he saw the imitation, admitted that he had and that the impression made him "fall out on the floor" with laughter. title = American Idol

"Weird Al" Yankovic parodied Hicks on his 2006 album, Straight Outta Lynwood, on a track called "Do I Creep You Out", which is set against the melody of "Do I Make You Proud". In the music video of the song, an animated Hicks, voiced by Yankovic, is portrayed as the stalker. The video can be seen on JibJab. Hicks is also known to perform Yankovic's version during soundchecks.

Talk show host Jay Leno frequently refers to Hicks as "his son" due to their striking gray-haired resemblance. Seacrest has also mentioned on American Idol that Hicks resembles Leno, Phil Donahue and George Clooney.

Stephen Colbert, host of The Colbert Report, had also promised to give political pundit Bill O'Reilly a copy of "Do I Make You Proud" upon O'Reilly's appearance on the show on January 18, 2007.

On the television sitcom The New Adventures of Old Christine, in the episode titled "The Real Thing", Christine, played by Julia Louis-Dreyfus, mentions that she has an imaginary relationship with Taylor Hicks.

Discography

details Taylor Hicks discography

Albums

2006: Taylor Hicks
2009: The Distance

Industry Music Artists