Taylor Hicks

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Taylor Reuben Hicks (born October 7, 1976) is an American singer who won the fifth season of American Idol. Hicks began his career as a professional musician at the end of his teenage years and performed around the Southeastern United States for over a decade, where he also released two independent albums. After winning Idol, he signed with Arista Records, where his big label debut was released on December 12, 2006.

Her energetic performance and stage influences come from classical rock, blues, and R & amp; B earned him a loyal following of fans who were nicknamed "Soul Patrol". Hicks appeared on Broadway in 2008 and a national tour in 2009 at Grease playing Teen Angel, a role derived from Alan Paul. He is the first Idol winner to secure long-term residency in Las Vegas. He started his residency at Bally's Las Vegas in June 2012 and moved to a larger place, Paris Las Vegas, in January 2013.

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Taylor Hicks was born in Birmingham, Alabama on October 7, 1976, to Bradley Hicks and Pamela Dickinson. He and his family moved to the edge of Hoover when he was eight years old. Her hair began to turn gray when she was 14 years old. His parents divorced, and Linda's stepmother shared custody of their son until she became an adult. Hicks has suggested his tough childhood as an excuse to switch to soul and blues music for entertainment. She has a younger stepbrother, Sean, who then convinces her to audition for American Idol.

He bought his first harmonica when he was 16, for $ 2 at a flea market in Bessemer, Alabama, and taught himself to play harp blues. She finds that she has a perfect tone when she is able to recognize the usual tone of voice and imitate them in the harmonica. Hicks was 18 when he wrote his first song, "In Your Time", and he taught himself to play electric guitar when he was 19 years old.

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

Maps Taylor Hicks

Careers

Independent music

While in college, Hicks is part of a band called Passing Through, which he then stops to start his own band. In 1997, he independently recorded In Your Time , an album that included both studio and live songs. In 2000, he moved to pursue a music career in Nashville, Tennessee, where he worked with Nashville vocals Billy Earl McClelland and Percy Sledge to record three track demos but could not find a label that would sign him. He left Nashville after a year because of what he called "oversaturation of the market". Hicks returned to Alabama and launched a professional music career, performing at various venues and parties mostly around the Southeastern United States, including The War Eagle Supper Club (a popular campus bar) in Auburn, Alabama. Hicks has performed with the likes of Widespread Panic, James Brown, Tom Petty, Jackson Browne, Drive-By Truckers, Robert Randolph, Snoop Dogg and Keb Mo. He also appeared on a large field from Talladega Superspeedway in 2004 during the NASCAR race.

He recorded, produced and released his second album, Under Radar, in 2005. Despite releasing two albums before appearing on American Idol , he did not violate the requirements for the contestants, because he never held a record contract.

Hicks has allowed members of the audience to record their concerts for personal, non-commercial use, and has authorized Internet Archives to create a section for fans to upload and share their recordings. The Archive did not receive concert uploads recorded after 1 January 2006 due to the terms of the American Idol contract.

American Idol 2006

Hicks auditioned for American Idol in Las Vegas, Nevada, on October 10, 2005. Hicks passed the audition with the approval of judge Randy Jackson and Paula Abdul, but not Simon Cowell, who said that Hicks would never make it to final round. At Hicks' first performance for public voting, Cowell was called back to this quote, admitting he was wrong.

On May 10, 2006, the results showed, Hicks together with Katharine McPhee and Elliott Yamin, were announced as Top 3 finalists. On May 12, Idol producers took Hicks to Birmingham for weekend promotions including television interviews for local Fox affiliates, downtown parades, concerts, and an audience with Governor Bob Riley. May 12 was proclaimed "Taylor Hicks Day" and Hicks was given the key to the city. Also on May 12, Governor Riley issued a proclamation of May 16 "Taylor Hicks Day".

Hicks was named the new American Idol on May 24, 2006, winning the title above McPhee, with a total of over 63.4 million votes. The proclamation was aired to a worldwide audience of 200 million television viewers. With his victory at age 29, Hicks became the oldest contestant to win American Idol. He was also the first male contestant to win the competition without ever being under two or three, as well as the first Caucasian male winner.

In June 2006, Ford Motor Company, the event's main sponsor, signed Hicks to promote Ford's year-end sales event "Drive on Us". He was also named Hottest Bachelor by the People magazine for 2006, appearing on the cover of the magazine. Career

Taylor Hicks Do I Make You Proud - YouTube

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Post- Idol

Hicks signed a recording contract with 19 Limited Records/Arista Records, managed by American Idol creator Simon Fuller in May 2006. Hicks' debut single "Do I Make You Proud" debuted at number one on < i> Billboard Hot 100 and further certified gold by RIAA.

Hicks joins fellow Top 10 Idol Finalists on American Idols LIVE! The tour lasts from July to September. The former Taylor Hicks Band members, formed by Hicks two years earlier, rejoined the Little Memphis Blues Orchestra and overshadowed the Idols tour route. Hicks sometimes appears as "special guests" when circumstances are allowed, and sometimes accompanied by other Idols, such as Elliott Yamin, Chris Daughtry, Ace Young, and Bucky Covington.

In August 2006, Hicks's lawyer sued a producer with whom he worked in Nashville, to distribute unauthorized songs that Hicks had copyrighted in 1997. The suit was handed down when the master handed over to Hicks.

Hicks accepted a $ 750,000 (USD) deal to write his memoir. Entitled A Full-Soul Heart: An Inspiring Memoir About Finding Your Voice and Finding Your Way and written by Rolling Stone writer David Wild, this book was released in July 2007 by Random House.

On June 6, 2008, Hicks joined the Broadway Grease at Brooks Atkinson Theater. He plays the role of "Teen Angels." After 18 months of touring in the Broadway show around 'Grease' ended, Hicks performed in more than 20 live shows.

2006-2008: Taylor Hicks and Initial Work

The studio recording sessions for major major label Taylor Hicks debuted in Calabasas, California between October and November 2006, and took six weeks total. The album was released on December 12, 2006 and debuted at number two on the Billboard 200 chart. It was certified as a platinum album by the RIAA on January 17, 2007.Hicks embarked on a three-month US promotional tour for his album that started on February 21 in Jacksonville, Florida, and ended in Seattle, Washington on May 12.

Post-Idol Hicks's career has had ups and downs. Arista Records confirmed in January 2008 that it had dropped Hicks from the list. Hicks had, at that stage, the best-selling American Idol winner.

In June 2008, Hicks has signed a distribution deal with Vanguard/Welk records to distribute the Early Works compilation album. She also starred in Grease on a national tour as a Teen Angel after playing a role on Broadway. Early Works was released on August 12, 2008.

2009-present: Distance

In 2009 Hicks released their second album, , on its own label, Modern Whomp Records, on March 10, 2009. The first single, "What's Right Is Right", was added to AC adding on January 27, 2009. The single reached number 24 on Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks. It was produced by Simon Climie and Dennis Morgan.

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

On April 19, 2012, Hicks appeared on American Idol and announced he will start a one-year residency at Bally's in Las Vegas on June 26 that has been extended to December 2013. Entertainment Weekly reveals that Hicks will be a celebrity celebrity on Fox's dating show The Options .

On August 30, 2012, Hicks appeared for the 2012 Republican National Convention in Tampa, Florida.

Hicks is the first male Idol to appear on a Grammy-winning album when he performed "Friday" on Jimmy Fallon's Blow Your Pants Off, which won for Best Comedy Album in 2013.

In September 2017, Taylor Hicks premiered the song, "Six Strings and Diamond Rings" with Billboard Music, his first musical in eight years.

Taylor Hicks began hosting the National Plate through an INSP channel in 2017. The show will feature a series of additional episodes to air in early 2018. The show features food from all over the country served by "farm-to-table".

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Popular culture

"Weird Al" Yankovic parodyed Hicks on his 2006 album, Straight Outta Lynwood, on a song called "Do I Creep You Out", which lies behind the melody of "Do I Make You Proud". In the music video of the song, Yankovic's animation, dressed as Hicks, is described as a stalker. This video can be viewed in JibJab. Hicks is also known for performing Yankovic versions during soundchecks.

Jay Leno's talk show host often calls Hicks "his son" because of their resemblance to gray hair.

In July 2013, Hicks attended the 2013 Evolution fighting game tournament as a contender for Super Smash Bros. Melee . Hicks finished tied for a total of 257 of 709 players.