Taylor Hicks News

Great news, Taylor Hicks fans:

Both of you can be excited that your favorite American Idol singer has landed with a new record label, Vanguard Records. It will distribute his new album in August.

If American Idol judges have their way, Syesha Mercado will end up on Broadway.

Well, for now, Taylor Hicks has beaten here there. The former champion will play Teen Angel in Grease beginning June 6. Taylor will stay with the show until September.

"I am incredibly excited to be a part of one of my favorite musicals. The Soul Patrol's gonna invade Broadway," Hicks said.

Winning American Idol is no guarantee that you'll actually keep a major label deal.

Just prior to Christmas, rumors began circulating that season 2's champion Ruben Studdard, who released three albums for J Records since 2003 (the latest, 2006's The Return, to modest sales), had been dropped.

Now, reports are circulating season 5 winner Taylor Hicks has also lost his J Records deal.

"Taylor is going to record his next album on his own," said a label rep. "He is no longer on the J Records roster."

What will this mean for the next American Idol winner? Is the show no longer a guarantee star maker?

American Idol champion Taylor Hicks, is making moves... on an Alabama housing development.

On the weekend of October 26, those who have purchased land in the The Oaks development in Lake Guntersville will enjoy "an intimate dinner with Taylor Hicks and several other celebrities TBA."

Plots of lakefront property start at the price of $49,900. Hicks himself owns land in the area. Meanwhile, on top of seeing the singer at their property, guests will enjoy, "complementary food, boat rides, bass fishing and more."

And, to think, American Idol runner-up Katharine McPhee is stuck making movies.

As Taylor Hicks continues his summer tour, he made time for the following interview...

Julie Greene: Welcome, everyone, to this podcast for Antpod.com and HMLoop.com. This is Julie Greene with The Herald-Mail newspapers. We're talking with "American Idol" season five winner Taylor Hicks, who is currently on tour and will be performing at The Maryland Theatre in downtown Hagerstown on Friday, July 6. Taylor, welcome and thanks for joining us today.
Taylor Hicks: Thanks for having me.

Greene: Other than the popularity, what is the main difference between being on tour pre-American Idol versus post-American Idol?
Hicks: The budget's different.

Greene: And how does that affect ... ?
Hicks: It's allowing me the label. ... It's a different type of level that you can be able to have more utensils to get your art across.

 Greene: People who watched American Idol know you were a working musician before the show. How did your interest in music begin?
Hicks: I was about, I don't know, 7 or 8, and started listening to Otis Redding and Ray Charles, and a lot of AM stuff. ... The '70s were great for AM singer-songwriters. I followed the path and luckily, you know, picked up an instrument, a guitar ... and started working my way through learning my craft - and still learning my craft.

Greene: Have you had a chance to write some new songs?
Hicks: You know, I've started on some ideas, and you know, going right back out for the summer tour, it's been ... tough, you know, to get in the writing process. I'm taking some time off in the fall and gonna really try to get some good songs going.

Greene: I wanted to ask, what's on your iPod right now?
Hicks: Leo Sayer, from the '80s. Some Ronnie Milsap, some Derek Trucks ... just, you know, all kinds of different people.

Greene: Going back to American Idol, how does it feel to be a part of a cultural phenomenon like American Idol?
Hicks: It's very interesting. I'm very blessed that I was able to get through and, you know, expose my singing ability and have it be received in the way that it has. ... It's been great. I've enjoyed it. I've enjoyed it. I've enjoyed the ride, and I'm out here trying to make the best of the music."

Greene: Do you watch the show?
Hicks: I do watch it. I watched a little bit last season. I was very happy to see Jordin Sparks and Blake Lewis be in the finals, and I was happy for Jordin, who won it.

Greene: What did you think about Sanjaya Malakar making it to the finals for season six, despite his not being well-received by the judges?
Hicks: I think. definitely. Sanjaya was a visual performer.

Greene: Did you vote for anyone from season six?
Hicks: We did a few - we did some voting here and there. We voted for Blake one night and Jordin the next. We just, we kind of just, we had fun with it, just like everybody else has fun with it.

Click here to read the full interview.

 American Idol 2006 winner Taylor Hicks rocked through Atlanta Thursday night. He hit the Southern Star Stage at Six Flags performing before hundreds of fans.

WSB TV reports that the gray haired Hicks has been touring since February promoting his most recent

Of course, the road is nothing new for the Alabama native. Long before American Idol fame came calling, he was hitting the roads all across the southeast, playing in bands since he was 19 years old. He adds that touring back then has prepared him for the lifestyle now, a lifestyle that includes performing at night, sleeping during the day from time to time, and plenty of time of the open road.

While some past contestants of American Idol have been quick to abandon their ties to the show, this isn't the case for Hicks. He says he understands what a great opportunity performing on American Idol in front of millions was - and he continues to learn more and more about it each day.

From here, Hicks continues the tour, a tour he describes as high impact soul aerobics, a modern day approach to soul. Next month, Hicks the artist turns into Hicks the author. He's got a new book coming out called 'Heart Full Of Soul'. In it, he tells how a gray haired guy beat the odds, finding his own voice and seizing the opportunity when it came his way.

He'll be back in Atlanta on July 24th at the Barnes & Noble on Cobb Parkway to promote it.

Katharine McPhee may be starring in a movie.

But Taylor Hicks is coming out with a book! Take that, Kat!

The biography, entitled “Heart Full of Soul: An Inspirational Memoir About Finding Your Voice and Finding Your Way,” will be available in stores on July 10.

Will you be picking up a copy?

You're in luck if you own Sirius Satellite Radio this week.

Taylor Hicks, Katharine McPhree and Elliott Yamin will all serve as guest DJs on Sirius Radio Tuesday and Wednesday - but not together. Each will play an hour of favorite songs on Sirius channel 12's Super Shuffle.

Taylor's on Tuesday at 7 a.m., repeating at 7 p.m. and Wednesday at midnight, 9 a.m. and 11 p.m. (all times ET). Katharine McPhee appears Tuesday at 1 p.m., repeating at 10 p.m. and Wednesday at 6 a.m., 3 p.m. and 9 p.m. Elliott is on Tuesday at 10 a.m., repeating at 4 p.m. and Wednesday at 3 a.m., noon and 6 p.m.

Enjoy!

The following is a review of Taylor Hicks and a recent Texas concert by Jessica Belasco of The San Antonio Express News ...

Even curmudgeonly American Idol judge Simon Cowell would have been tapping his foot Saturday night at the Majestic Theatre when Taylor Hicks took the stage, charming the audience with a voice as smoky as his hair and an obvious passion for blue-eyed soul.

The winner of the fifth season of American Idol stopped in San Antonio on St. Patrick's Day on his first national headlining tour in support of his self-titled major-label debut album.

Although the show was little more than half full (the Majestic had sold only about 1,200 tickets three hours before the show), the rabid Soul Patrol, as Hicks' fans call themselves, more than made up for the disappointing attendance with screams and much snapping of camera phones.

The audience was predominantly female, and some of Hicks’ most vocal fans were old enough to be his mother.

Dressed in jeans, a button-down shirt, a dark, textured sports jacket and black New Balance sneakers, Hicks, 30, started off his 70-minute set with an energetic romp through the Doobie Brothers' “Takin' It to the Streets.”

He moved easily from his original tune “Soul Thing” to Marvin Gay's “Wherever I Lay My Hat” to Gene McDaniels' “Compared to What,” which was one of the highlights of the show. He also rocked Supertramp's “Take the Long Way Home” and part of Van Morrison's “Saint Dominic's Preview.”

The set list nicely balanced songs from Hicks' latest album, including “The Runaround,” “Dream Myself Awake” and the single “Just to Feel That Way,” with original tunes from “Under the Radar,” one of his two independent albums he released before hitting it big on “American Idol.”

He strapped on his guitar for “Heart and Soul” and “Hold on to Your Love,” among others.

His only reference to American Idol was a polite “Thank you for voting for me” before launching into “The Deal,” another original tune.

The seven-piece band was excellent, especially guitarist Josh Smith, but it would have been nice to have an expanded horn section, which was one of the strong points of Hicks’ most recent album.

Hicks ended the show by donning a bright green sombrero a fan had placed on the stage and bowing deeply to the crowd.

The opening band, Greyhounds, an Austin funk and soul trio, were an unexpected treat. The band is definitely worth checking out when it returns to San Antonio for a show at Luna on April 13.

Ruben Studdard isn't the only American Idol champ to have undergone a healthy bit of weight loss.

Taylor Hicks is feeling lighter on his feet for good reason, People magazine reveals in its new issue.

The 6'1" Soul Patrol singer has shed nearly 22 lbs., going from 215 to 193, since his American Idol win last May. How'd he do it?

By ditching fast food and such southern comforts as fried chicken. In their place: Salads, brown rice, fish and chicken noodle soup. "It's good for your throat," he says. "It's also comforting, but it's light."

Not that the 30-year-old Alabaman – who's currently on a 53-city tour to promote his self-titled album – is completely denying himself. He calls his day off from the tour "kind of like my one sin day. I look for chocolate cake. If you're gonna do it, you might as well do it that way!"

Now the same weight as when he played high-school basketball, Hicks follows a serious exercise regimen, running for 45 minutes every other day, no matter where he is.

"I just take off running, with a hat on," he says. And when covering up his distinctive gray mop, "I've walked through a thousand fans and nobody notices."

Aside from the running, "I use a lot of the stage as exercise," says the singer, who calls his dance style "signature me ... it's original and it's authentic." Plus, it's more cardio: "I wear jackets, and with those lights, I'm sweating off, like, two lbs. a night!"

In a bit more disturbing weight news, some are concerned about Carrie Underwood, yet another American Idol winner.