Taylor Hicks sings "White Christmas"

Does This Look Like Taylor Hicks?

Slow news day, so I'm putting up this caricature of Taylor. The face is a little too rounded and chubby I think, but overall a good drawing. I love the purple jacket and lookie - it's the Soul Patrol in the bottom corner! We're famous! Woooooo! This beautiful drawing was born at the Art by Grant website. Check out some of his other work, especially the one of Simon, Paula and Randy. Great stuff!

Taylor Hicks To Be Included in Celebrity Auction to Benefit World AIDS Day

BID 2 BEAT AIDS is a huge entertainment memorabilia auction, with proceeds going to LIFEbeat, the music industry's AIDS fundraising and service charity. Previous Bid2BeatAIDS auctions raised over $175,000 thanks to all of you who participated! Included in this auction is an autographed CD from Taylor Hicks (see picture on right).

This year's auction will begin on eBay at noon EST on December 1, 2007 (World AIDS Day). Because we have hundreds of items going up for bidding, they will be added over a period of two days. Each item will be up for auction for exactly ten days.

For more information visit http://www.bid2beataids.com/

Taylor Hicks/Sting/Bill Withers/Freddie King sing "Ain't No Sunshine"

If you're wondering how much soul Taylor can put into a song, I suggest you listen to his version of the classic "Ain't No Sunshine". Certainly one of the best renditions I've ever heard.

Taylor Hicks sings "Ain't No Sunshine"


Bill Withers sings "Ain't No Sunshine"


STING sings "Ain't No Sunshine"


Freddie King sings "Ain't No Sunshine"

Taylor Hicks Dines in Washington D.C.

Nice to see our boy relaxing a bit on his well deserved creative break/hiatus. The new year is sure to bring us lots of Taylor goodies! A new album! A new tour! A new DVD! and, and, and....

From the Washington Post:
Taylor Hicks -- yes, the prematurely gray dude who won "American Idol" last year -- dining with three others at BLT Steak Saturday night. Told the manager he was just visiting D.C. friends on his days off.

Jordin Sparks - AI's Newest "Failure"?

First let me say that I have nothing personal against Jordin Sparks. She seems like a nice, young girl (she's *only* 17!) who has an above average voice - certainly better than the 2nd place finisher from last year Katharine McPhee. It's a pity that they, the AI conglomerate, insisted to pimp the hell out of her and force her to make a bland, insipid electronically maneuvered techno pop Disney sounding album only a 12 year old will enjoy. I mean, come on, really ... who in their right mind is going to sit through this lyrically vapid, machine-enhanced hand-clapping mindless music otherwise?

Not many, apparantly. Jordin will now take over the crown as having the lowest selling debut CD by an American Idol winner to date, selling a measly 119,000 in her first week and placing only 10th on the Billboard Chart. Hard to believe since it was released on Black Friday, supposedly the biggest shopping day of the year. She also has the benefit of a Top 10 single. What could have gone wrong?

In a strategic move, American Idol pimped the "anti-Taylor" this year. They wanted a teenager with no musical identity whatsoever, someone they thought would appeal to the young buyers, someone they could mold into a Top 40 princess. And although she seems to be doing fine with her single, people just aren't interesting in buying into the whole package.

The AI6 season was a total disaster from the start, starting with lower ratings from the season before. Perhaps they lost a few viewers with the total and blatant disregard to their AI5 winner Taylor Hicks? Perhaps sticking gum on Taylor's picture during the auditions was an error - losing his many fans as viewers? Perhaps the talent was subpar? Perhaps the excitment Taylor brought to Season 5 was nowhere to be seen this year? The AI6 tour was a bomb and their #1 and #2 finishers will more than likely bomb too in the retail stores. Take THAT, Nigel and Simon! That's what you get for trying to manipulate us. There is a wonderful sense of payback and satisfaction I'm getting from all of this. Call it petty, but I don't care. What goes around, comes around - in SPADES. I'm sure $Clive$ is nervously twitching in his kingdom! :)

I'll be curious to see if Miss Jordin gets same vile treatment that was spewed at Taylor for not living up to their "sales expectations". She should! Taylor sold almost 300,000 debut copies of his CD - 2 1/2 times as many as Jordin - this is the guy TPTB love to jab. Maybe they'll make nicey with him now.

According to the AI philosophy, she MUST be a failure, plain and simple. Look how they classified it last year. It's all about sales to them. But what they don't understand is that manufactured plastic doesn't last if you don't let artists develop their own style. You can't force a circle into a square peg. Why didn't they let Jordin do what she does best? She's a ballad singer - that's what she excelled at on the show. They certainly didn't let Taylor have total control on his album, I mean, geesh, forcing a Diane Warren song upon him? That's just plain wrong. One can only hope they're learning their lesson.

FYI, here is a list of the Idols’ debut CDs and their placement on the Billboard Chart:

Clay - “Measure of a Man” - 612,859 (# 1)
Ruben - “Soulful” - 416,569 (# 1) - Winner, Season 2
Carrie - “Some Hearts” - 314,549 (# 2) - Winner Season 4
Chris Daughtry - “Daughtry” - 303,677 (# 2)
Taylor - “Taylor Hicks” - 298,199 (# 2) - Winner Season 5
Kelly - “Thankful” - 297,000 (# 1)- Winner Season 1
Fantasia - “Free Yourself” - 239,389 (#8) - Winner Season 3
Bo - “The Real Thing” - 226,976 (# 4)
Jordin - "Jordin Sparks" - 121,351 (# 9) - Winner Season 6
Katharine - "Katharine Mcphee" - 115,761 (# 2)
Elliott - “Elliott Yamin” - 90,439 (# 3)
Kellie - “Small Town Girl” - 79,133 (# 9)
Bucky - “Bucky Covington” - 60,814 (# 4)
Josh - “Joshua Gracin” - 57,048 (# 11)
Justin - “Justin Guarini” - 57,000 (# 20)
Kim - “One Love” - 56,894 (# 16)
Diana - “Blue Skies” - 47,000 ( # 52)
Tamyra - “Dreamer” - 39,091 (# 23)
Mandisa - “True Beauty” - 17,140 (# 43)
LaToya - “Love and Life” - 12,546 (# 82)
Mario - “Mario Vasquez” - 11,812 (# 80)
Constantine - “Constantine” - 8,918 (# 75)
Constantine - “Pray for the Soul of Betty” - 7,467 (# 129)
Paris - “Princess P” - 6,320 (# 133)
Jasmine - “Jasmine Trias” - 4855
John Stevens - “Red” - 4349
Jim Verraros - “Rollercoster” - 1571
Corey Clark - “Corey Clark” - 557
Ayla Brown - “Forward” - 300

Taylor Hicks - More Asian Idol Promos Featuring "Do I Make You Proud"!

As the debut of Asian Idol approaches, here is another ad featuring Taylor Hick's #1 hit "Do I Make You Proud". Is it possible, he might make an appearance on that show?


Online Videos by Veoh.com

Taylor Hicks - The One In A Million Winner

As we gear up for Season 7 of American Idol, I wonder if we'll ever see a winner like Taylor Hicks again (or even a Top 10 contender). My gut tells me no way. He was definitely that one-in-a-millon contestant who had everything going for him and played every move strategically correct. Over 64 million phone votes were cast for Taylor on May 23, 2006.

He brought an excitement and passion to the AI stage that I have yet to see duplicated. He was everybody's underdog - that ultra charismatic slightly paunchy prematurely gray headed guy who wasn't afraid to show you the passion he had for his music. He presented himself as a good natured southern guy but with the grit and determination that just makes you want to root for. Let's not forget he headlined the most successful AI tour ever and Season 5, his season, had the highest TV viewership to date. This is not a coincidence, my friends.



I loved it when Paula said "this is the authentic Taylor". At the time, I said to myself, "Taylor is playing this game brilliantly! He's tapping into the viewers good natured, have-a-good-time-make-you-wanna-vote-for-him heartstring! But if we look underneath the surface, her comment didn't do him any favors in his post Idol success and certainly Simon's snark about him being the perpetual wedding singer hasn't done any favors either. I hate to keep repeating this, but this perception of the wild and crazy singer/dancer is still dogging him, I believe, and he is on an uphill road to get that tag off of his back.

The truth is that the real Taylor Hicks is a serious, extremely hard-working talented musician, songwriter and singer, who puts every ounce of his being into his performances. During Idol, many took this as a goofy throw-back, but in actuality, he used his unconventional style to gain a huge fan base and springboard his career to pursue the kind of music he wanted. That HE wanted, not the Top 40 niche artist Clive Davis wants out of this talent show. Stubborn? Yes? Savvy? You betcha! Smart? Damn right!

Unfortunately (or fortunately depending on how you look at it), he's become the black sheep of 'the AI family' because he refused and is still refusing to be manipulated by the powers that be. Whether or not he ever becomes a huge selling recording artist, a pop star that lands in tabloids, or bucks his own vision just to sell those "units", he is creating a long term career based on real cloth, not synthetic fabric. Long after the musical trends change and those who are big today are long gone tomorrow, I firmly believe Taylor will still be out there performing his heart out to his fans, doing it his way. He came into the show as his own man, and will continue on as his own man - and I wouldn't want it any other way.

You can be sure you will not see the likes of a Taylor Hicks again on that American Idol stage. The producers will make sure of that. He was too good for it anyway. Cheers!

Holiday Sales Push for Taylor Hicks & The Soldiers Angels

Taylor's fans from around the world are currently having a Holiday SALES PUSH for his TAYLOR HICKS album on JRecords. They URGE you to buy the album from amazon.com and have them send it to:

Soldiers Angels
914 Tourmaline Drive
Newbury Park, CA 91320-1206

Click here to order!

This may make a service man or woman far from home this holiday season a little happier with the gift of music! Do it for him! Do it for the troops!

You can also buy the album from any Walmart, Target, or Best Buy stores and turn a new person on to the wonderful soulful sounds of Taylor Hicks!!!

Thanks for your participation!!

Taylor Hicks - Misconceptions Galore!

A statement was made by USA Today columnist Ken Barnes on Nov. 20th that blatantly said: "The major failure for a winner would have to be Taylor Hicks." His music doesn't fit into the heavily niche radio format. He was very stubborn about the record he wanted to do."

Well now isn't that special!

If it wasn't for that obligatory nasty comment, I could almost read that as a compliment! Imagine someone actually recording an album HE wanted to do regardless if it fit into a "heavily niche radio format"! Wow! The gall of some people! Heh!

The truth of the matter, and that's what we specialize in here, is that Taylor has had a pretty good year - okay a great year, by any standard. Headlined 3 tours - one with the American idol tour, and 2 solo headlining tours (which garnered mostly good reviews). He's authored and published a very successful memoir, graced major golf pro/am tournaments, sang at the NBA and Nascar finals, acquired a platinum album, lent his time and name to major charities, and has been seen on more TV shows and private events that I can even remember at this point. Now I ask you, how is this a "major failure"? I guess there's no pleasing some people, eh?

Hopefully, he'll be able to turn some misguided perceptions (and Ken Barnes is not the only one who is guilty of these) around with a kick ass album the next time around and shut some of these naysayers up. Oh what a happy day that will be!

The Only American Idol Who Hasn't Sold His Soul

Forget Carrie Underwood and Chris Daughtry. They'll be selling their creative souls to Mr. Clive Davis for years to come - that is, until they exhaust their usefullness. I'll stick with Taylor Hicks, thank you very much, who has not only managed to stay true to his art, but who has tapped into the heartstrings of millions. He's the only person to come out of American Idol who hasn't sold his musical soul to the devil. Kudos, and here's to years of great music that is coming down the pipeline.

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Taylor Hicks & The Bogus American Music Awards

The American Music Awards are a popularity contest, always have been, always will be. It's awards are not based on talent, ground-breakers or respect from peers. It's based on the votes cast by people who buy and listen to the dreck that populates the Top 40 charts - the winners won by on-line voting. Look at who's on that nomination list - Fergie? Justin Timberlake? Beyonce? Daughtry? (a blantant copy-cat rip-off of another no talent band Nickleback.) God help me - what has happened to real music? Where are the pioneers? The passion? The talent? It's an atrocity.

I know one thing though. If Taylor Hicks made music (and I use that term in the most general of terms) like these people I just mentioned, I wouldn't be a fan. You see, he walks a different path - a road less traveled - not a cow that follows the herd. How wonderful that we are on that road with him.

I suspect and hope he will continue on with his own vision of soul and blues on his own terms - on the next CD, and each CD after that, and in concert, regardless if it is or isn't in vogue at the moment. The flavor of the month. Remember he said he wants HIS voice heard - not a copycat of what's already out there. He's stubborn and independent and I wouldn't want it any other way.

I really think eventually, discerning music listeners will begin to realize the talent that is Taylor Hicks and his time will come down the long musical road, I have no doubt about that. It may not be with the Top 40 crowd, but I suspect he will get the respect from those who share his musical vision - a vision based in truth, sincerity and honesty.

If you are already aboard this ship, pat yourself on the back. And if you're not, I feel sorry for you. Open your ears and try to broaden your musical horizons and understand what other music is out there - music that touches the soul.

Taylor Hicks - New Interview with Rounder Magazine

Here's a fairly recent (August '07) interview Taylor Hicks gave to Rounder Magazine! Nice, candid questions and answers! Enjoy!

He did it!. Taylor Hicks had the idea that if he tried out for American Idol, he could maybe gain some exposure for his music. Well unless you were under a rock for the past year and a half or just don't watch television at all, you should have been exposed a little by now. If you have only seen him on tv though, you are not getting the whole Taylor. The music really is what moves this "former" American Idol and a whole night of music from Taylor Hicks with his hand picked band is what can truly define him for you. There are a lot of chances to see him in August. His calendar is packed full of shows all over the country this month. Darlene's been lucky enough to see him perform many times and she feels really lucky to be able to bring ya'll an interview she got with her friend Taylor Hicks for August Rounder.

Darlene: Do you play Poker?
Taylor: Don't play poker. Sometimes I do play Blackjack. I like playing the casinos because I get to play blackjack afterwards.

Darlene: What is the difference in the shows at the different kinds of venues...like the bigger vs. the smaller?
Taylor: The smaller, the more intricate the music becomes. I definitely enjoy small venues.

Darlene: Any one who has seen you perform has seen you take it to that special level of 'Soul'. I remember one time seeing you just go crazy on the stage at WorkPlay. After the show, I was like "Wow! that was amazing,Taylor." You told me you had felt God going through you. How do you get to that 'true moment'? Are you concentrating...meditating or is it like you letting yourself go?
Taylor: It is definitely about just letting myself go. I have to get into a certain mode and then I just let go.

Darlene: I have to say I loved your song 'Soul Thing' from the first time I heard it. How did that song come to you?
Taylor: I guess I just started with the hook and built the song around the hook.

Darlene: Are there plans for another cd in the works yet.? How is your inspiration these days?
Taylor: Yes, I am definitely looking ahead to the next album. I am inspired at the concept of working with a very talented group of songwriters.

Darlene: Is there any new music you have been checking out lately that you want to shamelessly plug...anyone or certain cd?
Taylor: I love Amy Winehouse right now. (check website www.amywinehouse.co.uk She is a sweet soul singer from the UK and she is awesome)

Darlene: Are you able to get blown away by anything these days? You must have seen so much. Anything shock you lately?
Taylor: Getting picked up on the jet-way to be driven on the runway to baggage claim. I felt really cool.

Darlene: You are truly one of the biggest stars in the world right now. You're part of our Pop Culture and History. How does that make you feel? Do you think about it?
Taylor: I am very excited and blown away myself. It is a humbling feeling, but also gets me so excited sometimes I just kind of laugh in disbelief.

Taylor's autobiography 'Heart Full of Soul' was released by Random House July 10th, and you can even get it on itunes now and listen to Taylor tell his story. His self titled cd hit the charts on Dec 12 in 2006 debuting at the number two spot on the U.S. Billboard top 200 chart. The album of what Taylor calls "Modern Womp" music mixes soul, blues, funk and Cajun influences with a contemporary twist that will be a welcome addition to any one's music collection. Taylor Hicks is a really wonderfully genuine musician with plenty more music left in him. Superstardom doesn't seem to have changed him much accept that he is even more busy now that he used to be and well, I bet he has more guitars. Darlene has a lot of respect for this hard working guy who took a not so conventional avenue to gain some exposure for his music. He did it...and yeah...We are proud!

http://www.roundermagazine.com/article/article_taylor_hicks.php

Taylor Hicks - "Do I Make You Proud" Chosen as Asian Idol Theme #2

Here's another ad for the upcoming Asian Idol show!

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Taylor Hicks - "Do I Make You Proud" Chosen as Asian Idol Theme

Okay how cool is this? Taylor Hick's winning coronation song, "Do I Make You Proud" was chosen as the Theme Song of the 2007 "Asian Idol" show. Contestants from Indonesia (the host country), India, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Vietnam will compete for the title, much like it's sister show, American Idol, in the United States. The winner will be announced on December 16.

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Don't Let Me Down Taylor Hicks

I'm a lifelong Beatles fan and you can only imagine my excitement when I first heard Taylor do one of my favorite Lennon/McCartney tunes "Don't Let Me Down". The soul and groove Taylor put in this song is nothing short of amazing - not to mention that awesome sax solo by Brian Gallagher.

Here is the version from the Genesee Theater in Waukegan, IL on July 12, 2007. Elliott Yamin could take a lesson or two in how to deliver a real soulful performance from Mr. Hicks. Watch and enjoy!
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Taylor Hicks Attends Golf Digest's 2007 Celebrity Invitational

Taylor Hicks attended Golf Digest's 2007 Celebrity Invitational, held Nov. 11th at the Cabana Club in Los Angeles. Together with Paul Barrere, Kenny Gradney (of Little Feat), Tony Braunagel, Fergie Frederickson and Jason Scheff of Chicago, Taylor was one of the featured entertainers. The following day, he participated in the Golf Tournament, held at the Lakeside Golf Club in Burbank along side of other entertainers such as musician Stephen Stills and actor/comedian Tim Allen.

Check out some the great photos!

American Idol is Destroying The Music Industry

The initial premise of American Idol is long gone. It's not a simple singing competition anymore, it's a commercial sales contest, plain and simple. It pits winners against losers within each respective season and from season to season. It pits fan base against fan base for bragging rights. It's all about $$$$ baby! It's not about finding raw talent, a unique performer, the best musician, or even the best singer. It's about promoting who they want and who best fills the deep money grubbing pockets of the American Idol pigs (if you grew up in the 60s, you'll know the meaning of the word). Forget musical integrity. If it doesn't sell, they don't want you - even if you win the friggin' show.

Who are they looking for? Anyone who can imitate what's currently selling on the Top 40 or country charts. That's where the money is. It's about making puppets out of stary eyed still wet behind the ears singers - youngsters that won't give them any lip. They don't want performers who know who they are musically and have a musical vision. American Idol wants to MOLD YOU into their idea of a pop star.

It poors millions of dollars into promoting marginally talented unknowns and brainwashes the public into believing their choice (not the voting audience) is deserving of this musical golden spoon. Huh? Could America be so dumb and unaware to actually believe this crap? Don't answer that. I can't take the bad news.

You see, the real hardcore brainwashing really starts after each season ends. The comparisons in sales amongst the Top 10 continue on for years. You see, they want you to believe that more CDs you sell, the more talented you are. Yes, folks, it's all about CD sales - THE SOLE indicator of success and talent. *cough*. Contrary to current popular opinion, I think not. All this is an indicator of is the power of the payola to radio stations and the almighty advertising dollar. TPTB like you because they see dollar signs? You're in! They'll take you to the top, even if you're tone-deaf. You see, they get very nervous if the winner doesn't fit into the Top 40 mold. How will they make their money? Oye vey!

It's all very sad. You see, I lived through an era where musicians and singers were judged on their music, not how they could be manufactured and promoted based on their looks or marketability. They took their musical craft seriously and spent years and years refining it in small clubs earning their way up the latter of success. Nothing was handed to them. The legacy of these musicians are the standard by which all others look up to. The geniuses of the future won't be coming out of the American Idol machine, that I can assure you.

American Idol's philosophy is that you sell over 1 million copies of your album, you're great! You sell under 1 million, you suck! End of story. And heaven forbid a second, third, fourth or sixth place finisher outsells the winner. Holy cow! According the faithful non-thinking AI watchers, this could be a fate worse than death. I mean, come on, isn't it Clive Davis who shuffles out every year with his report card on how well his "kids" have done - how many CDs they've sold and how great they are because of it? The mutual ass-licking couldn't be more self-serving. Is he implying that the more CDs one sells, the more talented and deserving they are? Is he implying that America got it right, or wrong, in their choice for winner, depending on how commercially successful they are relative to everyone else? If the winner doesn't sell like losers, did we get it wrong? Do we not know what we like? It's all so confusing.

The fact of the matter is they choose to promote who they want and who they think is going to be their biggest money maker (regardless of their placement in the Top 10). Winning means nothing as it turns out. It's who can imitate what's already successful on the radio and put money in big daddy's pocket. These puppets, as I like to call them, are used and abused until they no longer serve their purpose. If you weren't their chosen one, then you're on your own. This show isn't really about finding uniquely talented individuals - real musicians, real songwriters or real pioneers. It's about finding people who can imitate the dreck that is already popular with the less than discerning music buyer.

American Idol is destroying the music industry. It's all very sad, but being the optomist I am, I know that people will come to their senses, eventually, and music will mean something again. Perhaps people like Season 5 winner, Taylor Hicks, will prove that being different and breaking the mold is something to strive for, not being a cow and following the herd.

Taylor Hicks Clicks With The Music Fans

Okay more press to deal with this morning. I was perusing the latest American Idol news and came across this beauty from Kira L. Schlechtrof of The Patriot-News in which she claims:

For every “American Idol” star who experiences massive success — such as Jennifer Hudson, Chris Daughtry, Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood — still more — like Ruben Studdard and Taylor Hicks — don’t seem to click with audiences.

Soul singer Elliott Yamin, who finished third to Katharine McPhee and winner Hicks last year, falls somewhere squarely in the middle.

Taylor doesn't "click with audiences"? Well now. Hold the ship there, Kira. Let's examine this a bit. It seems you are saying that Elliott clicks more with music buyers than Taylor Hicks and Ruben Studdard! Hmm.

Are you saying that this "clicking" is based on record sales?? If so, then your statement can't be true, since both Taylor Hicks AND Ruben Studdard have far outsold Elliott Yamin in record sales. Taylor Hick's latest album has sold 697,000 albums (based on Soundscan reports) to date, yet Elliott's CD has only sold 433,000 albums. In fact, Taylor has outsold everyone else from the 5th season of American Idol, sans Chris Daughtry, who clearly has licked Clive Davis' ass a few times over. Ruben's first album sold upwards of 2 million copies. Elliott loses here.

Does she think success is based on concert revenue? Based on 5 recents concerts in venues less than 1,500 seats, Elliott totaled a measly $49,539 in tour revenue, not selling out one. The Wall Street Journal reported that Taylor Hick's first concert tour this year exceeded 1.9 million in revenue. So I guess Taylor has Elliott beat in that department as well.

So, we can say then that the 2 biggest determining factors of "success" and "clicking" in the music industry has Taylor Hicks beating Elliott Yamin by a mile.

Sorry Kara, but your article is just bad spin to make your article seem accurate. In reality, your initial premise is wrong. Nice try, though.

The New Format of American Idol

Seems Nigel Lithgoe, one of the producers on American Idol is changing the format of the show, letting contestants play an instrument in the audition rounds. He says in part from this article at
http://www.nypost.com/seven/11052007/tv/idol_shake_up_544501.htm?page=0

"We knew Chris Daughtry, Carrie [Underwood] and Bo [Bice] could play the guitar but we really couldn't show it," he says. "If [the contestants] can play an instrument this year we want to be able to see that, and we'll introduce a couple of days of that during Hollywood week."

Thanks Nigel for not mentioning to the world THE MOST OBVIOUS person who started this trend - the infamous Harmonica Walk of AI5 Winner Taylor Hicks. Another kick in the ass from the show to Taylor. I really hate sore losers, don't you?

Just as a reminder, let's view that infamous harmonica walk. He hooked me from this point forward.



There will never be another contestant on American Idol like Taylor Hicks. He made it okay to be different, okay to be yourself, okay to work outside the Top 40 music bubble - and have people respond to it in a postive way. Thank You Taylor Hicks. You did good!

As proof:

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Pure Joy From Taylor Hicks!

These images say it all! The music just oozes from every pore of his being...




Taylor Hicks at the Pearl River Casino
Photo courtesy of Taylor_crazy

Last Taylor Hicks Concert for 2007

Taylor just finished up his last show of 2007 at Pearl River Resort in Philadelphia, MS on November 2, 2007. His tour was in support of his first major label, platinum selling album, "Taylor Hicks". In every possible way, it has been a major triumph - performing to thousands of adoring fans and traveling to every corner of the United States to packed houses and rave reviews. Check out this beautiful rendition of his own original song, "The Fall" from Hagerstown, MD on July 6, 2007. The song is included on his first independent album, "In Your Time".

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Jordin Sparks - The Newest AI Loser

Are they kidding with this album cover? It looks like all of her 17 years of life have just been sucked out of her by the AI conglomerate. "Jordin, make sure you don't smile or even give a hint of personality in this picture". And what's with the leather jacket? I guess that's supposed to make me think she has an edge? That this is a CD worth spending $18 on? I think not, folks.

Ms. Sparks, watch yourself. Your dangerously close to becoming one of their brainless puppets devoid of any artistic redemption.

Wake me up with this nightmare is over.



To her credit, she's not wearing a bumble bee outfit and ho-boots Katharine McPhee was advertising on her CD. I mean, really, Open Toes? LOL!! No wonder it's the worse CD ever to come out of Idol.

Hey Georgia

I was just thinking back to last May when we saw Taylor Hicks at Pala Casino down near San Diego. He sang a rare version of "Georgia On My Mind" under the clear skies. I can't think of anyone else out there today that could do justice to this classic like Taylor did that night. Judging from this performance, it's quite clear why Taylor won American Idol in '06. The man's got soul, baby!

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