Taylor Hicks to Headline at the Red, White and Cruise Festival

According to the Red, White and Cruise Website, Taylor Hicks will be performing at this years July 4th festival, along with new country artist Jimmy Wayne, to be held in Fontana, CA at the AutoClub Speedway. Looks like a great time for the whole family, with fireworks, parades and lots of fun for the kids! Click here for ticket info!

Alabama’s favorite son continues to be in “The Right Place” since becoming the fifth-season winner of American Idol. Taylor Hicks has seen his debut album certified platinum, performed with the likes of Earth, Wind & Fire, The Allman Brothers and Willie Nelson, toured through Asia, penned a brisk-selling Random House memoir, and made his Broadway debut in Grease. Currently promoting his new album The Distance and his current single “Seven Mile Breakdown”.

Early hardship quickly led him to the warm and tender mercies of soul music. As a youth he realized he had perfect pitch, and taught himself to play guitar and a blues-wailin’ harmonica.

His personal twist of fate came in New Orleans, at the wedding of an Auburn friend, the night before Hurricane Katrina hit on August 29, 2005. With his flight cancelled, he was given a free airplane voucher. Earlier that summer, he had considered auditioning for AI in Memphis, but the auditions were cancelled as the city became one of hubs of the Katrina relief effort. Taylor eventually used his voucher to travel for a Las Vegas holiday, coincidentally American Idol were auditioning in Vegas during his vacation.

By February, as the fifth season got well underway. From the start, Taylor’s material set him apart. By May 12, “Soul Patrol!” fever was everywhere. It was an emotionally uplifting night – May 24, 2006 – when Taylor won the fifth season of American Idol. 36.4 million viewers tuned in to watch the season finale, the year’s third-largest audience for a televised event after the Super Bowl and the Academy Awards. More than 63 million votes were cast in crowning a gritty, down-home, white R&B singer the new winner.

His debut single, “Do I Make You Proud,” debuted in the #1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 and certified Gold. His eponymous debut album, Taylor Hicks, was released on December 12, 2006 and debuted in the #2 spot on the Billboard 200 charts and was later certified Platinum.