Hicks Reinvents Career Post-'Idol'

Terrific piece by Randy Cordova from the Arizona Republic! It's nice this writer is perceptive enough to understand how hard it is to sustain the huge momentum coming out of American Idol in the short term and more importantly in the long term - and what unbelievably high expectations are demanded. Like Taylor Hicks says, "it isn't really about how many records you sell. The key is to be able to sustain yourself and to keep having gigs, whether it's Broadway or records or TV shows."

Taylor Hicks knows the rap he gets. Once "American Idol" ended, performers like Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood went on to enormous recording careers.

Hicks, to put it bluntly, didn't.

After winning "American Idol" in 2006, his first album appeared in stores that December. The disc sold more than a million copies, earning platinum certification from the Recording Industry Association of America. Those are great figures for almost any new major-label act. But in Hicks' case, coming off the "Idol" tidal wave, it was viewed as a disappointment. He was dropped by Arista Records last year.

"When you come off of the show, it's pretty obvious that people can say whatever they want about you," Hicks says. "It isn't really about how many records you sell. The key is to be able to sustain yourself and to keep having gigs, whether it's Broadway or records or TV shows."

That's where the true level of post-"Idol" success can be measured, says Sandra Deane, AOL television editor.

"People have unfair expectations of the Idols," she says. "The bar was set really high because of Carrie Underwood and Kelly Clarkson, and that kind of thing is lightning in a bottle."

Indeed, the Idols who have been dropped by their labels probably outnumber those who have kept their original deals.

Fantasia, Ruben Studdard, Clay Aiken, Katharine McPhee, Bo Bice, Blake Lewis and Diana DeGarmo all lost their post-"Idol" gigs with Clive Davis-affiliated labels.

Of course, it's not like the performers vanish. Beatboxer Lewis has landed on a new label and recently issued a disc called "Heartbreak on Vinyl." Glamour girl McPhee has turned to films and has a new disc due in January. DeGarmo is currently in the off-Broadway hit "The Toxic Avenger."

Southern rocker Bice still tours the country and releases products through his own label. He appreciates the boost "Idol" gave to his career.

"People know who Bo Bice is who didn't know me before," he says. "I can really see the blessings the show gave me."

Deane says the fan base these performers are handed from a prime-time TV showcase is one reason they can survive.

"They've had this mass exposure that gives them an automatic fan base," she says. "Then they just need to find the right thing for them to keep at it. Being a pop star who sells a lot of records is a very narrow niche. These people are finding their own markets."

It's working out nicely for Hicks, who landed at No. 10 when Forbes published its list of the top 10 earners from "American Idol" in 2008. Thanks to "Grease," record royalties and his solo gigs, he earned $300,000. It's quite a distance from David Archuleta at No. 9 ($1.3 million), but it's nothing to sniff at.

"Just because you don't have success on radio doesn't mean you don't have success anywhere else," Hicks says. "I think reinvention is the key in this business. If you don't reinvent yourself, you have a short life span."

Even more importantly: He's doing something that he wants to do.

"Taylor Hicks is still a household name," Deane says. "As long as he's making his money doing something he's really good at and something that he loves, he's certainly a success."

AI Phonies - Yes, Chris Daughtry & Carrie Underwood I'm Talking To You

CORPORATE-PRODUCED MUSIC

"Carrie Underwood, Chris "Daughtry" Daughtry, Miley Cyrus aka Hannah Montana ... is this what has become of music? What happened to the bands, the singer-songwriters that lived, breathed and, occasionally, died for their muse? It's like "American Idol," once just a boil on our TVs, has mutated into a pox. Carrie is no more country than Loretta Lynn is pop. Miley Cyrus? We're weaning our future music lovers on meaningless crap. We won't even talk about Chris, who sounds like some opening act for the Clarks. Where are today's Bob Dylans and Janis Joplins, our Jimi Hendrixes and Aretha Franklins? Let's stop rewarding phonies. New Year's resolution: Less B94, more YEP." Source: Pittsburgh Tribune

So I ran across this little blurb from the Pittsburgh Tribune a few days ago, and breathed a heavy sigh of relief that someone out there had the guts to write something that I've been saying forever. I was beginning to think I was living on an isolated planet wondering what had happened to pop music. Was I the only one who had noticed how far downhill the music industry has gone in a mere decade - how low the 'bar' of greatest has fallen. Who threw MY music in the trash without telling me? And when did this happen? Certainly American Idol couldn't have destroyed the music industry by itself - or did it?

Well if you go by their 2 biggest sellers this year - Daughtry and Carrie Underwood, who are relentlessly promoted, I would say they have a big hand in the state of music today. Certainly there is LOTS of other crap out there, but the American Idol karaoke machine is to blame for much of the current musical drivel. I don't get it, though. Daughtry is nothing more than a copy-cat chain-bearing pseudo rocker that doesn't have an ounce of ingenuity in his entire body. Carrie is barely more than a country robot who couldn't show any emotional involvement in a song if her life depended on it. Sing what you're given and play nice, Carrie. Don't ruffle any feathers. Clive loves that. And speaking of Clive, I wonder if he is happy how AI6 turned out. The best singer of that season, Melinda Doolittle, losing to Blake Lewis and Jordin Sparks . A total travesty. Serves him right for pimping the wrong people.

Oh well. Such is the society we live in now. It's sad. There are no musical innovators on the horizon - or is there?

You guys can have your mass-produced music pop drivel from the Daughtrys and Underwoods of the world.

I'll pass, however. It's okay. Really. I'll find my music elsewhere - maybe from someone a little more 'under the radar'.

TAYLOR HICKS - THE KING OF SOUL (Patrol)

I love this article from the Philippine Star - We won't find the likes of Taylor on the pop charts anytime soon. Nope. Where you will find him is the hearts and souls of people who see the essence of this man. He is quite unique in this day and age - a time where the pop world is dominated by electronic and synthesized music machines. Instead, Taylor is out there doing his own thing - jamming, snapping, dancing and spreading good 'ol soul music around the world - one country at a time.

The article reads:

If we forget just how good the fifth season American Idol performers were, we need only remember three names: Elliott Yamin, Chris Daughtry and the salt-and-pepper-haired fellow who was a little more manic and a little more eager than the rest — the one who would whoop and lean a la Stevie Wonder; the one with a penchant for blowing on a harmonica every chance he got. We thought he looked a little like Jay Leno then, but my girlfriend Joyce digressed when she saw him live.

“Pogi kaya!” she said. Poor Jay. But I left it at that.

Pogi or otherwise, the ring leader of the “soul patrol” surely raked in the votes — enough to catapult him past Katharine McPhee and enough to have our unlikely hero crowned American Idol last May 24, 2006 — in front of some 34.4 million rabid TV viewers.

While we’re at it, consider that some 63.4 million people cast their vote for Taylor Hicks — the “gritty, down-home white R ’n B singer” as the AI champ. Yup, presidencies have been settled with far less votes and hoopla.

“Thank you, soul patrol!” he beams on the Hard Rock Café stage in Makati — always referring to the throngs of believers who were won over by the unassuming man with the funny manner yet and soulful — and considerable — vocal prowess.

And, make no mistake about it, Taylor is a true showman — and an original that clearly outshone McPhee who had gone for the hopelessly clichéd, sexy siren stereotype.

He saunters onto the stage, blowing on his harmonica like a judge banging on a gavel: “Hello everybody!” he says, and leans — yes that now famous lean. And just like that, we are taken by Taylor.

It’s his first time in Manila, he reveals, but reckons it won’t be the last. “I love it! I’m excited to be here. I wish I could stay here for a week. I have had a very nice time!”

Ayala Land’s Mall Group seems to have a monopoly on getting AI talents here, but who are we to complain? It wasn’t just too long ago that Yaminoys of all ages went nuts over Elliott’s tour of Ayala Malls.

For Taylor, especially, performing at the mall is certainly a fit. He professes: “I love shopping. I have to get gifts for my brother, my father, my mother, my grandmother, my cousins. Just about everybody. I guess that’s what happens when you win American Idol. You have to buy a bunch of gifts.”

Such candor is rare for usually guarded celebrities. But that’s exactly among the qualities that endeared Taylor to the world — a refreshing character that is purely about the music and rarely about being self-conscious with projections and affectations.

Which is not to say that Taylor takes success for granted. “It’s very exciting for me to be a musician and to be able to travel to places like the Philippines. I am able to share my love for music with other people. I believe that music is truly a universal language. I am very blessed to have the opportunity to come here and perform,” he shares. “Life after American Idol is like sitting on a rocket ship. It’s been great. I love what I do as a performer.”

Taylor got a taste of the vaunted Filipino hospitality upon departure from the plane: “Well, as soon as I arrived at the airport I was received very warmly by the Filipino people. I have heard from friends of mine that this is the place to come to share music,” he says.

Taylor is good friends with Elliott — who was probably a major influence in Hicks’ decision to fly to the Philippines. Someone asked in jest who would win if Taylor and Elliott would fight it out mano a mano. “Well, I would!” he gamely replies. “I would try to win!”

But seriously, Taylor takes his hat off to Elliott. He says he would have rooted for Elliott to win had he himself not joined that memorable season. Taylor also became close with Filipino contender Jose “Sway” Penala (based in San Francisco), his roommate. “He was one of the people who told me that I needed to come over here and play,” Taylor reveals.

Taylor has been polishing his chops since he was a kid of seven or eight, and is truly living a charmed life now. He is already at work on his follow-up album to his eponymously named debut effort.

“It will be coming out next year. I will also have a DVD out next year. I am pretty excited about doing another tour, maybe in the Asian continent early next year,” Taylor says. Expect lots of soul, blues and R ’n B, he avers, and also a little bit of pop. “I am trying to find the right vibe with different songwriters. I am trying to make the best album that I can.”

Of Mau (Marcelo) who participated in the Asian Idol: “She has a big, great voice. We were at rehearsal and I saw her sing. She is a great singer,” Taylor comments.

When not on, well, soul patrol, Taylor is just like the rest of us — watching sports on TV and swinging at the fairway. “I’m just a regular old guy,” he says with a smile. Well, make that a regular old guy who is rich and successful, right? And, of course, a little loopy. We like our Taylor with a little bit of weird. Like, for instance, do you know that he brings along a Ray Charles doll wherever he performs? “It makes me feel better. He was a major influence in my musical background,” he explains.

“The key is having faith, believing in yourself and navigating yourself through your art,” Taylor proffers.

At the press conference, Taylor seems bereft of any self-importance yet is brimming with obvious confidence. We note that he goes out of his way to sign autographs, sing spontaneously at most given moments, and play his harmonica while waiting for photos to be snapped. There is good reason to believe he remains the simple man from Alabama who loves music and the privilege of singing for others.

Wow, what an idol.


USE ME from the Greenbelt Philippines Concert

Taylor Hicks - Taking It To The Streets on Asian Idol

Here's Taylor's cover of Taking It To The Streets on Asian Idol! He totally blew this out of the water, folks! Yep, the Mean, Lean, Dancing Machine!

TAYLOR HICKS ON ASIAN IDOL!!

AWESOME job Taylor!! I hope this doesn't cause a tidewave in Indonesia!

Taylor Hicks Interview on Asian TV


DO I MAKE YOU PROUD w/the 6 Asian Idols


HEAVEN KNOWS


Here's a commercial for the upcoming Manilla Shows!

American Idol Season 5 Best Season Ever

While we wait for the Taylor Hick's videos and pictures from the upcoming Asian Idol Finale and his shows in Manilla, let's look to see why he made Season 5 the most memorable to date. There's no doubt he was the main contributing factor to it's success.



Now take that Nigel Lythgoe, who rang in today with another slam on America and Taylor claiming they got it wrong that year. I don't THINK so, Mr. Lythgoe - you know in your heart that was Taylor the BEST entertainer and singer that show will likely ever see. It's too bad you're too cowardly to admit it. Don't be telling US what we like. Use your time to stop the free-fall your show is undertaking at the moment. Yes, give us more wind up dolls like Jordin Sparks and Blake Lewis, the 2 worst winner/runner-up CDs debuters to date.

Taylor Hicks Headlines Liberty Bowl's Pre-Show Gala & Halftime Show

Taylor Hicks will headline the Liberty Bowl's Pre-Game Gala on Friday, Dec. 28, 2007. He will perform a 90 minute set at the Peabody Hotel starting at 7:00 pm in downtown Memphis, TN. On Saturday, Dec. 29 he will also headline the halftime show - no doubt dazzling the stadium with a high energy performance.

The gala is black tie and tickets are $175 per person.

Tickets for the game are $65 per person.

If you can't make it, be sure to catch the game on ESPN starting at 3:30pm!

The Bowl's spectacular halftime show honors St. Jude patients each year, sending the St. Jude message to a nation television audience on ESPN.

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.

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.