Taylor Hicks Raises the Roof at the "Capitol Fourth" Festivities!

Once again, our soulman does his thang at the Capitol! Movin' and groovin' like only he can! I'm positive that these performances reminded people who voted for him 2 years ago on American Idol what a dynamic performer Taylor is and that he's still out there smiling and entertaining.

This is what the Washington Post had to say about Taylor's set: "...American Idol winner Taylor Hicks electrified the crowd with a jazzed-up rendition of "This Land Is Your Land..."

For those who missed it or want to see it again, here you go!

Soul Thing


Dancing In The Dark


This Land Is Your Land

Taylor Hicks Live on CNN! Video!

It's Taylor Hicks Day in America, so it seems! Taylor was just on CNN talking about his great gig on the Capitol Fourth PBS special airing tonight at 8pm! This birthday party is going to be a smash hit, largely due to Mr. Hicks! He looks so happy and proud to be a part of it. A definitely honor to be sure. Thanks to PBoyers for the video capture!

4th Of July Audience Pledges Allegiance To Taylor Hicks

Washington D.C. Brings Out Big Crowd For Broadway’s Mr. Hicks
The event had all the fireworks and excitement one would expect on a 4th of July celebration, but the sky was blue and the sun was shining. Actually, it was July 3 in Washington DC, and front and center at a rehearsal for tonight’s Washington capital celebration of America’s Holiday was Mr. Taylor Hicks. In this photo we see the large crowd pledging allegience to the flag, of course, but it also looks as though they are pledging allegiance to Taylor Hicks. His fanbase is huge, and according to the New York Post, he’s bringing in an extra $150,000 a week in ticket sales for his performance in Broadway’s Grease. American Idol, Broadway, and the 4th of July. Catch the live performance tonight.

–Broadway Magazine, Broadway.tv






Pictures courtesy of WireImage.com

Taylor Hicks - WZID Interview - 'Capitol Fourth' Promotion

Taylor was on WZID-FM in New Hampshire this morning promoting his appearance on "A Capitol Fourth" in Washington D.C. on July 4. Check your local PBS station for times and specific channel in your area. He will be singing at least 3 songs, one of which will be "Dancing In The Dark" by Bruce Springsteen (the same song he sang on the Top 3 show on American Idol), Woody Guthrie's "This Land Is Your Land" and an original tune! Listen to the interview here (thanks cochem for finding this!):



While we wait, here's Taylor doing Dancing in the Dark on American Idol!

Taylor Hicks, Huey Lewis & Jerry Lee Lewis Headline "A Capitol Fourth"

Jimmy Smits has participated in PBS's Fourth of July concert before, but he will host for the first time on Friday.

Smits, whose work includes roles on "The West Wing" and "NYPD Blue," said being present on the Mall for the annual event "takes your breath away."

"You have all the monuments, and the orchestra, you've got cannon batteries and fireworks, and it gives you goose bumps," he said.

This year's concert includes appearances by iconic rocker Jerry Lee Lewis, 2006 "American Idol" winner Taylor Hicks, pop band Huey Lewis and the News, Broadway performer Brian Stokes Mitchell and classical singers Hayley Westenra, Harolyn Blackwell and Vittorio Grigolo, as well as the National Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Erich Kunzel.

The show will include a tribute to the Olympics, taking place Aug. 8-24. Kunzel is scheduled to conduct the music at the opening ceremonies in Beijing, "so this was his idea," said executive producer Jerry Colbert. "We're hoping to have some of the Olympians (onstage) as we salute Team USA and play the John Williams Olympic theme."

Colbert said the concert, in contrast to the more somber National Memorial Day Concert on the Mall, will feature more energy and celebration.

"Between the Lewis boys and Taylor Hicks, they'll get everybody going," he said. "Huey will do 'Dancing in the Dark,' the old Springsteen song. And Jerry Lee Lewis "Great Balls of Fire' will almost lead right into the fireworks."

The broadcast's signature fireworks finale is slated to run an extra two minutes this year. And viewers may notice a different look, with a new stage at the Capitol's reflecting pool and several new camera angles, including one from inside the Capitol dome.

"We're trying to create an Olympic feeling, so the entire city can see the fireworks and the crowd. We'll do guns and bells and bonfires," Colbert said. "All this time later, 232 years after (the nation's founders) were at Independence Hall, we're still having a birthday party for this country."

Source

Taylor Hicks At "A Capitol Fourth" Celebration!

An early reminder, don't forget to tune into the biggest July 4th celebration in America - A Capitol Fourth, live from the West Lawn of the Capitol Building in Washington, DC, broadcast on your local PBS station at 8pm - starring Taylor Hicks! It's sure to be a memorable performance in front of thousands in person and millions at home! Here is the promo for the show:

Taylor Hicks Ready For Capitol 'Fourth'

For some singers, the "Capitol Fourth" experience can be imposing.

Behind them is the massive National Symphony. In front of them are 300,000 people, plus more watching on PBS.

Then again, some people are used to such commotions.

Just ask Taylor Hicks. Even before his "American Idol" fame, he sang at the Talladega Superspeedway. "It's like Mardi Gras times 10," he said.

Or ask Brian Stokes Mitchell. Lately, he's been singing with the symphonies in Boston, Pittsburgh, Los Angeles and more. "It's really fun when you get these incredible musicians behind you," he said.

Both are scheduled for the live July 4 concert, on the Capitol Lawn. So are Jerry Lee Lewis, Huey Lewis, classical stars Hayley Westenra and Harolyn Blackwell, plus more. It's a night of big music, big emotion, big fireworks. It's also a night when Hicks is usually busy somewhere.

"Every 4th of July, I've probably been performing," he said.

In the daytime, he'd take it easy near home in Birmingham, Ala. "We'd usually have barbecues. There are some beautiful lakes back home."

And at night, he would work. He rarely slowed down.

"You really have to love performing," Hicks said. "I've been in clubs where there was no one there; I've done weddings."

That's what helped him on "Idol" in 2006.

"I definitely had a vision," he said. "I had done a lot of performing; I was almost 30."

As "Idol" leaped between decades and genre, Hicks was ready. "That was from a lot of gold I listened to when I was 9 or 10 years old," he said.

Now he's leaping between different worlds. To do the July 4th concert, Hicks gets time off from his current duties, singing the Teen Angel role in Broadway's "Grease." This isn't something that a dentist's son from Alabama could have predicted. Until now, "Rent" was the only show he'd seen on Broadway.

"Luckily, the second show I've seen is one I'm in," he said.

And if Hicks needs any Broadway advice, he can turn to another "Fourth" performer.

Mitchell has done eight Broadway shows, getting Tony nominations for the last four. He won for "Kiss Me Kate" and was nominated for "Ragtime," "King Hedley II" and "Man of La Mancha."

He has kept up his music - despite a long detour.

"I was in San Diego, doing a musical with Greg Harrison," Mitchell said. "The Trapper John' producers came to see him and they decided to have me play Jackpot' Jackson."

Mitchell spent seven years as a TV doctor. He wrote background music for some episodes, but few people knew he could sing. "One episode, I had to sing. I made sure I didn't sing beautifully."

Afterward, he returned to musicals. He was doing "Kiss of the Spiderwoman" when he was approached by brash producer Garth Drabinsky, the brash Canadian producer. "He told me, I have a project. I can't tell you what it is, but when it's ready, I want you for it.'"

There was more waiting and wondering, until he finally heard. This was an adaptation of "Ragtime," focusing on the Coalhouse Walker character. Mitchell would be Coalhouse.

It was a powerhouse role, strong and strident. Mitchell became a Broadway leader. He and his wife (dancer Allyson Tucker) have done several musicals together. Now comes a new phase.

"Since my son was born four-and-a-half years ago, I've tried to just do concerts," said Mitchell, 50. He's flown out for quick shows with orchestras. He'll do that again July 4; this time, he'll be watched by masses on the lawn and on TV.


On the tube:

- What: A Capitol Fourth

- When: July 4.

Where: PBS (check local listings)

Source: AZCentral.com

Taylor Hicks Talks to the Press-Telegram - `Taylorizes' Teen Angel Role

So much GREAT press lately for Taylor!! What a fantastic way to ease his name back into the public consciousness before his brand new album drops in the Fall. Here's an interview he gave the Press Telegram out of Long Beach, CA about his role in Grease, AI and appearing on the Capitol Fourth special on PBS.

After winning "American Idol" a couple years back, Taylor Hicks didn't go on to sell nearly as many records as fellow "Idol" champs Carrie Underwood and Kelly Clarkson.

But the silver-haired singer from Birmingham, Ala., remains upbeat and is following in the footsteps of Season 3 winner Fantasia Barrino ("The Color Purple") by making his Broadway debut in "Grease."

Taylor called from Manhattan on Monday afternoon to talk about his latest gig, which kicked off last Friday.

"It's definitely country come to town," he said of his presence in the Big Apple. "The traffic, all the people and the fast pace that New York is an adjustment. But I love it and I'm starting to become more comfortable with my role in the show."

The role is that of Teen Angel, played by Frankie Avalon in the 1978 movie version, and Taylor gets a nice, big solo in the production.

"The music is classic and the part is a perfect fit," he said. "I couldn't turn down the opportunity to perform on Broadway for the first time."

But don't expect an imitation of Avalon or anyone else. Like everything else he does, the 31-year-old performer said his number has been "Taylorized."

"The great thing about this role is I was able to be Taylor at the same time as Teen Angel," he said. "It allows me to get my feet wet a little bit before I really dive into acting."

He will be living in New York until at least Sept. 6, when his run in the show is due to end. But he will be multitasking all summer: writing songs for a new album planned for later this year and an appearance on "A Capitol Fourth," which airs live on July 4 (on PBS).
Taylor will join such stars as Huey Lewis and Jerry Lee Lewis on the west lawn of the U.S. Capitol and he will be performing "This Land is Your Land" as well as songs "Dancing in the Dark" and "Heaven Knows."

"The numbers will be Taylorized," he promised. "You just gotta put as much soul as you can into it."

So what did he think of this season's "Idol" competition and the champion, David Cook?

"I think he's got a great shot to be successful in the pop-rock genre," he said. "He's an accomplished instrumentalist and it was nice to see that on the show this year. I wasn't allowed to play harmonica or guitar."

Taylor's self-titled first album after winning "Idol" reached platinum status but was still considered a disappointment and he parted ways with his record company earlier this year.

I wondered if he felt more pressure to succeed as a former "Idol" champ?

"What's the measuring stick for an `Idol' winner? Is it sales? Everyone has their own opinion," he said. "I'm not worried about it at all. I'm just excited to be an entertainer.

"It is a wild ride (winning `Idol') and it still is. You have to just understand that you've been working as an entertainer for years and want to keep working and you have to re-invent yourself. Some of these things that I'm doing now, it's going to allow me to do that."

Whatever the sales of the upcoming album, Taylor is confident the effort will be better music than his first.

"This time around, I've just had the time to be able to write music," he said. "You're really under the gun to create an album in a short period of time post-`Idol.' With this next album, I'm going to be able to breathe."