Congrats to Taylor Hicks for winning American Idol 2006!
We here at urbannerd.com are glad to one of the first to annouce that the American Idol winner is Taylor Hicks!
Taylor Hicks was born in Saint Vincent’s Hospital in Birmingham, Alabama. As an infant, he had blond hair. His hair color turned dark brown/black as an adolescent, and then grey as a young adult. He and his family moved to suburban Hoover when he was 8 years old. His parents divorced when he was 8, and his father Brad, a dentist, and stepmother Linda shared custody until he became of age. His half-brother, Sean, is a student at Georgia Tech and plays trumpet in the school’s jazz band.
Growing up in Hoover, Hicks played Little League baseball, golf, and varsity basketball. According to his grandmother Jonie, Hicks never had formal music lessons. He came running up to her when he was about twelve years old saying, “Grandma, you’ve got to hear this!” Then he sang Otis Redding’s “Try A Little Tenderness” for her. According to his father, when he was 5 years old he sang to random strangers the music of Kenny Rogers or Michael Jackson, to name a few. Hicks’ music reflects his favorites from that era: the classic songs of Redding, Sam Cooke, and Ray Charles. He plays guitar as well as blues harp and writes most of his own songs. [4] He bought a $2 harmonica at a local flea market when he was 16 and has been playing harmonica ever since.
Hicks was a former student of Berry High School and graduated from Hoover High School in 1995. He attended Auburn University majoring in business, communications and marketing for a year, lost interest and dropped out. He moved to Nashville, Tennessee to pursue a music career and has worked with Nashville veterans Billy Earle McClelland and Percy Sledge. Later he graduated from University of Alabama at Birmingham. Hicks had a small following in the state of Alabama for his performances at dive nightclubs and other local venues. His trademark was Hawaiian shirts, and slacks that didn’t quite match. He released two independent albums, In Your Time (1997) and Under the Radar (2005), prior to appearing on Idol; the latter was made available at local music outlets in the Birmingham area. Hicks has also spoken on Tapestry, a radio program on National Public Radio affiliate WBHM in Birmingham, in December 2005.
Before Idol, Hicks worked at a shopping mall, the Riverchase Galleria, and dressed up as the Easter Bunny for Easter and spring promotions. After advancing to the final three contestants, Hicks returned to the mall for a short concert and promotional appearance before several thousand fans.
Hicks auditioned for American Idol in Las Vegas, Nevada. He originally wanted to try out in Memphis but the site was cancelled due to Hurricane Katrina. Also, he was touring in New Orleans with his band, the Little Memphis Blues Orchestra, on the night Hurricane Katrina hit and was evacuated to Las Vegas. (USA Today, 5/19/2006) Hicks passed the audition by the approval of judges Randy Jackson and Paula Abdul, but not Simon Cowell, who said that Hicks did not have enough of an Idol image for any of the judges to put him through the Hollywood rounds. In this Cowell was proven wrong, which he subsequently acknowledged.
Fans of Hicks have been dubbed the “Soul Patrol” [7]. Hicks frequently mentions the “Soul Patrol” after performances and in subsequent appearances by exclaiming “Soul Patrol! Soul Patrol! Soul Patrol!”. Hicks became the subject of two Weekend Update lampoons on NBC’s Saturday Night Live on April 15 and May 20, 2006, portrayed by cast member Jason Sudeikis. In the allusion of Hicks’ quirky tweeks and disposition, Sudeikis mocked playing Hicks’ trademark blues harmonica and repeatedly shouted out “Soul Patrol!”. Hicks, when interviewed by Ryan Seacrest on the subsequent episode of American Idol on April 18, 2006 as to whether or not he saw the imitation, admitted that he had and that the impression made him “fall out on the floor” with laughter.
On the May 10, 2006 results, Hicks was in the top 2 along with Elliott Yamin, and they made the Top 3 with Katharine McPhee. On May 12, Idol producers brought Hicks to Birmingham for a weekend of promotional events including television interviews for the local FOX affiliate, a downtown parade and mini-concert, another concert at the Riverchase Galleria, a mall in his hometown, an evening appearance at the Birmingham Museum of Art, and a campaign appearance with Governor Bob Riley and Mayor Bernard Kincaid. May 12 was proclaimed “Taylor Hicks Day” and Hicks was given the key to the city. On May 17, Hicks joined Kelly Clarkson, Clay Aiken, and Carrie Underwood as the only Idol contestants who were never voted in the bottom 2 or 3.
