Tuesday, 06 January 2009
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Taylor Hicks, NOT Starring on Broadway
This is a guest blog submitted by anne.It seems that after all the hard work and criticism from the not-so-tactful Simon Cowell, American Idol winners don't always burst into the world of stardom and stay there after winning the most viewed singing contest in the United States.
Season 1 winner Kelly Clarkson (who has a new record out March 16!) and season 4 winner Carrie Underwood might have made record deals and a humongous fan-following, but season 5 winner Taylor Hicks was not so lucky to have the same ending. His journey has led him into losing his record deal and joining a Broadway musical - Taylor will be touring with the musical Grease.
But here's the catch... You read it right. He'll be touring with the musical Grease, not starring in it. Poor guy. He's actually playing the very tiny part of Teen Angel. Even runners-up of previous American Idol seasons have fared better than Taylor...
When I saw Rent last spring, I had the pleasure of listening to (season one, fourth place finisher) Tamyra Gray sing the lead part of Mimi. Even (season two, second place finisher) Clay Aiken - who's looking stranger by the day - has the lead part in the musical Spamalot.
C'mon, Taylor. What's going on? Or did you, America, get it wrong? It goes to show that winning American Idol doesn't guarantee your music career.
Who was your favorite American Idol contestant?
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About the Author
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- From: anne@tripcrazed
- Name: anne
- About Me: Age: 27, Location: New York, NY Favorite places I've visited: Trick question! I've been to so many amazing places, but if I absolutely had to pick, I'd settle on a couple places to shorten the list. Madrid, Spain because that's where I did my study abroad program when I was 18 and it was there that the travel bug bit me so hard it left a scar. I haven't been the same since. And Vietnam. That's where my family is from. Although, I'm Vietnamese American, I never actually visited Vietnam until I was 26. It was an awesome experience to learn about my family's history and I was quite pleased to show off my vietnamese language skills to the locals. It's quite a big deal for an american-born.
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Comments (22)
aww, i didn't really like him, kinda annoying. ps, that pic of him is fricken' rediccccculous hah
and my favorite is deeeffffinately kelly clarkson, i still love her!!
In AI, I liked Kelly Clarkson. In CI, my favourite is probably Theo Tams. The Canadian contestants (in my opinion) tend to be a little quirkier, and some of them are pretty memorable.
You think the American winners have it bad? Look at the poor winners of the Canadian version. Winning doesn't exactly make you a household name (even if you have crazy amounts of talent).
yeah, i think america got it wrong with taylor... soul patrol...
my fave american idol so far is definately david cook.
David Cook (favorite winner)
Chris Daughtry (favorite contestant)
I got bored with Taylors season and didn't watch it all..
Favorite winner: David Cook Favorite Contestant: Male-Chris Daughtry Female: Melinda Doolittle
I honestly can't stand American Idol. Kelly Clarkson has some talent, but Taylor Hicks? Seriously? I don't understand.
I have a few favorite AI contestants and they are: Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, Elliot Yamin, Taylor Hick and David Cook
Jordin Sparks & David Archuleta are my favorites cause i love their style of genres
Kelly Clarkson all the way!
my favs are Elliott Yamin and Taylor Hicks.
Elliott is so pitch perfect in his singing, just a natural. what a great story. i mean, he's what AI is all about. a guy working at Foot Locker or at the pharmacy counter with a voice and a dream. he's done well for himself though i'd like to see an album of original works and have him lay off the christmas tunes for a while. "Wait for You" was THE jam in 2007
Taylor.... was never supposed to be a "pop" star so his musical leanings (and career decisions) post-idol really surprised me. he was more the anti-Idol and I liked him for that. I loved it whenever he'd sing obscure songs or even belt out the occasional Stevie Wonder tune. the guy came up like he was from a different era singing Ray Charles, Sam Cooke, Otis Redding and non-disco tunes from the 70s from artists such as Elton John and the Doobie Brothers. it was refreshing to have someone like that in a pop singing competition.
bur rather than producing a retro-cool album à la Amy Winehouse (a throwback but fresh), his debut album lacked direction and cohesiveness. "just to feel that way"? gross. even kanye west was able to put a modern spin on Ray Charles when he did "gold digger" by sampling "I've Got a Woman". i thought that was what we'd get from Taylor. he's got a new album out this March so it respresents one more chance to see if his musical career has the legs to go "the distance"
It's the hair.
My favorites were Chris Daughtry, David Cook, and David Archuleta.
@TakingxOverxMe@xanga - re: "it's the hair"
funny you say that. daughtry is bald. cook is on his way there. and does david archuleta even shave yet?
@slamjoe@xanga - I'm talking about Taylor Hicks' grey hair. Maybe he isn't as successful cause people are turned off by his grey hair. =P
@TakingxOverxMe@xanga - i thought it was the opposite. i think Simon Cowell once said that Taylor never would have won if it wasn't for the gray hair. like it used to be a knock against him but he managed to 'flip the script' ?
i like the salt 'n pepper. a good buddy of mine has premature graying and it looks cool.
i could not stand taylor hicks. for serious. i liked what he did, but he shouldn't have even been on Idol. that contest was not meant for him. it's meant for people who can do pop, and taylor can't do pop. as for my fave idols, i'd hafta say Kelly Clarkson and Eliott Yamin. i'm actually hoping idol will end soon, because i don't think it does what it was meant to do anymore. i know it won't, but a girl can dream, right?
@wonderinthru@xanga - I'm a huge Elliott fan and as i said before, the show was mainly for people like him. a regular guy with a chance at stardom.
AI has evolved into something more than just a talent competition. it's more about entertainment and drama. i honestly just like the singing portion and maybe some of the behind the scenes as to what it takes to do what they do on stage. i can do without the cat fights.
and i'm dating myself here but here's a GREAT Taylor Hicks clip of the kind of music I expected post-idol.
http://vimeo.com/1010052
I'm snickering a bit at you. I guess you haven't been keeping up with Taylor very well. He very much is billed as the star of the show. He has made his part the biggest draw to the show. They made it worth his while to go on the tour. Soon he will be adding his own music. Hes great, can't wait for the new cd.
I think America did get it wrong with Taylor Hicks. It was the novelty factor that helped him win--never mind that he didn't actually have what it takes to be a star, at least not in my opinion. Wasn't Daughtry on that season of Idol, too? Yeaaahhh...he fared much better, I'd say!
FREE SONG FROM AMERICAN IDOL'S MELINDA DOOLITTLE! GO TO www.melindadoolittle.com and get it NOW - FREE! New album released on February 3, 2009! Don't miss it!
FREE SONG FROM AMERICAN IDOL'S MELINDA DOOLITTLE! GO TO www.melindadoolittle.com and get it NOW - FREE! New album released on February 3, 2009! Don't miss it!
This drummer, Gary Chumney, who played with a friend of mine a few times was playing a gig at a bar a few years ago before Hicks was on Idol, and he went back into the green room where all the band guys were hanging out and saw this grey-headed guy. He reached out his hand, "Hi, I'm Taylor!" Without missing a beat, he leaned down to the table and snorted a nice long line of coke. True story!
My fav was and still is Elliott Yamin.