American Idol Taylor Hicks’ Back to the ‘Bama Bash July 11
American Idol Taylor Hicks’ Back to the ‘Bama Bash July 11
By Fran Thompson
Soul Patrol patriarch Taylor Hicks, 20 years after his meteoric rise from playing gigs at the Flora-Bama and on the SEC fraternity circuit to winning American Idol, is back for a one-off gig at the Flora-Bama on July 11 in the bistro’s inside room beginning at 8:30 p.m.
Billed as the 11th Annual Back to the Bama Bash, the show comes on the heals of Hicks’ return to American Idol to celebrate the anniversary of his win while promoting his new single, “The Mirror.”
“There’s absolutely no question that Idol is the platform for me, with about 50 million viewers a week and 200 million worldwide during my season. And there was a beautiful array of talent,” Hicks said.
“It’s been a whirlwind ever since. I mean, I’m coming up on 24 years in show business, and I wouldn’t trade it for the world. The dream that I had when I was a little boy was realized with that win.”
Hicks’ American Idol win came in the show’s fifth year and remains the highest-rated season in the show’s history.
His run to the title, which came when he was 29, was celebrated weekly on Pleasure Island, with parties at LuLu’s hosted by his late grandmother Joni Hicks.
A Hoover High grad, Hicks’ full head of hair was already turning gray when he moved in with his grandmother at The Beach Club and started playing locally in a duo with his Auburn pal Jon Cook back in the early oughts.
On this year’s AI show, Hicks performed a duet with Keyla Richardson of Pensacola on Stevie Wonder’s “Living for the City,” a song he covered with Toni Braxton during his winning season.
Hicks’ Idol run also included performances of “Takin’ It to the Streets” by the Doobie Brothers, “Levon’’ by Elton John, ‘Easy” by the Commodores, “In the Ghetto” by Elvis Presley and “Trouble” by Ray LaMontagne.
His celebrity mentors on the show included Wonder, Clive Davis, Rod Stewart and Brian May of Queen.
“That season had some of the most legendary entertainers that have ever walked the planet,” Hicks said. “Some of their advice, on camera and off, I still heed today.”
Following his win, Hicks headlined a national American Idol tour and scored a best selling single with “Do I Make You Proud.” People magazine named him 2006’s Most Eligible Bachelor.
He went on to play Teen Angel in a 2008 Broadway revival of “Grease!” and then toured nationally with that musical.
He has since hosted the food-and-travel series “State Plate,” recorded the theme song for ESPN’s “Paul Finebaum Show” and was featured in a track on Jimmy Fallon’s Grammy winning comedy album, “Blow Your Pants Off.”
He has also held a residency at Bally’s Las Vegas Casino and appeared in “Law & Order” episodes.
“I am very, very fortunate to be able to be in the business I love, and I don’t go to work every day. I love what I do and am just very blessed,” Hicks said.
“I went from playing to 50 people in my little bar called the Oasis in Birmingham to touring Southeast Asia in seven months,” he added. “So that’s the kind of impact that Idol made for me at that time.”
Pictured: (top) Taylor during his run to the American Idol title back in 2006; (below l to r) Taylor and Jon Cook at The Wharf Ampitheater in 2007 and at Lester’s Restaurant in Orange Beach in 2005.
