Trivia Time: What season five contestant finished eighth, then put out a first CD that generated three top 20 hits in his genre. Clue: If you’re a regular reader of this blog, you already know the answer.
By MARK FRANKLIN
It’s flashback time. We’re up to season five, one of Idol’s more bizarre.
I mean, this was the year of Chris Daughtry, who went on to become a star of rock. This was the year of Kellie Pickler, who went on to become a star of country.
But in season five, the finals came down to Taylor Hicks, a 29-year-old with graying hair who looked like a lounge singer; and Katharine McPhee, a true beauty whose on-stage performances weren’t always very pretty.
Taylor’s soulful voice and on-stage antics — I mean, there’s never been an Idol contestant who had more fun on stage — carried the day. Unfortunately, even his Soul Patrol fan base couldn’t carry the music charts. Taylor’s self-titled debut album was only a moderate success, and he and his record company parted ways in early 2008, less than two years after his Idol win.
Taylor’s back now with an impressive new single, “What’s Right is Right,” that you can hear on his Web site. And his second album, “The Distance,” is scheduled for a March 10 release.
And if you’re a Taylor fan, you’re in luck this week. He’s performing nearby, in multiple roles.
Taylor’s on tour with Grease, playing the role of Teen Angel. The Grease cast has settled in Baltimore where it will be performing at the Hippodrome Theatre from now
through Feb. 15.
If you want to catch Taylor in action, you’d better hurry. According to the Grease Web site, he won’t be participating in the shows after Sunday. Taylor will also be performing his own music at the Ram’s Head Tavern in Annapolis, Md., Saturday at 11 p.m. Tickets for that show are $35. Tickets for Grease start at $22 plus a $2 restoration fee.
Christina Kauffman, one of our reporters at The York Dispatch, happened to catch Tuesday’s opening night of Grease at the Hippodrome. She says Taylor stole the show. And after the show ended, as patrons started filing out, she says Taylor returned for a rousing surprise performance of his new single.
And gals, if you’re a Taylor fan, here’s the really big news. You can win a date with the 32-year-old, courtesy of Live with Regis and Kelly.
Hey, this isn’t a joke.
Apparently the show is holding a Valentine’s contest, asking women to write in an explain why they would be the perfect date for Taylor. The winner might also wind up appearing on the show.
And, gee, I didn’t know this tidbit. Apparently, Taylor was named People Magazine’s Hottest Bachelor in 2006. At least that’s what it says on the American Idol Web site.
Here’s a look back at some Taylor highlights on Idol.
Taylor was thrilled to have Elvis week arrive and wowed the crowd with “Jailhouse
Rock.” But he couldn’t wow Simon.
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Taylor slows things down with a splendid version of “Levon.”
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Taylor dances and sings Queen’s “Crazy Little Thing Called Love.” And Simon
asks if he’s drunk.
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Trivia Answer: Bucky Covington, who’s working on the followup to his highly-successful, self-titled debut album, which featured the hits “I’ll Walk,” “It’s Been Good To Us,” and “A Difficult World,” all of which you can hear on his MySpace page.
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