From the moment Taylor Hicks walked into the audition room and stood before judges Randy Jackson, Paula Abdul, and Simon Cowell, it was clear that he was not your typical “Idol” hopeful. at 28, Hicks was at the upper edge of the AI age limit, and his locks of prematurely gray hair only helped to accentuate the point. Taylor however came into the audition with many advantages over his fellow Idol hopefuls, not the least being eight years of paying his dues onstage night after night. Still, he had some convincing to do. Cowell in particular was skeptical, not knowing what to make of Taylor’s brand of vintage southern soul. Although Simon did not quite get it, Paula and Randy were able to send him through to Hollywood, and the rest as they say, is history.
The following is a brief summary of Taylor’s journey on American
Idol. We also have the weekly voting statistics from dialidol.com, an American Idol results tracking
site.
Video links to Taylor Hicks’ American Idol performances”Audition-Las Vegas “A Change Is Gonna Come” by Sam Cooke “Swanee River Rock” by Stephen Foster / adapted by Ray Charles |
Hollywood Week “The First Cut Is The Deepest” by Cat Stevens “Ain’t No Sunshine” by Bill Withers |
2/22/06 – Top 12 Male
“Levon” by Elton John / Bernie Taupin |
3/01/06 – Top 10 Male“Easy” by Lionel Ritchie |
3/08/06 – Top 8 Male “Takin’ It To The Streets” by Michael McDonald |
3/14/06 – Top 12 “Living For The City” by Stevie Wonder |
3/21/06 – Top 11 “Not Fade Away” by Buddy Holly |
3/28/06 – Top 10 “Trouble” by Ray LaMontagne |
4/04/06 – Top 9 “Take Me Home Country Roads” by John Denver
|
4/11/06 – Top 8 “Crazy Little Thing Called Love” by Freddie Mercury insert |
4/18/06 – Top 7 “You Send Me” by Sam Cooke |
4/25/06 – Top 6 “Just Once” by Barry Mann / Cynthia Weil Just Once – AI Performance from dg90001 on Vimeo. |
5/02/06 – Top 5 “Play That Funky Music” Robert Parissi
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5/09/06 – Top 4 “Jailhouse Rock” by Lieber / Stoller “In The Ghetto” by Mac Davis 5/10/06 – Top 4 results show reprise
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5/16/06 – Top 3“Dancing In The Dark” by Bruce Springsteen
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5/23/06 – Finals
“Living For The City” by Stevie Wonder “Levon” by Elton John / Bernie Taupin “Do I Make You Proud” by Tracy Ackerman, Andrew Watkins and Paul Wilson |
5/23/06 – Finale Performance
“Do I Make You Proud” by Tracy Ackerman, Andrew Watkins and Paul Wilson |
Special Thanks to DG9001, Gypsee, Alice In Taylorland |