June 20th 2008
Vanguard Records to Distribute "Early Works" album on Taylor's Modern Whomp
Records
"Early Works", a collection of Taylor
Hicks' Pre-American Idol recordings has been scheduled for release on August
12th, 2008. Vanguard
Records will be distributing the album under the label of Modern Whomp
Records, which is Taylor's own record label.
More info as it becomes available.
June 6th 2008
Taylor Debuts in Grease and Places Handprints at Planet Hollywood
Ceremony
The big day arrived as Taylor debuted in Grease as Teen Angel to a
packed house on Friday night, June 6th 2008. The press and Soul Patrol
reps were out in full force to witness Taylor Take the stage. Taylor
performed the show-stopping number "Beauty School Dropout", and also had a
featured part during the curtain call, where he performed the "hand jive"
with the best of them. The audience loudly voiced their approval.
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After the performance, he signed autographs for fans outside the stage door.
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Next it was off to the Planet Hollywood Handprint
ceremony to commemorate his Broadway debut.
All photos courtesy SilentRebel /
WireImage
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May 16th 2008
"Grease" is the word!
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“Making due on his
promise of "big news", Taylor Hicks announced that he will be Guest starring in
the role of "Teen Angel" in the Broadway Revival of
Grease. He
will play the role from June 6th to September 7th.
Full story here |
May 8th 2008
Scheduled Appearance at "A Capitol 4th"
“American Idol” winner
Taylor Hicks performs at the 2008 A CAPITOL FOURTH, which offers an evening of
patriotic and uplifting music followed by a stunning display of fireworks over
the Washington Monument. It will air live on PBS stations.
http://dc.about.com/od/specialevent...tolFourth_3.htm
April 7th 2008
Taylor scheduled to appear with Todd Rundgren and Denny Laine at Sgt. Pepper
Tribute Concert
Important update 5/29/08: Update: Due to his
obligations in
Grease, Taylor has had to
cancel this appearance.
Saturday, August 23 at 8 pm at the Filene Center, WolfTrap, Vienna,
Virginia
It Was 40 Years Ago Today
A Tribute to the greatest album in Rock & Roll History
Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band
February 22nd 2008
Taylor at Alabama Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony
| Taylor Hicks appeared Friday February 22nd, 2008 at the
Alabama Music Hall of
Fame's induction and awards ceremony held in Montgomery, AL.
He received the America's Music Award along with Angela Hacker, the
2007 winner of the "Nashville Star" TV show. During the induction
ceremony, Taylor performed "Soul Thing" and later sat in with songwriter
Chris Tompkins for a little harp, a verse and a slightly different spin on
the
Tompkins penned "Before He Cheats"
More streaming video of the event is available at:
MontgomeryAdvertiser.com |
Photo courtesy: Alabama Music Hall of Fame |
Photo courtesy Claudia - Moto Images |
February 9th 2008
Taylor sits in at 2008 Hannah's Buddies Benefit Concert
Taylor sat in on "Just Kissed My Baby" and "Use Me" with John Bell &
Charles Walker and the Dynamites at the 2008 Hannah's Buddies benefit concert at
the House of Blues Orlando.
Streaming audio of the performance is available at:
Panicstream.com
February 8th, 2008
Taylor is performer of choice at Regis & Kelly sponsored wedding
On February 8h, 2008, Taylor sang "The Right Place" at the televised
"Dream Wedding" of of Kacy Hardenbrook and Jordan
Edsell. The couple requested Taylor to be the special performer at the event.
For more information on this inspirational family, please check out Regis &
Kelley's
Wedding Blog
February 3rd, 2008
A Message from
Taylor
Taylor sends a message to his fans via Gypsee at
Taylormadeonline.org.
January 27th, 2008
The Truth Served Here
The entry below dated January 5th, 2008, contains accurate
information concerning the recent split with Taylor Hicks and J/Arista
Records. We have found overwhelmingly since the story surfaced, that
the prevailing spin in the media is Taylor Hicks was "dropped" from
his contract, a notion that originated with the January 3, 2008 article, by writer Shirley Halperin, titled "Taylor Hicks, Ruben Studdard dropped from J
Records?"
Considering that the dropping scenario conveniently fit in with the
prevailing sentiment that American Idol was losing viewership and
clout, the press was not interested in elaborating that the split
was mutual, as confirmed by both Taylor Hicks and his former record
company. As a result, the majority of the
subsequent media reports state as fact that Hicks was dropped,
effectively convincing readers that an artist who signed a three record
contract and sold 500,000 copies of his debut album in the first two weeks
(without the benefit of a single or radio play), was unilaterally dumped from
his deal, and somehow in the process was convinced not to initiate a
breach of contract lawsuit. Now after this erroneous story has been repeated
over and over, the "dropping" it is now taken as a fact. It's just
too easy for some to paint Taylor Hicks as the poster boy of a supposedly
failed American Idol system. Apparently selling an
estimated 800,000 copies of a debut album worldwide without the benefit of top
40 radio play is the new definition of "failure".
Since very few media sources are interested in revealing any
positive information on Taylor Hicks' post American Idol career, Taylorography would like to offer some facts
to consider:
- Taylor Hicks, along with the rest of the stellar cast of American
Idol season five, enjoyed the highest attended and most successful
American Idol tour to date.
- Taylor Hicks was the first American Idol alum
to come directly off the show as a viable headlining act. His 2007
tour included over 100 dates in mid size venues across the country
. Although tour revenue data is
much more difficult to obtain than record sale figures, it is believed to
be the highest of any Idol-related artist touring solo in their first year out of
the show, bringing in an estimated 5 million dollars in ticket sales.
- In addition to the regular concert attendees, there was an
average group of 100 listening in each night via cellcert (cellphone
conferencing). These listeners took copious notes and assembled
thorough documentation on setlists and tags for each night of the
tour, which are now documented on several fansites.
- Taylor Hicks now has full creative control of his future work,
and will own the masters of his future recordings. He no longer has
to
answer to a record company who does not understand and is not interested
in selling his type of music. He is a free agent in a brave new
world, and the ball is now in his court. We at Taylorography firmly feel the best is yet to come, and
we will continue to report on future developments.
Note on American Idol: For the record, we know the role American Idol
played in bringing Taylor Hicks to the general public and the people
who now make up his loyal fanbase, is tremendous. This is in
fact the show that made Taylor Hicks' career. But it is now
all too apparent that Taylor Hicks has been virtually eliminated
from sight, support, and mention from American Idol. It is widely
believed the reason for this excommunication is the fact he was the first Idol winner not to sign with 19
Management, effectively cutting off millions in revenue from the
company. Show producer Nigel Lythgoe has gone so far
to state in two separate interviews that the American Public "got it
wrong" by voting for him. To his credit, Taylor Hicks has not
responded to these provocative claims. For the record, Taylorography will continue to
keep American Idol information up on this site as it remains vital
to his career thus far. We can only move on from here a little
wiser, and insist that whatever Taylor Hicks accomplishes from here
on out will be credited entirely to Taylor himself.
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January 5th, 2008: Taylor Hicks splits with
Arista Records
A spokesman for J/Arista Records confirms Taylor Hicks has parted
ways with the label he was signed to after winning American Idol in
2006. "Taylor is going to record his next album on his own," J
Records publicist Liz Morentin. "He is no longer on the J Records
roster." A few days later, Taylor posted a message on his
Myspace
page which read in part: "This is turning the page on a new chapter
of my career. Artistic freedom and control is an exciting
prospect."
A few days later , a label rep elaborated further on the split:
“With respect
to Taylor, we have an understanding that he will come back to us to
play music once he’s finished writing his new material.” and
(Concerning Taylor)
"We didn't want to shove any songs down his throat. We wanted to
make an album in the style he was comfortable with. We mutually
agreed that he'd work on an album [on his own], we'd listen, and
we'd see where we go from there. There's no acrimony."
Fans responded by flooding his
Myspace
profile and other fan forums with messages of support. Taylorography
will continue to report on the many new exciting Taylor Hicks
projects coming up in the following months
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