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Taylor Hicks music biography continued...

October 7, 1976, Hicks recorded his first album, In Your Time, independently in 1997. After performing with some top flight talent at venues in Alabama, Hicks independently recorded his second album, Under the Radar in 2005. He tried out for American Idol in October 2005 in Las Vegas, Nevada, and passed the audition with the approval of judges Randy Jackson and Paula Abdul, but not Simon Cowell, who said that Hicks would never make it to the final round. On Hicks' first performance for the voting public, Cowell called back to this quote, admitting he was wrong. On the May 10, 2006, results show, Hicks along with Katharine McPhee and Elliott Yamin, were announced as the Top 3 finalists. Hicks was named the new American Idol on May 24, 2006, winning the title over McPhee, with over 63.4 million votes cast in total. At 29, Hicks was the oldest contestant to win American Idol, but not too old to win People magazine's "Hottest Bachelor" award for 2006.



Hicks signed a recording contract with 19 Recordings Limited/Arista Records, managed by American Idol creator Simon Fuller, in May 2006. His debut single, "Do I Make You Proud," debuted at the number one spot on the Billboard Hot 100 and was subsequently certified gold. Hicks released his self-titled debut album in December 2006 and it debuted at the number two spot on the Billboard 200 charts. By January 2007, it was certified platinum. Despite this success, Hicks had the lowest selling album for an American Idol winner, and Arista dropped him in 2008. During the same year, however, Hicks scored a role as "Teen Angel" in the Broadway revival of the musical Grease and subsequently went on a national tour with the show. In 2009, Hicks released his second album, The Distance, on his own label, Modern Whomp Records. In May of 2009, Taylor Hicks made Forbes "Top Ten earning American Idol stars" list, coming in at number 10, and showing his fans, dubbed the "Soul Patrol" that he had staying power.