After years of trying to make it in the music biz as a harmonica-playing, singer-songwriter, the 29-year-old Hicks took a chance and auditioned for the fifth edition of
American Idol in 2006. Although he didn't fit the previously established
Idol image, this personable (and polarizing) performer won over viewers — and ultimately won the competition — with his stellar musicality and spastic, Joe Cocker-esque dancing. Judge Simon Cowell initially balked at the baby-faced, gray-haired soul singer (and
Saturday Night Live constantly goofed on him), but by the end, Hicks had joined Carrie Underwood, Kelly Clarkson and Clay Aiken as the only
Idol contestants never to appear in the bottom three. Dubbed Gray Charles by his fans (who in turn were nicknamed the Soul Patrol), Hicks racked up votes week after week, while his detractors shook their heads every time he yelled, "Wooo!" He released his self-titled album in December 2006.
Taylor Hicks Fast Facts:
- As a teenager, he played harmonica at local bars.
- His hair started turning gray in his teens.
- Released two independent albums, In Your Time in 1997 and Under the Radar in 2005.
- Received a key to the city of Birmingham, AL, on May 12, 2006.
- Winner of Season 5 of American Idol (2006); runner-up was Katharine McPhee.
- Taylor Hicks Relationships:
- Brad Hicks - Father
- Linda Hicks - Stepmother
- Pam Dickinson - Mother
- Sean Hicks - Half Brother
- College:
- Attended Auburn University, Auburn, AL; Attended University of Alabama-Birmingham, Birmingham, AL
