Taylor Reuben Hicks (October 7, 1976) is an American singer who achieved fame in 2006 as a contestant on the fifth season of American Idol, which he won later that year. Hicks got his start as a professional musician in his late teens and performed around the Southeastern United States for well over the span of a decade, during which he also released two independent albums. Upon winning Idol, he was signed to Arista Records, under which his self-titled major label debut was released on December 12, 2006. His energetic stage performances and influences derived from classic rock, blues, and R&B music had earned him a following of devout fans, who have been dubbed the "Soul Patrol." He is currently on Broadway in Grease playing Teen Angel, the role originated by Frankie Avalon.

Early life

Taylor Hicks was born in Birmingham, Alabama, on October 7, 1976, to Bradley Hicks and Pamela Dickinson. His hair started turning gray by the time he was 14. He and his family moved to suburban Hoover when he was eight years old. His parents divorced, and stepmother Linda shared custody of their son until he became of age. Hicks attributed his difficult childhood as the reason for him to find solace in soul and blues music. He has a younger half-brother, Sean, who would later convince him to audition for American Idol.

He bought his first harmonica when he was 16, for $2 at a flea market in Bessemer, Alabama,"Taylor Hicks Bio" and taught himself to play blues harp. He discovered that he possessed absolute pitch when he was able to recognize the pitches of ordinary noises and mimic them on the harmonica. Hicks was 18 when he wrote his first song, "In Your Time", and he taught himself to play guitar when he was 19.

Hicks graduated from Hoover High School in 1995. He played varsity baseball, soccer, and basketball while studying in Hoover. He then majored in business and journalism at Auburn University, but lost interest and dropped out after three years.

Independent music

He recorded, produced, and released a second album, Under the Radar, in 2005. Despite releasing two albums prior to appearing on American Idol, he did not violate their requirements for contestants, as he had never held a recording contract.

Hicks has allowed audience members to record his concerts for personal, non-commercial use, has authorized the Internet Archive to create a section for fans to upload and share their recordings. The Archive does not accept the upload of concerts recorded after January 1, 2006 due to the terms of his "American Idol" contract.

American Idol 2006

Hicks auditioned for American Idol in Las Vegas, Nevada, on October 10, 2005. Hicks passed the audition by 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.