Archive for May, 2006

RS Online Interview

RollingStone Magazine Online Interview with Taylor Hicks

Do not miss this interview from RollingStone.com.  There’s a short print interview, but the really interesting stuff is in the podcast.

Song’s he would have liked to perform on Idol:  ”Mobile” by the Who  “Raincheck” by Van Morrison and even something from Anita Baker’s “Rapture” album.

Taylor talks about the difficulty of “making it” in the music business.  About American Idol he says, ”I was dancing with the devil.”  But he decided, after all the years of trying to make it, he ”may as well try to shoot for the moon, buy a lottery ticket.”  Ultimately, he realized it was his big break. 

There’s an interesting discussion here about his “sound”, and the kind of music he’d like to make post-idol.  Taylor fully intends to make a record that’s true to who he is.  Heh.  Great interview–don’t miss it. 

Here’s an excerpt from the print interview:

“Hicks occasionally rips his own performances, especially his rendition of John Denver’s ‘Take Me Home, Country Roads.’ ‘I saw that clip and thought to myself, ‘Man you are flat all the way through that song.’ Though he admits that he sometimes spent Tuesday night after the show at Burger King voting for himself, he also cast a few for his competitors. ‘I’d vote on the performance as opposed to who I liked as an artist,’ he says. ‘I voted for Elliot, for Chris a couple of times, for Katherine. It was funny because we’d be in the apartment or somewhere and I’m like, ‘I’m voting for you, you know.’ And they’re like, ‘What?’”

Thanks sojie

More Taylor Hicks

Here’s an MTV.com article that’s mostly about Taylor’s new single, “Do I Make Your Proud/Takin’ it To the Streets” (it’s dropping June 13). 

Taylor also talks about his upcoming album: 

“I have some ideas, of course, but right now it’s just too much of a whirlwind,’ Hicks said. ‘I can guarantee you this: It will be an album with my stamp of approval on it.’

The 29-year-old Alabama native said he would be open to singing other songwriters’ material, which has been the standard for past ‘Idol’ albums, and he would even collaborate with a hip-hop artist. ‘As long as it can translate a feeling, that’s kind of where I come from in music,’ he said.

Hicks will start recording the album on off nights during this summer’s American Idols Live Tour, which is still in the planning stages.

‘I think there’s a duet in store, and I think I’m going to get to play harmonica and guitar,’ Hicks said. ‘I’m looking forward to it. This is the most talented year of ‘American Idol,’ and I love working with talented people, because the more talent that you work with the better off that you are and the harder it makes you work as an artist.’”

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Taylor Hicks Signs with 19 Entertainment

Taylor Hicks Signs with 19 Entertainment

This Press Release makes it official

“Following this year’s most successful season of American Idol with over 35 million viewers tuning into the finale on May 24th, the 2006 winner Taylor Hicks signs a recording deal with Simon Fuller and 19 Recordings Limited, in conjunction legendary music man Clive Davis, Chairman of BMG U.S., and Arista Records.”

 

The Ratings

Last Tuesday’s Final 2 performance show ”drew 30.7 million viewers and 11.8 rating/33 share in the adults 18-49 demographic, which amounted to the highest marks ever for the first half of an Idol finale, according to preliminary estimates from Nielsen Media Research.”

The Finale drew in more than 36 million viewers, and scored a “whopping” 35 percent share of all viewers aged 18 to 49.  It was the ”second-biggest non-sports telecast on all of prime time this season, behind only the 38.8 million viewers who watched the Academy Awards in March.”

However, ”Wednesday’s viewer tally of 36.4 million was not its biggest. The second-season finale in May 2003, when Ruben Studdard was crowned the winner, stands as the most watched of any “Idol” episode (38.1 million viewers).

Idol wrapped up its fifth season ranked as the most popular program on U.S. television.”

Here is a ratings chart I compiled from TVWeek.com’s TV ratings charts.  Their information comes from Nielsen Media Research. 

A picture named statsTop3.jpg

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The ratings held steady from Top 9 to the Top 3.  The Top 11 performance show had the highest ratings of all the performance telecasts.  There was a slight spike in results show numbers for weeks 6 and 5, with the numbers leveling off again for Top 4 and Top 3.

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Katharine McPhee to Perform with Andrea Bocelli

Katharine McPhee to Perform with Andrea Bocelli

According to this Andrea Bocelli fansite Katharine McPhee may be performing with him in June:

We’ve just received confirmation that AI second place winner Katharine McPhee will be touring with Andrea Bocelli on his June tour. Concert dates and ticket information are available on TICKETMASTER.COM.  NOTE: This information is subject to change.

ETA:  This is still a rumor–apparently she will join Bocelli on 3 California dates in June.

 

Winners Singles Release Date

Taylor Hicks’s single, “Do I Make You Proud/Takin’ it to the Streets” will go onsale Tuesday June 13

Katharine McPhee’s single will go onsale Tuesday June 27.  At Amazon, the A side is listed as “My Destiny” and the B side as “Think”.

However, check out the CD cover photo.  It lists the songs ”Over the Rainbow/My Destiny”.  It appears that ”Over The Rainbow” may be the A side and “My Destiny” the B side.

Both singles are available for pre-order now at online retailers like Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble.com

 

More on Prince

Simon Cowell is apparently unhappy with Prince.  Says Simon, “It just tells you how selfish he is. He comes on, not a word - ‘I’m not gonna sing with anybody else, I’m not gonna say goodbye.’ Thank you for your generosity, Prince.”  It takes a Divo to know a Divo… Thanks bookwomanblue

 

Chris Daughtry Homecoming

Chris Daughtry will appear in McLeansville NC this Saturday, June 3.  It will be his first appearance back in his hometown since he was eliminated from Idol.

He will appear from 10 a.m. to noon on a stage at McLeansville Shopping Center with his band, Absent Element. There will also be speeches and a tent where children can get his autograph. 

 

Upcoming TV Appearances: Thanks to Idolforums

Taylor Hicks

Wednesday, May 31st

  • Good Day New York - Fox 5, 7-9a/e
  • Fox News Dayside - Fox News 1p/e

Thursday, June 1st

  • The Today Show - NBC, 8a/7c
  • The Early Show - CBS, 8a/7c  (taping on Wednesday)
  • The Tonight Show (Replay) - NBC, 2a/1c

Friday June 2nd

  • Ellen DeGeneres Show - check your local listings

Katharine McPhee

Wednesday, May 31st

  • Live with Regis and Kelly - check your local listings
  • Chat with Kidd Kraddick at 10:30a EDT.  You can listen to the interview here.

Thursday June 1, 2006

  • The Today Show NBC - 8a/7c
  • CBS Early Show  CBS - CBS, 8a/7c (taping on Wednesday)

Elliott Yamin

Thursday June 1, 2006

  • Live with Regis and Kelly - check your local listings
  • Fox News Dayside - Fox News 1p/e

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A little news for your holiday

A little news for your holiday

The summer tour starts July 5 in Manchester NH and is shaping up to be a huge hit.  In New England, for instance, both the Manchester NH and Worcester MA shows sold out in a day.  Each city quickly added a show and those sold out as well!  According to this NYPost article, the tour, which now has about 60 dates scheduled, is expected to offer some real competition to the summer tours of big stars like Madonna, Bruce Springsteen, and Tim McGraw. Thanks bookwomanblue

This critic from Slate Magazine, thinks that Idol is getting better and better, and is actually good for popular music.

“Today, most of those critics have quieted down, and not just because they’ve succumbed to Idol’s goofy charms, such as Simon Cowell’s baffling critical Esperanto (”Katharine, that performance was almost a moment”) or the spectacle of Paula Abdul’s slow descent into madness. The fact is, season by season, song by song, the show has gotten better. Five years after its launch there’s little doubt: The music on American Idol is often very good, and American Idol is good for popular music.”

The producers have worked hard in the last two years to make American Idol more than just a glorified karaoke contest–their efforts are paying off.

Elvis.com has put up more photos from the kids visit to Graceland Top 4 week.  thanks to Gray Charles

A couple of interesting tidbits can be found in this E! online post finale story.   Apparently Meatloaf, who sang with Katharine McPhee for a finale number, has such bad stage fright, that he doesn’t remember performing at all Wednesday night.  Afterward he “cried like a baby.”   Also, Randy Jackson will be Mariah Carey’s music director for her upcoming summer tour. Thanks JW

American Idol broke most of it’s own records this year, including the number of text votes they received.  According to Cingular Wireless they ”recorded more than 64.5 million text messages throughout the show’s season, breaking last year’s record of 41.5 million text messages.  Text messages include votes, trivia, sweepstakes entries, TXT chats, fan club and vote number reminder.” Thanks Tinak.

Mea Culpa

I think I owe Taylor Hicks an apology.  In my re-cap of his Tuesday night  performance of “Do I Make You Proud”, I said that he missed the note when the key changed.  Many readers more musical than I insisted that he in fact NAILED the note.  In this critique, by Rosanne Simunovic, Conductor of the  Timmins Youth Singers she affirms that his “segue into the key change was pitch perfect and vocally astounding.”  I was wrong.  I think I’ll go clean the wax out of my ears now.  Thank you. 

By the way, I never linked to Simunovic’s vocal master classes of the Idol performances, but they really are an interesting read.  She been doing vocal critiques for American Idol since Season Two.  And she critiques Canadian Idol as well.

Canadian Idol

Speaking of Canadian Idol–it premiers tonight.  I’ll probably catch some episodes via downloaded torrents, like I did last year.

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Heads Up!

Heads up!

The Comments section will be unavailable from about 2am EDT until about 5am EDT according to the following message posted by my comments service provider at their website:

Comment posting will be disabled for about two to three hours…There will also be a brief period (about five minutes, perhaps longer) when the site will be offline to complete the transfer to the new servers.

This upgrade will take place really early morning around 2-3AM (Eastern US time) when traffic is at the lowest.

I apologize for the inconvenience…

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Idol Appearances

Idol Appearances

Live with Regis and Kelly:

Taylor Hicks, Tuesday, May 30
Katharine McPhee, Wednesday, May 31
Elliott Yamin, Thursday, June 1

The Ellen DeGeneres Show:

Taylor Hicks,  Friday, June 2

The TODAY Show:

Katharine McPhee and Taylor Hicks are scheduled for next Thursday, June 1.  They’ll be performing live from the Plaza.

The Early Show:

Katharine McPhee, Thursday, June 1

Music Director, Michael Orland’s My Space lists the Idol’s upcoming appearances.

Some News

Lisa Bernhard of Fox News brings back a little Idol gossip from Hollywood. A few excerpts: Thanks xocys

  • The card Ryan Seacrest is handed when he reveals the winner is blank.  Producers tell Ryan who the winner is early in the day.  That whole deal with the auditor handing him the results is just for show.
  • David Foster told Katharine McPhee right before the finale that she was better off not winning. According to the article, “He thought this would allow her to develop her artistry more fully, rather than coming straight out of the Idol mold.”
  • Simon pulled Katharine aside after the show Tuesday and asked her if what he said about Taylor winning was ok.  She said she was fine and then they hugged.  Awww. 

 

Nigel Lythgoe TVWeek.com interview

Here’s Nigel Lythgoe’s wrap-up interview with TVweek.com.  He spent a lot of time talking about his new dance show, so I’m not going to transcribe it.

In a nutshell:  Nigel said that Idol winner Taylor Hicks is unique.  He didn’t think Taylor always chose the best songs, but most of the time he gave a good performance.  The interviewer thinks Taylor will do well as a live act, but wonders if he’ll sell a lot of records.  Nigel thinks “it will depend on the songs he and the record company decide to put out there.”  Nigel emphasized what a great live act Taylor is. 

Nigel is going to continue to do interviews with TVWeek.com throughout the summer for those who are interested.  They’ll talk mainly about Nigel’s show So You Think You Can Dance.

Idol Singles

This USAToday article about how the Idol songs were chosen is a few days old, but worth posting.

“Idol executives have mulled over more than 150 potential singles since January, narrowing the choices in recent weeks to match the remaining competitors, says 19 Entertainment’s Iain Pirie, who oversees the process. The song has to work as a climactic moment on the show but also be something that potential music buyers want to keep listening to, he says.

The song needs to be ‘appropriate to whoever the artists are in the finale,’ Pirie says. ‘Lyrically, it has to reflect certain things, (including) the emotional journey the person has gone through.’”

Thanks a Bunch…

I’d like to send a big THANK YOU and shout out to all my readers.  Initially, I figured I’d be lucky to have a handful of people checking in.  I never imagined in a million years that so many people would find their way here.  I’m really flattered.  It’s been fun.

Big thanks go to all the message boards who have linked to me, like Television Without Pity, Survivor Sucks, Idol Forums and the many fan forums out there. And a special thanks to my homekids at the HH. And a last thanks to Gray Charles for the mucho linkage and shared readers.  The boards have also been a really great source for information.  The awesome super-sleuths who post around the ‘net have been an invaluable resource.

Lastly, a big thank you to the folks who post in my comments section.  An entire community of readers have sprung up here, and it’s been awesome.  The people who drop by to chat and leave links have made this blog more than just me running my mouth.  And that’s a very good thing.  The links and interesting banter have made comments a must-read for the folks who drop by.  

This summer I will continue to blog about Idol.  I plan on covering the Summer Tour.  In fact, I have tickets (actually, the seats aren’t good, but I’m working on it) for the opening show in Manchester, NH and I hope to bring back photos, video and good stories.   I’ll also be covering the comings and goings of the ex-idols now that there’s time.  And when the auditions begin in August, I’m going to be all over that.

I’m open to ideas and suggestions for what to cover in the off-season.  Just shoot me an email or leave a comment.  Folkgirl left a great idea in comments:  She suggested readers share their tour experiences.  Once the tour starts,  I’ll take submissions from readers and post them here, along with pictures and video if you got ‘em.  The summer will be slow, but it doesn’t have to be boring…

Thanks again, everybody.

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Big Finale Recap!

Big Finale Recap!!!  Was it worth waiting for?

You guys…I can’t believe it.  Another Idol season is over.  Sniff.  The producers outdid themselves this year.  The show was filled with lots of music and surprises.  They classed it up, but thankfully didn’t completely lose the cheese.

For instance, the show opens with last year’s winner Carrie Underwood alone on the stage and she sings the Barry Manilow classic “I Made it Through the Rain”. Taylor and Katharine join her followed by the other idols. Everyone is dressed in white and the audience is doing the hand wave.  Hold on.  I’m cool!  I’m supposed to hate this?  But I love it.  It’s quintessential Idol.  Let the Pointy Poses begin!

The evening is filled with celebrity sightings too numerous to mention.  Some in the audience: David Hasselhoff, David Boreanz and his cute little boy, Ben Stiller (again) Heather Locklear and other various Fox TV stars. Continue reading ‘Big Finale Recap!’

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Elliott Yamin News

ETA:  I’m hearing Elliott Yamin had to miss an appearance on Entertainment Tonight today due to a prior engagement.  He’s fine.  His family is fine.  And he’s still on the tour (rumors rumors).  All is cool in Yaminville…

A Couple More Things Thanks to Amanda, Schmandy and Bruno

Elliott Yamin can be found on three tracks of this CD by gospel hip-hop artist Big Planz.  The CD is up here on Rhapsody. You can hear him on tracks 7, 8 & 9.

Prince barely made it to the Kodak on time Wednesday night.  He kept the producers guessing until the last minute.

“[Ryan Seacrest] even stated, ‘No more surprises,’ just in case Prince failed to show - but then the singer walked onto the stage and wowed the crowd and millions of TV viewers.

Seacrest recalls, ‘We’re in a commercial break just before the surprise of Prince and he wasn’t at the Kodak Theatre, so what do we do?

‘He walked on the stage 30 seconds before he was to go live, sings and was in his car before I toss to the next commercial break. He was there for a total of five-and-a-half minutes.’”

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More Articles

More Articles Thanks to all the cool peeps who posted/sent me links…

More about Taylor Hicks from Mary Colurso and the Birmingham News.  I understand I have them to thank for making so many cool ‘bama friends this year? eta: she sent me some readers, I could at least spell her name right. Yeah.

“The decisions he’ll make during the rest of this year will be crucial to his career, and Hicks said he’ll face those carefully. What’s best for him as an artist? Who will he be able to trust? How can he stretch creatively, earn industry respect and ensure longevity?

‘You have to be really true to who you are,’ Hicks said. ‘Gut instinct is going to play a key part.’

Hicks said he expects his management team - and what a luxury to have a management team - to be challenged by the notion of marketing and promoting an ‘Idol’ who’s difficult to pigeonhole.

‘They’ve dealt with the other winners on American Idol, he said, ‘but I’m not run of the mill.’”

And there are signs that Clive Davis may be willing to colaborate with his newest American Idol.  From the AP wire:

“[Clive] Davis, who plans to sit down with Taylor very soon to map out his debut album, says Hicks, like past Idol winners, has charisma and a unique singing style that will help him establish his pop audience.

‘He definitely has his own sound,’ says Davis. ‘He does have that gift, you know who it is when you hear him.’

‘It comes down to the song, and it’s how you produce that song. As long as your showcasing his voice, you have something that people can connect to, that’s gonna work,’ he said.”

And what will that material be? Adult contemporary? Pop? R&B? Classic soul?

Davis says that can’t be determined until he talks with Hicks and sees what kind of music Hicks prefers, and whether he plans to contribute in the songwriting process.”

More about Katharine McPhee…  Here are some photos from her Citywalk party Wednesday night.  And here’s her post-show interview from MTV.com.  A few excerpts:

  • Katharine’s thoughts while Ryan was opening the envelope?, ” After [Taylor and I] did the duet, which was really fun for me, I said to somebody that I don’t think I’m going to win, but if I do that’d be great — but if I don’t that’d be great too. I don’t want any sad faces or people feeling bad for me. That’d be silly. I got a record deal, I got a new car. I got all these great new shoes and fans and really wonderful people in my life.”
  • About her single, ”My Destiny”, “I actually really liked it. I sang it a half-step lower last night than in the recording studio because of my voice, and that really changed it. I think people are going to like it. It’s a traditional pop ballad, and I don’t think that’s going to be the sound of my album, but I thought it did its job. The lyrics explain my journey on American Idol.”
  • About Taylor Hicks, “He definitely knows how to get a crowd going, and that was something I knew he had from the very beginning. There’s something very exciting about him when he performs, and he’s kinda got the American dream story. He’s like the guy who sung in a bar and has gray hair and he’s 29, but he looks like he’s 39. It’s somebody you wouldn’t think would be an ‘American Idol’ — and then he suddenly gets to win and he’s got a huge career in front of him. Those are things that make up the American dream and ‘American Idol.’ [In] the pictures of all the winners … now it’ll be Taylor up there. So it’s good to have another guy up there. It’d been weird if it was girl-girl-girl-girl.”
  • Whose career she’d like to emulate, “I love Barbra Streisand, but it’s hard for our generation to connect with that because she’s not working as much as she used to. Just look at what she’s done. I wouldn’t have the same music as her, but she’s done everything and she’s been respected with pretty much everything she’s done. I’d just like to have a well-rounded career.”

Check out Larry King Live tonight at 9/8c pm.  Both Katharine McPhee and Taylor Hicks will be interviewed by guest host Ryan Seacrest.

I’m still working on a recap of the finale.  It will be up by tonight, complete with vidcaps.

ETA:  Short interview with Elliott Yamin from the Richmond Times Dispatch.  I thought this was interesting tidbit regarding his duet partner.  Those Stevie rumors weren’t completely unfounded:

“Initially, they asked Stevie Wonder. He agreed, then something came up and he went on tour. Then, Lenny Kravitz, but that didn’t work out. She agreed at the last minute, and I couldn’t have been happier.”

Thanks to GR from HH

And Yet More: Gray Charles, that lucky duck, was in the audience for both Dress and Final performances Tuesday night.  Here is his trip report and a final report from one of his moles who attended the finale Wednesday.

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Taylor Hicks on the Tonight Show

By Special Request:

Taylor Hicks on the Tonight Show via Go Fish.

Enjoy!

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More Interviews

More Interviews:

Here are excerpts from the Top 2 interviews with Fox News: 

Taylor Hicks:

  • On being an “overnight sensation”, “10 years [it took me] and every one of those years was worth it, you know. It’s amazing that the road that I’ve been on and the journey that I’ve taken and I want to say thanks to all the voters ’cause if it wasn’t for them, I wouldn’t be here.”
  • On maturity and gratitude, “Yeah, I think appreciation is key. You can get lost in the glitz and glamour of Hollywood, and as soon as that appreciation gets lost, then it can be taken away from you like that. Being on the road and paying dues helps me appreciate an opportunity like this. I was at a crossroads in my career, working at a bank, supporting a band on the road, I chose “American Idol” and as soon as I was allowed to go through from the Vegas audition, it was an opportunity that I had to seize, and luckily I seized it.”
  • Second thoughts about auditioning for AI? “I had some seconds, it didn’t allow me to be who I was as an artist, as far as a songwriter goes, but I think it’s a great way for people like me in this area that I live in to be able to be exploited vocally and a good way to get my talent heard.”
  • About walking “the green mile” playing the harmonica, “…You have to premeditate your moves, especially in a competition where the stakes are so high, like this. You can’t get lost in the moment in all this, you have to storm out, and luckily the harmonica helped me out.”

Katharine McPhee

  • Favorite song to perform, “‘Somewhere Over the Rainbow,’ that’s why I chose to do it again and I was really debating whether or not I should do it again, and I think I made the right decision. I wanted to do it again and I think the fans liked it. It was all for them.
  • Dream movie role, “I would love to be in “Moulin Rouge” or something like that. I thought that was a great film — it’s a tear-jerker and yet she got to dance and sing and have these great scenes. That would be a dream role.
  • Favorite actresses, “Nicole Kidman…and [Sandra Bullock] and Julia Roberts, Meg Ryan … I love actresses that seem accessible to the public. I love someone who you see in a movie and their personality just comes out and it’s someone you just think you can be their best friend.”
  • Her personality, stage vs. home, “I don’t focus on people saying things about me, they don’t really know me so the way I come off on camera on the show is part of who I am … I definitely have a fun, silly side of me, I like to make people laugh and just be silly, but sometimes it’s hard to do that when you’ve just sung and performed, and the judges are suddenly judging you and you can’t speak out, ’cause you’re worried that the fans will think ‘She’s stuck-up, who does she think she is?’”

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Some Quick Notes on Appearances

Some quick notes on appearances:

Taylor Hicks will appear on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno this evening at 11:35/10:35c on NBC.  He’ll also appear on Larry King Live Friday night, 8/9c on CNN. 

This page is a great resource.  It lists upcoming guests for many late night and daytime talk shows.  The webmaster does a great job keeping the page current.

Notable Appearances:

Live with Regis and Kelly:

Tu 5/30: Taylor Hicks
We 5/31: Katharine McPhee
Th 6/1: Elliot Yamin

ETA:  Katharine McPhee will be interviewed on KIIS FM. 6 pm EDT today.  Here is a link to the streamThanks doc

Th 6/1: Taylor and Katharine on the Today Show performing live from the Plaza. Thank you Tinak and Gray Charles

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Katharine McPhee Interview

Katharine McPhee Interview

From Entertainment Weekly.com

  • Did she know she wouldn’t win? “Did I know? I guess I had a feeling that he could probably take it home. Especially because Taylor has been high up in the voting thing for the last couple of weeks. He’d never been in the bottom three. I think he’s the only one who’s never been in the bottom three. He did it. I wasn’t in a panic. It wasn’t like, ”I was staying up for four hours last night voting,” like, ”Oh, I have to win American Idol!” At the point I made top two, I felt like there were so many doors opening for me.”
  • How did she choose her songs? “‘Black Horse and Cherry Tree,’ I chose that because I think I knew everyone was going to want me to sing that. Everyone was like, ”Oh, good, we wanted you to sing that.” It’s just a song that I think I could’ve put on an album or something like that. And also it’s a fun song for me to let go. And then ‘Somewhere over the Rainbow’ was a hard decision for me. I had everybody who thinks they’re everybody telling me what they think I should do. ‘Don’t sing it.’ ‘Oh, it’s too soon to sing that song.’ Blah blah blah. And then it ended up being the one thing Simon thought might save me, so I don’t have any regrets. I’m glad I did it. I didn’t win American Idol for a reason. I think I came in second place for a reason. It’s not second-best; it’s just as good.
  • Was she upset when Simon predicted Taylor would win? “No, I didn’t get mad at all. I wasn’t really hurt. It was just one of those things when it’s like, Okay, someone’s gotta win. And then you think, Well, maybe I can still win. I don’t think I was in this… I don’t think I was really desperate to win American Idol. I was just grateful to be in the top two, to be honest.”
  • Did she like her single, “My Destiny”? “I liked it when I heard it, but it’s a lot different when you hear it produced. I think people will like it when they hear it produced, with the echo behind it, just a lot of things they put with the song that you don’t get to hear live. And also, my voice was not doing good. I sang it as best I could.”
  • Was she having trouble with her voice? “I was losing my voice by the dress rehearsal. I had to have a shot of cortisone from my doctor. He came in and definitely saved my day.”
  • How did the Meatloaf duet come about? “They just came to me. It wasn’t like it was my choice. They just said, Okay, you’ll be singing with so-and-so…I didn’t even know who he was. But now I do. He was like really big in the ’70s, right?”
  • She and Taylor wanted to do “the lift” from Dirty Dancing during “Time of My Life” but…, “Yes! We wanted to! We thought there was going to be a commercial break before the finale for the results. I was supposed to be wearing a different dress, and we wanted to do a spin and a dip at the end, but not with that dress.”

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Taylor Hicks Interviews

Taylor Hicks Interviews

From MTV.com:

  • What he was thinking as Ryan opened the envelope, “I was just telling myself, “Don’t fall to the floor, don’t let your knees buckle.” I’m living the American dream. Believe in your dreams. I want to thank all the people who voted for me, because this is my dream and it’s come true.”
  • What Katharine said afterward, “She congratulated me and I congratulated her. She’s such a beautiful young lady and wonderful entertainer, and she’s going to have a bright future in whatever endeavor she chooses.”
  • What put him over the Top Tuesday, “I think what really helped me was the second slot of the performance order. That’s something that I really thrive on, the wrap performance. As a performer, I was just lucky [to be] on the flipside of the coin.”
  • Is he an evangelist for soul music? “My vision as an artist, when I first heard Ray Charles at 12 years old, was to try to inject some more feeling and soul and depth into my music and hopefully be able to touch the lives of other people. And “American Idol” has given me this outlet to do that.”
  • Has he opened the doors for older musicians chasing their dreams? “Definitely. I had no idea America would embrace gray hair as much as they have.”
  • What kind of album would he like to make? “An album with soul. It’s gonna have a lot of feeling. I’m an instrumentalist as well as vocalist, and I’m going to play harmonica and guitar on it. It’s just going to have to be a really good representation of who I am as an artist. There are going to be some things that I’m going to want to do creatively that I’ve never been able to get to do before American Idol, possibly a little bit cutting-edge. There could be some original music on it, but I really just want really good songs. There are also a couple of albums obviously that I’ve done before American Idol that I’m very proud of and hope to re-release on a bigger scale, possibly even re-record. “
  • Will he live in Birmingham or Los Angeles? “I’ll probably live on my tour bus. I might have some little lake place somewhere where I can sit on a porch and just stare at a tree and some water. But as far as what I’ve always wanted to do, I’ve always wanted to be on a bus. My home has been the road since even before “American Idol.” My Birmingham apartment has been there and it’s been nice to come home to, but I’ve been only there for a few days and then I’m on the road. A tour bus with some good, cold, iceberg lettuce is probably where I’m going to stay.”
  • What would be his dream tour? “I love Van Morrison, I love Bob Seger, I love Paul Simon, and if Ray Charles was around, I’d been knocking on his front door. John Legend and John Mayer, they’ve got good feeling in their music. I love hip-hop, anything that channels the soul I’m into.”

From Entertainment Weekly:

  • Did he think he would win? “I was nervous. I was nervous the whole day. I just didn’t want there to be a shocker, you know? I didn’t want there to be the shocking event. Every week I performed as well as I could, and it worked out. I am, indeed, the American Idol.”
  • Did he sleep well Tuesday night? “I really couldn’t sleep last night because I knew what kind of great show we were going to have tonight. It was a wonderful, wonderful show, and I’m so excited to be having this opportunity. I’m living the American dream.”
  • Taylor wants to see the X-men…in his purple jacket, “I am probably going to wear the purple jacket to the next movie I’m going to see…Hopefully I’ll get to see a movie in the near future. Probably X-Men…I want to see it in a theater and get the whole surround-sound effect. Popcorn would be nice. That way it’s quiet and everyone is watching the screen instead of Tay Tay.
  • Is he ready to lose his anonymity? “I think I knew what the American Idol stood for, and it’s going to be a pretty famous ride for a while. We’ll have to see what happens. I just want to make the best music I can.”
  • How he chose his finale performance songs, “‘Levon’ was my first song I ever sang live on the show. ‘Living for the City’ was just such an arousing, awesome song. I was thrilled to be able to sing it again. Even the single, ‘Do I Make You Proud?,’ is good.
  • How much time did he have to learn the new single? “Two days. Two days to Taylorize…I just took some of the lyrics and got into them and really felt it. I think it’s going to be a good single off the American Idol show.”
  • About his fellow contestants, “We all are such a family. It’s such a family-oriented thing you go through; it’s such an interesting process. We’re all friends, and what a great group of folks and what great talent.”

One thing I learned about Taylor during the show–his creative instincts are right on.  Taylor won this competition because he knows who he is as an artist, and mostly didn’t waver from what he knew was right.  The producers should understand that and give him the space he needs to make a good record.  He won’t let them down.

I have a Katharine McPhee interview I’m going to transcribe in a bit.  Also, I swear, I’m still working on that re-cap..

I’ll link to more interviews as they come along…

I’m still giddy from last night!

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Season 5 — The Finale!

Season Five - The Finale!

Congratulations to Taylor Hicks and the Soul Patrol. It was no secret, I’m sure. I was rooting for him. I’ve never had a favorite win, and I must say I like it!  Katharine McPhee fans–your contestant was a scrapper.  She stayed in it even when many of us counted her out.  She’s a talented performer, and besides her recording career, I can particularly imagine her shining on the theater stage.

I’ve been watching AI since season 2, and this year’s finale was by far my favorite. Even with the lack of suspense–Taylor was virtually declared the winner by practically everyone even before he hit the stage Tuesday night–it didn’t matter.  The anticlimatic results came at the end of a very entertaining two-hour show that was virtually free of filler. There was tons of music, and plenty of opportunities to see and hear all your favorite Idols again. Gone this year were the pointless interviews with fans at the viewing parties and with the judges backstage. Of course they brought back some of the bad auditioners, but it was done very cleverly. And that big surprise at the end? Was so not lame like I expected. I was positively giddy.

The results were read as expected, and Taylor was a gracious winner, making sure to congratulate his competitor and to thank his fans, his family and his friends. As he sang out on his coronation song,  I remembered looking at his website back in January before his audition and thinking there was no WAY this gray haired blues singer was an AI contestant.  Just–no way.  But 5 months later, there he was–singing soulfully with confetti raining down on his graying head.  Unbelievable.  But in a really good way.

That’s my short review.  I’ll have much more later–a longer recap with video caps. And I’ll be posting articles and interviews as I find them.  As well as a great big thank you to all you peeps who came along for the ride with me this season. It’s been a gas.

But tomorrow.  All that tomorrow.  Right now, I need some sleep…

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Congrats to Taylor Hicks!

The Finale!

Congratulations to Taylor Hicks - The New American Idol!!!

New Chat Thread…

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Updates

Updates (watch this space)

Americanidol.com will host a live stream featuring red carpet interviews starting at 6/5c pm

I found this on TWOP, but it’s making it’s way around the message boards (including the comments here, thanks guys)–apparently Fox News reported that the “surprise” is a major female recording artist with a record producing husband. The reporter asked the source if it was Celine Dion, and she just smiled.

Speculate away, kids!

This ETonline article hints that there’s a big surprise in store tonight:

 ”…Katharine revealed a few clues! “There’s a big surprise that out of all the contestants only me and Taylor know about, so trust us it’s pretty big, something that’s never happened on the show!”

 Nigel Lythgoe also hinted there’s be some big surprises tonight on Ryan Seacrest’s radio show this morning…

Check it out.  Brad Hicks, Taylor Hicks’s Dad was interviewed by the Birmingham News.  They spilled Taylor’s duet partner for tonight:

“One thrill, the family says, was meeting legendary record producer Clive Davis. They’re also looking forward to seeing Taylor perform “In the Ghetto” on the finale with Toni Braxton

Thank you Jena

Good morning!  Meatloaf has been confirmed as a performer for tonight’s finale.  He’ll be duetting with Katharine McPhee.   But other than that, I got nothin’…

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The Final Two

I can’t believe this is my last performance recap of the season.  Wow.  It’s been fun.

The Final Two - Recap

I’m running on tea and chocolate tonight…

It’s a Big Show.  Besides the rest of the Top 12, there are many celebrities in the audience.  Oh man, I see Ben Stiller!  YAY!

Back from the break, Chris Daughtry gets a hug from Ryan.  Simon and Nigel sob.

A picture named Final2Kat1b.jpegKatharine McPhee - “Black Horse and the Cherry Tree” by KT Tunstall -  Katharine was on her feet for this number.  The drummers were back.  She danced around and played to them.  The song was abrupt–it seemed shorter this time.  BHCT is perfect for her range and her vocals were good, but they unfortunately got swallowed up on the Kodak’s big stage.  Her first version a few weeks ago had some grit and an intimacy that was lost here.  Part of the first version’s impact was that nothing like Tunstall’s folk-blues had ever been attempted on Idol before.  The second time around, the tune seemed slight.  It lost it’s punch.  The song lost it’s impact for Randy too, but he thought she sang it better this time.  Simon said, “The occasion tonight is actually bigger than that song.”  An astute observation.  Katharine mentioned the 1000 roses given to her by her fans.  A very sweet gesture.

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Taylor Hicks - “Living for the City” by Stevie Wonder - Taylor made his way out from the audience, and from the first note there was no doubt he was playing to win.  He had the audience on its feet from the moment he stepped out in his purple velvet jacket.  Taylor’s gruff, tough, passionate vocals made Stevie’s story of a decent kid who loses his way in the urban jungle come alive. However, I wish he would have stayed stage bound. It’s crowd pleasing, but dancing his way down the stairs and out to the catwalk was a bit too Vegas and was at odds with the gravity of Stevie’s lyric.  But that’s a quibble.  Taylor nailed it.  Randy said, “You don’t care who it is…you always make it your own.”  Paula yelled something crazy.  Then Simon said, “Great way to start the show, smart choice of song, it’s arguably the worst jacket I’ve ever seen in my life. But what do I know…round one for you.” Heh.

A picture named Top2Kat2a.jpegKatharine McPhee - “Over the Rainbow” by Judy Garland and others - Just like last week, Katharine started the song seated on the floor, bathed in a single spotlight.  Will lightening strike two weeks in a row?  Yes.  This performance was every bit as lovely as last week’s.  Better, actually.  She hit every note perfectly.  She seemed relaxed and self-assured, which allowed a sweet vulnerability to slip into her performance.  She didn’t seem so “practiced” this week.  Afterwards, we found out that her earpiece didn’t work, but she came in on the right key anyway.  We got the requisite shot of a crying father McPhee in the audience, who’s probably got his own cameraman at this point.  Simon said, “Round one, you just got slaughtered.  Now you’ve come back with, I believe…your best performance of the competition.”

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Taylor Hicks - “Levon” by Elton John - As I listened to this performance, I fell in love with each passing note.  But I also knew the judges would hate it.  ”Levon” offered none of the Idol moments that win a song praise.  All it had was Taylor’s beautiful, subtle phrasing, and that was enough for me. I don’t need no stinkin’ glory notes.  A moving performance that will get better with each listening.   And the judge that made the most sense here?  Why Paula.  After Randy dismissed the performance as a “nice song…a little pitchy for me this time.” (No. It wasn’t pitchy) Paula said, “Randy, what may be pitchy to you, is the essence of who Taylor is…and Taylor’s just getting into the song…”  Ok, that sounded a little goofy.  But if I’m translating Paulaese correctly, she said that while Taylor’s raw vocals aren’t always perfect, he connects to a song perfectly.  Simon waved her off and said, ”probably not as popular as the first song.”  Well, he had a point there.  He went on to say, ”Katharine has taken the second round.”

Before the commercial break we get Constantine Maroulis rolling his eyes at the camera…

Next, the contestants tackle the Coronation Songs of Suck.  Let’s see how they did.

A picture named Final2Kat3a.jpegKatharine McPhee - “My Destiny” written by Hanne Sorvaag -  Katharine sang the first 2/3rds of this song passably.  This was your typically banal Idol coronation song filled with cliched phrases like “Dream come true,” “Every moment led me to this,” “I didn’t give up” and ”I owe it to you…I made it through.”   Every coronation song is the same: If-Only-You-Believe-a-Moment-Like-This-Tonight-Inside-Your-Heaven-Will-Be-My-Destiny.  Every year it’s the same.  At this point, the question is–how successfully can the contestant sell this dreck?  Unfortunately for Katharine, the song was not in her comfort zone–a power ballad that had Katharine losing the melody as soon as she went for the high notes. As always. Even the choir didn’t help.  The judges were kind.  After Randy complemented her look (code for “you sucked”) he said “I didn’t like the song, but I liked you.”  Paula said “That isn’t your fault.”  As Simon began to speak, Katharine looked scared to death.  But he was kind too. “I’m sorry Katharine, but you went from brilliant to quite good in one song….everyone who wants to vote for Kat vote and remember the second song.”

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Taylor Hicks - “Do I Make You Proud” written by Tracy Ackerman, Andrew Watkins and Paul Wilson -  Taylor’s coronation song was slightly less horrifying, but still a power ballad, still filled with the same trite phrases.  Props to Taylor for making something out of it, though he didn’t have much to start with.  At least for Taylor, unlike Katharine, he had an arrangement he could work with, even if on principal the song was all wrong for him.  He could at least sound decent singing it.  Ok, except that he totally missed the note when the key changed. But still, he managed to Taylor-up the song enough so that it didn’t sound completely alien.  I’m sad this is going to be his first single, and I fear for what else the producers are going to force him to sing when he makes his album.  I think I’ll go listen to my pre-idol Taylor mp3s now.  Randy was all you-made-it-your-own dawg.  Paula said, “You’re better than the song”  That’s the understatement of the season.  And Simon simply said, “You’ve just won American Idol.”  And so he will.

Katharine’s coronation song did her no favors.  She didn’t, and couldn’t choose the song, but with a toned down arrangement, she would have fared better.

Based on tonight’s performances, Taylor won.   I think, at this point, that’s a prediction that’s safe to make.

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Final Two Chat Thread

Final Two Performance - Recap

Tawlk amongst yourselves.  And mutual respect and all that stuff…

In the meantime, I want to post a link to Ticketmaster.  New shows have been scheduled for the American Idols Live! tour.  The Atlanta, GA and Hershey, PA, Wilkes-Barre, PA and Bridgeport CT  shows go on sale TOMORROW morning at 10 am.  Reading, PA and Portland, ME go on sale Thursday at 10 am.

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Dress Rehearsal Recap

ETA: Don’t miss the Dress Rehearsal recaps in comments…

Clip from Katharine and Taylor’s soundcheck

From the Doc and Johnny show here is a clip of Katharine and Taylor performing ”Time of my Life”, the Jennifer Warnes/Bill Medley tune from Dirty DancingApparently, they will perform this song tonight–but that’s according to the DJs who don’t exactly come off as a brain trust.  The duet could be part of tomorrows finale.  There’s also an interview with Simon Cowell from this morning posted on the site.  Thank you Shell

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