Taylor Hicks to Star in National Tour of ‘Grease’
From Broadway.com:
The producers of the Tony Award nominated new Broadway production of GREASE are proud to announce that “American Idol” Season Five winner, Taylor Hicks, will star in the first national tour of the show, launching at the Providence Performing Arts Center in Providence, RI on December 2, 2008. Taylor Hicks made his debut on Broadway in the role of “Teen Angel” this past summer.
Taylor says, “I had such a great experience on Broadway for the last three months…This is such a great opportunity to visit old fans and new fans across the country while bringing them a great Broadway show!”
Well, hold on there just a minute! Didn’t Taylor just post a My Space blog that said:
I am going to take a creative break from the wonderful experience of “Grease,” and refocus my attention and efforts on my sophomore album debut. Unlike the post Idol CD, which was released more quickly, this new CD needs to be able to breathe artistically. As much as the music industry is enjoyable and exciting, there is also a business aspect which must be thought out and planned for carefully. These business decisions will allow me to throw a ” long party” full of tours, CDs, and great music for my present fans and the new fans I am gaining every day.
Perhaps he was presented with a financial offer that was hard to refuse? So it’s back to the cheesy world of Grease. The new record and tour will just have to wait.
Sure, he’s got a few months in-between gigs here, but I can’t imagine he’ll wrap up his new album by the end of November. Besides, a long run with the touring company of Grease rules out any sort of album tour until the summer at the very least. The tour has dates scheduled until the end of May.
Color me a tad disappointed…
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89 Responses to “Taylor Hicks to Star in National Tour of ‘Grease’”
He says he has an album coming out. Well, he’s been saying that for months. He says a lot of things. They never pan out. I think he tells people what they want to hear and has no problems totally bsing his fans and stringing them along. I just don’t think he has any integrity. And now he’s touring Grease? Wow. So bad.
Taylor doesn’t have to answer to anyone but himself. Ever hear of “don’t bite the hand that feeds you?” Well this is exactly what happened. Grease saw an opportunity (as he was so successful in NYC) and guess what? So did he, took it as his next project and it feeds him. Did anyone expect him to say “No, I don’t want to Star in Grease’s National Tour?” Have followed many musicians in my life and whatever they announced was going to happen, I was totally satisfied with it. New doors open and don’t know of any entertainer of sound body and mind that would pass this up. Later for the CD, it is coming out, I’ll wait.
Grease is a reality show play that has been panned by all respectable critics. It’s a bad play to begin with. Why would he even want to be associated to a play cast off a reality show? To make matters worse Grease on the road is an gigantic step down. Broadway is high end, the tour is low end.
Of course he should have passed it up. I can’t think of any serious musician with any dignity who would do it. It just really reeks of desperation and feels like he’s holding on for dear life. He’d be better off leaving on a high note, but I guess he can’t pass up anything in fear that there’s nothing else. I’m pretty sure that’s the truth. I don’t believe he’s recording his album right now or in the next few months, as there would be no point since he can’t market it since he’ll be too busy doing Grease for the next year. He’s just trying to appease his fans as usual and as usual they believe every word even though his word doesn’t mean much. Whomp at the Warfield.
Well, my guess is that this is a way for him to make money and keep himself in the public eye while he secures an indie deal. I think if he had one, he’d be focusing on that, recording, and an upcoming tour, etc. That costs money. Sad but true. I doubt he’s doing “Grease” because he loves singing “Beauty School Drop Out.” At the same time, deals take time and I think it’s better he does something while he negotiates. I know the purists will disagree. I think he lost street cred (if he ever had it) a long time ago. At least he’s not hosting Bingo nights!
This isn’t necessarily a reference to Taylor, but serious musicians do lots of stuff to pay the bills, including playing music that isn’t their cup of tea. All serious musicians don’t have the luxury of picking and choosing. Just sayin…
ETA: I could say that I don’t know any serious musicians with any dignity that would try out for AI, but that would make me a hypocrite, I guess. I love the show. LOL.
Pj, you’re right. He has lost street cred – even from many of the fans that looked past the Idol stuff and tried to see him as something more real. I guess if he was a serious musician like he’s claimed so many times, he wouldn’t have sold his soul on AI and would have somehow figured out to get a record deal the regular old way. He’s willing to sell anything, that includes his dignity, his soul, meet and greets and spit filled harmonicas.
I like AI too, but not for musicians like Taylor claimed to be. Those types would generally steer clear from it.
I agree with you blueisyou. He should have passed on this. If he wants to do music, there’s always a way to do it even on a limited budget. I’m afraid this was the final straw for many of his fans. Can’t imagine there would be any anything to talk about in the next year, while he’s on the road doing Grease. As far as his next CD, I’ll believe it, when I see it. In the meantime, take everything he says with a grain of salt. You can only take the BS so far, then people start to catch on to you and when fans stop believing, you’re in trouble.
Glamour, I do think people are starting to figure this out. If his word doesn’t mean much, what is there? I have been saying this for a few months now. Even on this very blog I got in a debate about the size of Taylor’s fan base. People argued that his fan base was huge, I disagreed, pointing out that his sites have very few members. People again disagreed, saying many fans don’t use the computer. Now the numbers for EW came out proving that the SP is a far cry from big. It is tiny and he cannot afford to have this many fans disappointed in his decisions. He just doesn’t have that liberty.
He has taken the BS too far and it’s becoming painfully obvious. I see it as lying to his fans. I’m starting to wonder if some of the BS he was accused of in the past is true as well. That’s a scary thought.
Mia said, “Following various Idolà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s lives unfold from expectations to realities is a gripping docudrama. To me Taylor looks lost. He no longer seems to know who he is.”
Mia has such a great point, although I am not sure if he doesn’t know who he is or if he just doesn’t care who we think he is as long as he is making money. I definitely feel there are some “dark corners” that he keeps far away from most folks and most particularly his fans.
Reading all the comments, I realize that I find the topic of Taylor Hicks still fascinating, as the question, not just of Taylor Hicks but of his authenticity, how people feel about all that, seems to really matter somehow, even to matter painfully. And I’m no exception. I don’t know what it all means but I think his story will make a killer movie someday. I just hope it’s not a tragedy.
I think many people are scatching their heads over Taylor Hicks. I keep wondering how does it come down to this? You are handed something on a silver platter, he got so much attention after his win. He was everywhere – magazines, TV, commercials, etc. I think most of the excitement was due to the fact that he was the most unlikely winner. Someone who struggled and had a tough life. Everyone loves to see the underdog win.
I can’t imagine what the guy is going thru now and it’s come down to singing Beauty School Dropout in a Grease tour.
You’re right, blueisyou, this would make a killer movie and it’s already a tragedy. But, it would make a greater story if he could somehow make a comeback. Everything is possible, in life.
I remember people saying things like “Taylor is set for life financially ” etc after the idol tour, Ford commercial, private gigs, his successful tour etc. What happened to all that money? I thought he was supposedly commanding $50,000 for an appearance? And he supposedly got $500,000 for the Ford commercial?
I think one reason he is losing fans is that once he lost Gray Charles, he never cared to or was able to get a good website up and running. I have partly lost interest in him as he doesn’t communicate much with his fanbase. And many of the things I hear from him don’t pan out.
I still wish him luck, but it is hard to keep faith. I will always be on the lookout for a return to the Taylor music I loved so much.
An actor performs in TV, movies, plays, and special events.
A musician performs on TV, movie soundtracks, musical theater, and special events.
Why does Taylor’s performing in a variety of venues create such a stir?
It’s amazing how magnetic the man is. He attracts fans and detractors like no other performer I’ve seen. Almost everyone has an interest in Taylor!
“Why does Taylorà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s performing in a variety of venues create such a stir?
Ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s amazing how magnetic the man is. He attracts fans and detractors like no other performer Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ve seen.”
It really is strange isn’t it? It seems like regardless of whether you believe Taylor has a large or a small fanbase I don’t think it could be argued that he has a very vested fanbase. For some reason he has qualities(I guess charisma or magnetism) that draw your interest in his success to a very strong level. I can’t explain it. I doubt Taylor has any major problems financial or otherwise that would require his fans to be so concerned for his welfare but for some reason they are.
Because there is such a strong interest in all of his business decisions there is a lot of angst among the fans who so badly want him to suceed (typically at the fan’s definition of success).
I really think Taylor still has the same qualities that draw fans to him as he had when he was so wildly popular on AI. I think if he can ever get in front of the public again on a big scale he can recapture that magic. For whatever reason, he did not get the promo others got. Because of that it becomes out of site out of mind for virtually everyone.
I have often thought Simon Cowell or Simon Fuller ought to be able to come up with something that involved a comeback for Taylor. People would eat it up I bet.
I strongly doubt, at this point in time, that AI, Simon Cowell or Simon Fuller want anything to do with Taylor. They only promote contestants who have made a splash in the music industry and Taylor has not done anything yet, nor does he have anything to promote.
Color me very disappointed.
“It’s music, man. If music is in your heart, you feel it, you play it, you sing it, you perform it, you bust your buns doing it. Thatà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s what its all about!”
–Taylor Hicks
I miss THAT guy.