Taylor Hicks Interviews

Taylor Hicks Interviews

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.”

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!