I just want to start out by saying..I called this whole Vegas gig years ago. However, I’m not searching in the 300+ posts to find it. I know I’m right and that’s all that matters. Taylor Hicks in Vegas. I’m not sure that there is a better fitting place for Mr Hicks than Vegas. After all, Vegas is the birthplace of performers, not just singers. And Hicks is definitely a performer if nothing else. After all, the purple jacket will fit right in!!
I knew he had it in him. It’s been wanting to come out. I sat in front of my television transfixed. I’m definitely giving Lee DeWyze props on this one. I love the sigh at the end, too.
The thing is, this moment reminded me of Season 5. Week after week, it was a “moment”, provided by Taylor Hicks. Moments like this:
It made me realize how much I miss seeing Taylor live. *sigh*
My question to you is: What products should Taylor do a commercial for?
On another note…are you ever just walking around and see someone who reminds you of Taylor? Oh yeah, you’ve been there…we all have. I think we need to have a photo gallery of these Tayclones. Send me all your pictures that you come across in your daily travels. Take this one for instance, that my friend just sent me:
This is a true Tayclone (not the dude on the bicycle)…because in true Taylor fashion style, this Tayclone was spotted wearing black pants and brown shoes!! Kind of this like this:
Please try not to get questioned or arrested by security personnel while obtaining photographs. Thank you very much.
Ok, getting back to the coveted alphabet series, I was thinking of a W that pertains to Taylor Hicks. All I could think of was Modern Whomp Records. Here’s what I want to know, Taylor. What the hell is whomp? Did you make that word up? So, I went searching the internet for definitions. Here’s what I got:
Super Mario-Whomps are large, walking stone-wall like enemies that are minions of Bowser. They debuted in the game Super Mario 64.
whomp up, Informal.
a.
to make or create quickly: to whomp up a new set of guidelines.
b.
to stir up; rouse: to whomp up public approval.
I know what he’s said…it’s a blend of soul, jazz, blues and funk. Okay. Whatever.
Here’s another thing that bugs me about the phrase. Tacking Modern on to the front of it assumes that there was old whomp, right? I mean, is there retro whomp? Try saying that three times fast.
Anyway, on to more relevant news, who wants to place bets on whether one of the winners is Taylor? Although he has told us that he wants to record a new record (if we could only be that lucky), act, and relax this summer, I just can’t see him passing up an opportunity like this. As long as it involves Taylor Hicks on a stage singing something other than Beauty School Dropout, I’m all for it.
I know, I know. It’s shocking. But now the truth comes out. The American Idol producers manipulate the show, all the way down to the lighting. For those of us that have been watching for years, this really comes as no surprise.
Some highlights:
3. Listen for vocal effects. If the producers are pushing the girls, you can sometimes hear it in the singers’ voices. “On a couple of girls, you’ll hear reverb, delay,” Phil says. “All the guys will be dry.”
“Or, like they did with me on Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic, they’ll put a delay that is off-rhythm,” adds Chris.
Put in a delay? Make a contestant seem off rhythm? What? Say it ain’t so…
4. Count the lighting changes. If the producers really like a performance, they’ll trick out the light show. “Somebody will come on and have a thousand light changes,” Phil says. “Then the next singer will come out, and they’ll put it on blue. And it’ll stay there the entire time.”
or
Little bit of a difference, huh?
6. Pay attention to performance order. The “pimp spot” — a show’s final performance — is well-known (hello, Katie Stevens; hello, Andrew Garcia). And, according to What Not to Sing, singing first raises a contestants likelihood of elimination by 50 percent. But Chris believes there are other dead spots in the show.
“Say there’s a guy who’s an early favorite, but they start going in the middle of the lineup all of a sudden,” he says. “Middle of the lineup is where they put people to die.”
This is not news, people. The pimp spot is where the winners are.
At the end of the day, however, “they’re going to give the people what they want,” Phil says. “That’s why Kris Allen ended up winning. That’s why Taylor Hicks ended up winning. That’s why Chris Daughtry got eliminated.”
I see that there is no playing harmonica on the green mile.
U have to create and stand out no matter what the cost. It is TELEVISION-
Well, Taylor seems to have gone on a tweeting frenzy last night…at least for him. Three tweets over the course of three hours…not bad.
No playing harmonica on the green mile? I can only assume that he was talking about American Idol. “The green mile” being the path to your destiny. As for this: U have to create and stand out no matter what the cost. It is TELEVISION-
….this is something I really want to try and understand. I get that it’s television, and I get that’s AI is not really about the music or the artistry. American Idol, the show, is about entertainment on television. One has to be unique and creative and memorable. What I wonder if music really wasn’t Taylor’s primary motivation, but attention was? He played those shadow shows with LiMBO to sold out houses. He was raw, passionate and determined. There were no rules for Taylor Hicks when it came to the music. But something in him has changed. You can see it on stage on the off chance that he’s doing a concert, you can hear it in his voice. Because of his involvement in Grease and his disinvolvement in his music, Taylor has lost music fans. He seems so far away from the music right now…although he doesn’t let his fans in much, he hasn’t even mentioned music in a while. Is he writing? Is he recording? Or is he sitting in front of the television, watching AI Rewind, reliving his glory and making up excuses for his career? What I want to know is was the cost worth it?
Tweet about this, you blue eyed soul bastard…I’ll be waiting.
Watching American Idol again brings me back to this idea of Taylor Hicks’ vision. Throughout the years, I’ve thought maybe Hicks’ vision was unfulfilled. I’ve started to think that I’ve been going about this all wrong…obviously it’s my vision of Hicks’ career that’s unfulfilled. I’m sure when Taylor was on top of the world, so to speak, in 2006, he probably wanted to over saturate the concert tour market, then do a cheesy part on Broadway, while releasing two mediocre CD’s and remaining the whipping boy of American Idol.
What I expected was this guy…so passionate about his music that he couldn’t control it.
That look at the end of Ain’t No Sunshine and Taking it to the Streets was hunger. It was hunger for respect, attention and validation. Was it really the look of Teen Angel or Beauty School Dropout?
I get that everybody makes mistakes. We all do it, however, part of growing as a person is recognizing your mistakes and not repeating them. What does Taylor Hicks need to do, you ask? I will give you my opinion.
1. Drop the Soul Patrol gimmick. He stopped for a while, then started back up again. It was cool at first, but then it took on a negative connation. Ugh.
2. Record a live album. This is where his strong suit lies. When Taylor is on stage, he is on. That cannot be translated in the studio. By live album, I don’t mean a two year old DVD of performances. I mean the tagging, the harmonica, even the guitar that he only plays part of the time, the messing up of the lyrics…all of it put together is an experience, and that’s what Taylor is good at selling. Invite some friends, Taylor.
3. Get back to singing the music that made a name for yourself on Idol. He needs to sing some more blues…he needs music that he can connect with, and that is what’s missing from the last two albums. Anybody can sing a song, but when an artist can make you feel a song, make your heart ache with the pain of a shared circumstance, that’s artistry. I’m not saying Taylor isn’t making my heart ache these days, but it’s for all the wrong reasons.
4. Start playing little clubs again. If your audience is in the Southeast, then play in the Southeast. Supply and demand, baby.
5. Be nice to your fans. Don’t charge for meet and greets, Taylor. Who does that? Yeah, I know…some people do. But seriously?
6. Keep your promises or shut your mouth until your plans are certain. Give the people what they paid for. Not just in concert, but on the fansites, too. The blogging? The vlogging? The audio blogs? No better way to not get respect than breaking promises.
You’re probably asking yourself, why does she continue to hang around? Not really sure at this point, except it’s kind of like gambling. You just know the next hand will pay big. I just think that one day that passion is going to return, and when it does, I want to be there to see it.
DISCLAIMER: All of the above is my opinion. The end.
