Musings
an Online Journal of Sorts

By Alyce Wilson

Copyright 2006, Fox Broadcasting

Call him what you will: Soul Patrolman or Silver Fox, but Taylor Hicks took the crown last night on American Idol. For the second time in three years of watching the show, my favorite went all the way and took home the prize. Both times, there were plenty of doubters along the way, but I never stopped believing. Before I knew it, millions of other Americans believed, too.

I haven't felt so strongly about a candidate since the first time Clinton ran for president, and I was only allowed to vote for him once.

Taylor Hicks was unique as an American Idol finalist, in that he never appeared in the bottom three. On his worst weeks, he simply wasn't in the top two. I firmly believe that even if Chris Daughtry, who'd been favored to win, had stayed in the competition, Taylor still would have pulled it out. But it probably would have been a lot closer than it was.

I know the final tallies couldn't have been that close this time, because host Ryan Seacrest didn't make a point of saying how close the votes were, like he had for Fantasia Barrino and Diana DeGarmo and, last year, for Carrie Underwood and Bo Bice.

Some people predicted that it would be a matter of how many phone lines were open and how long people had to vote. Too few phone lines or two short of a window would mean that not everybody could get through, no matter how hard they tried. This would leave it at a statistical tie. As it is, I think there was a large enough window of opportunity that dedicated voters could get through.

Of course, another commentator pointed out that you can also text message a vote, which costs money, so it's more likely that only dedicated fans will do so. The Soul Patrol, of which I'm proud to be a member — I hope to receive my T-shirt soon — is a strong voting bloc, that's for sure.

What do I like about Taylor? He had many of the qualities I loved about Fantasia. He has a great talent, and he's been remarkably consistent. Maybe some of his performances weren't as exciting as others, but he rarely went off pitch and he always managed to bring it home. After a few weeks of the competition, I bought one of his early albums, which is available through an independent label. It's a pleasure to listen to.

Barry Manilow, who helped the guests this season to prepare songs from the Great American Songbook, called Taylor's voice a whiskey tenor. Not quite sure what that means, but it seems to fit. Just can't get enough of his voice.

Then, of course, there's his personality. He's funny, silly, and filled with energy. It comes out when he performs in his wacky dancing, which is a manifestation of his joy in the music. I used to think he was just trying to imitate Joe Cocker, until I realized that he's got his own distinct mannerisms, all stemming from his joy in singing and performing for the audience.

He's also a very generous performer on stage. In recent weeks, he's had a couple moments where the spotlight was on him, and he turned it back to the other finalists. When Rebecca Romijn surprised Ryan by requesting that Taylor sing a reprise of "Jailhouse Rock," he did so but got the other finalists dancing with him. Even last night while he was singing the single written for him, he took time at the end of the song to thank his fans and also to give a shout-out to the other American Idols.

It's clear that the other finalists have warm feelings towards him. As Paris Bennett said when she was asked about him winning last night, she was happy because, "My older brother won." I noticed on many occasions, at the end of a results show, he was one of the first people to give somebody a consoling hug.

His love of music is truly contagious, and he stood out in a good way. Nobody else is Taylor Hicks. Moreover, he appealed to a broad cross-section of people. There were 30-somethings like me, and lots of women in their late 20's on up. But there were also older guys, such as CNN Headline News's newest show host, Glenn Beck, who was talking this week about how he was a proud member of the Soul Patrol and would vote as long as the lines were open. He said that from the beginning, he'd wanted Taylor to win, and he said that he saw himself in Taylor. Just an ordinary guy, not a pretty boy or a movie star. An ordinary guy with a helluva lot of talent.

There were also a lot of younger viewers who loved him. At a number of live appearances shown in recent shows, you saw little boys with their hair sprayed gray, imitating Taylor Hicks. They see in him a role model, somebody who shows that if you believe in your talent, you can reach the American dream.

Whatever her other strengths, Katharine was inconsistent and often came across as fake. But she's easy on the eyes, and I'm sure the record execs can't wait to groom her into a marketable pop star. Still, she doesn't generate the excitement that comes from the real thing.

That's why I don't believe comments made by one of the associate editors of Rolling Stone last night on a cable news show. He said that he actually thought Kat would be easier to market because her kind of music fits more easily into the formats that already exist. He said he wasn't sure how Taylor would fit into that.

But some of the musicians that people have loved most over the years were people who had their own sound, who brought a new excitement to music. Think, for example, about the fact that Prince made a surprise appearance on the show last night. Now, there's an artist who has never compromised. He even changed his name to an unmarketable symbol as a protest against a record company he felt was hampering him.

Or how about artists like John Mayer or Ben Folds, who experiment with incorporating different kinds of music into their songs but who have top selling albums? There's a market for Taylor's music, as American has just shown. Sure, they'll buy his first album no matter what, but wouldn't it be great if they'd actually have him do the kind of music he does well? It would be a pop sensation.

Not to mention the fact that Taylor is multitalented. In addition to his stellar harmonica playing, he also plays guitar and writes songs. I'm not sure what sort of restraints he'll have to follow during his first album, but I predict great things just around the corner. If he can take the mediocre single they wrote for him and wring emotion out of it, he can do anything.

This is the first year since I started watching the program that I actually bought tickets to the American Idol tour. For the first time, I feel like the top 10 finalists are good enough to be worth the price of the ticket. And watching their group performances during last night's show, it should be fun.

Taylor's win just goes to show that it really is about the total package: talent, performance and personality. He made us laugh, made us smile, wowed us, made us root for him. So in answer to the question posed by his single, yes, Taylor, you make us proud.

More on American Idol:

Musings on American Idol Season 5 (2006)

Musings on American Idol Season 4 (2005)

Musings on American Idol Season 3 (2004)

Copyright 2006 by Alyce Wilson

Musings Index

What do you think? Share your thoughts
at Alyce's message board (left button):