Taylor Hicks Music, News, Video, & Fans..."Bringing the Whomp! Since 2006"
February 8th, 2008
Taylor is performer of choice at Regis & Kelly sponsored wedding
On February 8h, 2008, Taylor sang "The Right Place" at the televised
"Dream Wedding" of of Kacy Hardenbrook and Jordan
Edsell. The couple requested Taylor to be the special performer at the event.
For more information on this inspirational family, please check out Regis &
Kelley's
Wedding Blog
February 3rd, 2008
A Message from
Taylor
Taylor sends a message to his fans via Gypsee at
Taylormadeonline.org.
January 27th, 2008
The Truth Served Here
The entry below dated January 5th, 2008, contains accurate information concerning the recent split with Taylor Hicks and J/Arista Records. We have found overwhelmingly since the story surfaced, that the prevailing spin in the media is Taylor Hicks was "dropped" from his contract, a notion that originated with the January 3, 2008 article, by writer Shirley Halperin, titled "Taylor Hicks, Ruben Studdard dropped from J Records?"
Considering that the dropping scenario conveniently fit in with the prevailing sentiment that American Idol was losing viewership and clout, the press was not interested in elaborating that the split was mutual, as confirmed by both Taylor Hicks and his former record company. As a result, the majority of the subsequent media reports state as fact that Hicks was dropped, effectively convincing readers that an artist who signed a three record contract and sold 500,000 copies of his debut album in the first two weeks (without the benefit of a single or radio play), was unilaterally dumped from his deal, and somehow in the process was convinced not to initiate a breach of contract lawsuit. Now after this erroneous story has been repeated over and over, the "dropping" it is now taken as a fact. It's just too easy for some to paint Taylor Hicks as the poster boy of a supposedly failed American Idol system. Apparently selling an estimated 800,000 copies of a debut album worldwide without the benefit of top 40 radio play is the new definition of "failure".Since very few media sources are interested in revealing any positive information on Taylor Hicks' post American Idol career, Taylorography would like to offer some facts to consider:
- Taylor Hicks, along with the rest of the stellar cast of American Idol season five, enjoyed the highest attended and most successful American Idol tour to date.
- Taylor Hicks was the first American Idol alum to come directly off the show as a viable headlining act. His 2007 tour included over 100 dates in mid size venues across the country . Although tour revenue data is much more difficult to obtain than record sale figures, it is believed to be the highest of any Idol-related artist touring solo in their first year out of the show, bringing in an estimated 5 million dollars in ticket sales.
- In addition to the regular concert attendees, there was an average group of 100 listening in each night via cellcert (cellphone conferencing). These listeners took copious notes and assembled thorough documentation on setlists and tags for each night of the tour, which are now documented on several fansites.
- Taylor Hicks now has full creative control of his future work, and will own the masters of his future recordings. He no longer has to answer to a record company who does not understand and is not interested in selling his type of music. He is a free agent in a brave new world, and the ball is now in his court. We at Taylorography firmly feel the best is yet to come, and we will continue to report on future developments.
Note on American Idol: For the record, we know the role American Idol played in bringing Taylor Hicks to the general public and the people who now make up his loyal fanbase, is tremendous. This is in fact the show that made Taylor Hicks' career. But it is now all too apparent that Taylor Hicks has been virtually eliminated from sight, support, and mention from American Idol. It is widely believed the reason for this excommunication is the fact he was the first Idol winner not to sign with 19 Management, effectively cutting off millions in revenue from the company. Show producer Nigel Lythgoe has gone so far to state in two separate interviews that the American Public "got it wrong" by voting for him. To his credit, Taylor Hicks has not responded to these provocative claims. For the record, Taylorography will continue to keep American Idol information up on this site as it remains vital to his career thus far. We can only move on from here a little wiser, and insist that whatever Taylor Hicks accomplishes from here on out will be credited entirely to Taylor himself.
January 5th, 2008: Taylor Hicks splits with
Arista Records
A spokesman for J/Arista Records confirms Taylor Hicks has parted
ways with the label he was signed to after winning American Idol in
2006. "Taylor is going to record his next album on his own," J
Records publicist Liz Morentin. "He is no longer on the J Records
roster." A few days later, Taylor posted a message on his
Myspace
page which read in part: "This is turning the page on a new chapter
of my career. Artistic freedom and control is an exciting
prospect."
A few days later , a label rep elaborated further on the split:
“With respect to Taylor, we have an understanding that he will come back to us to play music once he’s finished writing his new material.” and (Concerning Taylor) "We didn't want to shove any songs down his throat. We wanted to make an album in the style he was comfortable with. We mutually agreed that he'd work on an album [on his own], we'd listen, and we'd see where we go from there. There's no acrimony."
Fans responded by flooding his Myspace profile and other fan forums with messages of support. Taylorography will continue to report on the many new exciting Taylor Hicks projects coming up in the following months