If you're a fan of American Idol--and, really, who isn't?--this is an exciting time of the year! Once again, we're down to two finalists and an anxious nation finds itself unable to concentrate on things like work and family. Who will it be, Adam or that other guy?
We don't know, but we thought this would be a good week to look back on one of our favorite Idols, Taylor Hicks, to see how things have been going for him since his ascension back in season five. You'll recall that Taylor eked out a victory that year over Katharine McPhee, who has since actually vanished from the face of the Earth.
Post-Idol, Taylor's eponymous first album went platinum and hit #2 in the U.S. His second, The Distance, was released in March of this year and hasn't fared as well, peaking at #58. This week's video is "What's Right Is Right," off the second record, and it's fairly typical of Hicks' oeuvre. We see the soulful Hicks onstage mostly, and it's really not a bad song.
Faint praise? Perhaps. To be honest, we need the help of you, our estimable readers, to assess Taylor's place in the pantheon of Idols. Taylor Hicks: better than Adam Lambert, or only just as good? Vote now!
1 -- "Boy! Who'd've thought the producers owned a part of Siberia to which they could actually banish lesser Idols?"
2 -- "Be not alarmed, Idol human. Gummo has chosen to study you, as he does he would an insignificant twig, or Tatiana."
3 -- "Sure, I like a l'il drinky nowadays. Wha's wrong wit' that? Huh, Mr. Simon Cowell? Huh??"
4 -- "Still lookin' fer that free drink, rummy?"
5 -- "I'm certain, honey. Cialis may cause dizziness, drowsiness, fainting, or blurred vision, but it can't make you appear in a failed music video."
6 -- "As you can see, fellow Bubbles, this being has absolutely no sense of graceful motion."
7 -- George Clooney was the worst Batman ever!
8 -- Giant-Sized Taylor occasionally appears onstage with Regular-Sized Taylor!
9 -- "Soul Patrol! Help! Against my will, I'm starting to actually move!"
10 -- She would go home to download Kelly Clarkson ringtones and, for a brief time, imagine.
11 -- "Lyndsey Parker? You're the one who lobbied for David Cook over Archie, right?"
12 -- "It will be amusing to empower the ant he has spied to actually move that rubber tree plant."