Taylor Hicks

American Idol has become a rather bizarre show and last night's grand finale was no exception. Katherine McPhee's father was in the audience, crying. I would feel deprived not to see him moved to tears by his talented little girl, week after week. But seeing a bespectacled David Hasselhoff in the audience, tears streaming down his face, made me feel like I'd eaten bad mushrooms. That and the very disturbing Clay Aikin lookalike surprise duet.

And then Taylor comes on to sing a duet with what at first appeared to be a contract girl from the adult film industry. Toni Braxton made her entrance in a white baby-doll nighty and strutted her stuff, at one point encouraging Taylor to cop a feel. That might have been appropriate if they were singing "Love to Love You, Baby" but the song selected for this duet was "In the Ghetto" and in thinking about the lyrics to that song, I don't know what part of it got her so hot and bothered. The look on Taylor's face seemed to say "this is not how it went in rehearsals".

American Idol was different this season. The winner is not someone likely to be packaged and become just another generic singer designed only to sell records, what the show is really all about as Clive Davis reminded us a few episodes ago. "Units" he said. It's all about the "Units".

By next season I plan to have TiVo so that I can record the show and then fast forward through most of it which should make it around 10 minutes to each hour of air time, thus cutting a lot of the crap.

I picked Taylor out of the crowd the first time he appeared on the television screen. There he is, that's the one. I knew it before I heard him sing as did many others, evidenced by the outcome. There's something about the guy, he's a one man show. And he won. Taylor Hicks won.

Below is the most read piece on this website, posted this past March. It seems appropriate to repost it now.

Dining Out With Taylor Hicks

The gray hair, the smoldering eyes - imagine you've found yourself seated at a table for two with American Idol contestant Taylor Hicks. You feel proud to be out with the man who can so easily admit to having been the Easter Bunny at a mall. The waiter introduces himself and starts to tell you the specials. That's when the evening begins to take a strange slant. As the specials are described, Taylor follows each one up with a "Wooo" and his torso angles sideways, his neck stiffens. People are beginning to stare and you realize this is not going to be the kind of evening you had in mind.

You wonder if the guy has some kind of affliction - a good natured Tourette's Syndrome perhaps? Is he for real, full of adrenaline from the joy of living life and making music?

The wine arrives, none too soon and Taylor proposes a toast "to happiness". That's really sweet, all Taylor wants is to be happy. You take a nice long draw of the much needed beverage, a hearty Merlot, but as you swallow, Taylor reacts to the rich wine with another hoot, a holler and movement to the side that almost knocks him out of his chair. Wine comes out of your nose, which brings forth another spastic outburst from the good looking odd ball.

You order dinner, but it arrives in doggy bags. You are politely being asked to leave the first class restaurant and dinner is free of charge. Taylor is ecstatic, he doesn't know he's just been slighted. He whoops it up on the way out, thanking the waiters, the maitre d' and anyone who will listen, for what he perceives as a free picnic.

"Ain't Los Angeles great?" he marvels as you stroll to a nearby park, where you munch dinner out of containers. He's easier to be with outside of the confines of a busy restaurant. This has turned into a fun and memorable date, but you're still relieved when it's time to say goodnight and he doesn't try to plant one on you. Getting too close to Taylor Hicks doesn't seem like a safe bet.

But I am betting on him to be the winner of this year's American Idol.