Hicks hones his style on album
By Sandy Cohen
Associated Press

Kicking back on a couch with a hot cup of tea, Taylor Hicks looks as comfortable backstage at "The Tonight Show With Jay Leno" as he might in his own home. When Leno pops into Hicks' dressing room to say hello, the gray-haired soul singer is unfazed -- a moment that reflects just how much "American Idol" has changed the 30-year-old's life.

A year ago, Hicks was a struggling musician unknown to those outside the small Southern clubs where he performed. Today, he is a bona fide TV star and major-label recording artist whose self-titled solo debut hits stores Tuesday.

"It's mind-blowing," Hicks said before taking the "Tonight Show" stage recently. "This is what happens when you catch a break. I'm very thankful and very gracious for what the show has done for me."

As a teenager in his hometown of Birmingham, Ala., Hicks knew music would be his career. But the guy most considered an "Idol" long shot with his mature look, Michael McDonald pipes and curious dancing style soon became the odds-on favorite. He spent the summer touring the country with his fellow "Idol" finalists. When the concert wrapped in September, Hicks began his tutelage with music mogul Clive Davis to craft an album that would be a fitting follow to his star-making "Idol" turn.

"He's a modern soul man," Davis said. "But we have stretched him a little. He's getting in touch with other aspects of music and his versatility."

The album sounds like "modern whomp music," Hicks said. "It's like funk, soul, jazz, blues, a little bit of hip-hop beats and rhythms," he said. "It's Taylor Hicks' modern take on soul music."

The past year was packed with accolades for Hicks. Besides earning the "Idol" title, he was named People magazine's "hottest bachelor" for 2006, a distinction he said left him "completely flattered and completely freaked out."

The honor hasn't led to romance, and Hicks said he would hardly have time if it did. He has been working 12-hour days since auditioning for "Idol" in September 2005. He performed at halftime during the Jan. 2 Orange Bowl pitting the University of Louisville against Wake Forest, and a nationwide tour begins in February.

"If I can keep an audience and be a working musician, I'll be happy," he said. "I'm like a traveling musical gypsy, which is what I've always wanted to be."