taylor hicks and las vegas show
Hicks announced his series of shows on “American Idol” when he commented to show host Ryan Seacrest, “I’ve got a great announcement. I’m going to be doing Vegas this summer. I’m really excited about it.”There’s a story behind Seacrest’s observation: Las Vegas is where Hicks’ “American Idol” journey began. The Birmingham, Alabama native was in New Orleans the night before Hurricane Katrina. When his flight was cancelled, he was given a free airplane voucher which Hicks used to travel to Las Vegas (hey, who wouldn’t?), where, by chance, “American Idol” auditions were being held. The rest is “American Idol” history.Taylor Hicks trivia: Back in 2006, People Magazine named Hicks “Hottest Bachelor of the Year.” Learn more about the popular singer on his official site.
Since his stint on “American Idol,” Hicks has performed with Willie Nelson, Snoop Dog, Gladys Knight and others, as well as being featured in “Grease” on Broadway and in the show’s national tour. Read more.
Hicks’ will share his unique take on southern soul, R & B and blues in the Indigo Lounge at Bally’s Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings at 7:00 p.m. Ticket prices are $29.99 and $59.99 (for $59.99, guests will get to schmooze with Hicks after his show). Tickets go on sale May 15.
But it’s recently been revealed that Taylor has managed to bag his very own show on the Las Vegas Strip. Although it’s a shot term show, the fact cannot be denied that, this is a great opportunity for Taylor to remind people of how good he is and why many of them had like him on American Idol 5 and thus had voted for him. An announcement was made by the officials at the casino where he would be performing that, Taylor who hails from Alabama will get an opportunity to entertain audiences for eight whole weeks. The show will raise its curtains to an audience on June 26th. Hicks, is basically returning to his Mecca of sorts when he returns to Las Vegas, with him having won his coveted title in this very city back in 2005.
In American Idol, he had stolen the hearts of the audiences by exhibiting his finesse with renditions of the Blues, R&B, Country and Southern Soul. Another fact worth mentioning is that, Taylor is the first guy amongst all American Idol winners or finalists to have bagged a gig at Las Vegas. Hence, it wouldn’t be surprising if Taylor pours his heart and soul into every performance, as this is clearly his moment under the sun.
Las Vegas is where it all began and the American Idol show on Thursday Night is where Taylor Hicks announced that he will be returning to Las Vegas for a summer residency at Bally’s Las Vegas.
From the official press release by Bally’s and taylorhicks.com:
“As announced on ‘American Idol’ last night, Taylor Hicks, winner of the show’s fifth season, will have an eight-week engagement headlining at Bally’s Las Vegas beginning Tuesday, June 26, 2012. Hicks will play in The Indigo at Bally’s Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings at 7 p.m.”
“Hicks becomes the first 'American Idol' winner or finalist to secure a residency in Las Vegas, a testament to his talent and staying power as one of the show’s most beloved stars. It is also a sort of homecoming, as Las Vegas is where Hicks’ journey to fame began. He was in New Orleans the night before Hurricane Katrina. With his flight cancelled, he was given a free airplane voucher. Hicks used the ticket to travel to Las Vegas, where coincidentally 'American Idol' auditions were being held.”
The Season Five winner reflected on the great legacy of a residency in Las Vegas:
“Vegas is where Sinatra’s Rat Pack and America’s greatest talents made musical history. To join those ranks is both humbling and thrilling. My goal is to live up to that legacy of live showmanship."
Taylor Hicks joins the host of memorable artists to enjoy a residency engagement on the Las Vegas Strip!
Taylor Hicks hosts an American Idol Viewing Party tonight in Birmingham at his own restaurant, Ore. The Season Five IDOL winner should have great insight into the show where he was never in the bottom three, his season garnered the largest viewing audience ever and the finale was the most watched show of the DECADE! The Idol summer tour in 2006 was the largest grossing ever. It was a pretty good year for the franchise and the artists who competed there.
I have a confession to make. I have never admitted this to anyone!
Even though I watched every week, every show, every performance in Season Five, and was cheering for the young man from Alabama...
I never voted for Taylor Hicks!
Let me explain...
I didn't vote for anyone.
I was new to the phenomenon of musical competitions on TV. I had only watched the finales because they were happenings. Voting on a phone? The only voting I had ever done had been in a booth on Election Day!
I have written much about how far I've come since then. It has been much like a "coming out" into the modern world. I learned so much about technology, social media, and the fan world. I learned what following an artist meant.
It all became a part of my life, fitting in along with work, a beautiful family, and a new “connected” life.
Yet, it’s not how far we’ve come.
It’s how far we’re going.
I hope that is what the young people on American Idol this year are looking at—how far they are going!
There was never any doubt how far Taylor Hicks was going. He never gave up. He was the age of many of the Idol performers when he started out performing at a bar in Birmingham where he was too young to be. His first time in Nashville as told in his autobiography was a low point in his struggle to make it. He left without the success he sought.
He didn't give up. He just took a road not going through Nashville. And it would be years before Taylor would return to Nashville on his own tour busses to play the packed Ryman Auditorium in March, 2007, after winning American Idol. Now he lives there, writes music with some of its most talented songwriters, and is writing and recording his new album there.
The road goes through Nashville this time.
In his autobiography, Heart Full of Soul, Taylor's determination to make it is the story's heart and soul. Someone said recently on a music competition that they didn't have a "B" plan. Music was it. Taylor didn't have a "B" plan. He tried a "normal" life but always came back to music.
He did reach a point when he doubted how long he could just go on looking for that big break. When did it just become an exercise in futility? When Katrina hit New Orleans, he caught one of the last taxis out of the city. With his flight cancelled, he had a Southwest voucher to anywhere in the country. He made one more decision to not give up and flew all by himself to Las Vegas for Idol tryouts.
From Heart Full of Soul:
“.. an objective observer would have noted that the way things had been going for me of late, this Idol tryout was likely my last shot at breaking into the big time.
“As time goes by and you continue to go through the painful but often unavoidable process of paying your dues, waiting around for your elusive break in show business comes to seem less an act of reason ad more an act of survival, perhaps even an act of faith. One lingering and lousy question never really goes away: how long can any of us afford to spend finding our way? In our quieter moments we’re left to wonder: at what point does waiting around for a break become simply waiting in vain?”
Very early on the morning of October 10, 2005, Taylor caught a cab to the Idol tryouts.
“I’d requested a 5:00 a.m. wake-up call so I could rise before dawn and get to the auditions at the Las Vegas Convention Center as early as possible. I remember getting into a cab as the sun was still coming up and noticing how incredibly beautiful the brightening desert sky looked. I asked my driver, ‘Does God make these sunrises every day?’ The cabbie just smiled and said, ‘Yes, every day.’
“It was a chilly desert morning, but I remember feeling warmed by the sense that my luck was about to change…”
Perhaps there was a little luck that day in the City of Luck, but it’s really about Taylor’s never giving up.
Social media speaks for a gigantic world where so much can be lost in its sheer volume. Sometimes the relevant goes unnoticed. This didn't.
A young teenaged singer tweeted a video to Taylor for him to see and said that she dreamed of being on American Idol some day. He noticed it and his response was knowing and inspiring:
"Dreams do come true."
American Idol may bring overnight fame. It doesn't bring overnight success. Taylor has often called it a platform. It was a stage from which his voice was heard by millions of people. The rest was up to him. He had been in the business for over ten years. Even after winning, it has taken long hours on the road, work in the studio, making tough decisions and playing the music game to get where he is now. American Idol is not a dream come true. It's an open door. What's on the other side is up to the artist.
0 comments:
Post a Comment