Taylor Hicks; American Idol 5 Debate

Can a gray-haired young man who sings like he is possessed by the Soul of Joe Cocker (or one of the Lost Blues Brothers) make it on a show in which appearance plays such a huge role?

According to Steve Tilley, in his article posted in "Jam! Televison" Taylor won't even get into the top ten.
"Singing cowboy Garet Johnson didn’t make the final cut, but grey-haired Taylor Hicks, easily the coolest dude of the season, sailed through. Too bad his ashen mane and Joe Cocker channeling will keep him from the top 10".

Published in "The Ledger.com", in an article by Johnny Diaz, ....'HIS SILVER LINING
For Men, Going Grey Has Become Sophisticated' and Gray is the new Black...
http://www.theledger.com/graphics/ledgerlogos/ledgeronlinelogo88.gif
"YOUNG AND GRAY

Some of these men and some hair stylists credit the look to a baby boomer attitude that one can gray gracefully, but there has also been an increase in the number of younger celebrities and newsmen who are letting their salt and pepper shine.Movie star Clooney, 44; Comedy Central quasi-news anchor Jon Stewart, 43; and CNN anchor Anderson Cooper, 38, see the silver lining in their own hair. There was Taylor Hicks, 29, who stood out during this season's "American Idol" auditions more for his gray hair than his singing. And there was Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett Favre, 36, gracing a recent cover of Men's Journal magazine with his silver buzz cut and beard."

The fact that Taylor Hicks is 29 years old, but looks, by his gray locks closer to 50, may have an unexpected effect on the TV Idol watching faithful. Will we see a trend to not cover that gray, or even a push for hair color that looks gray becoming a new trend? Since last season's rocker Bo Bice, longer hair in men is seeing a resurgence. A big part of the Bo Bice fan-base consist of former 'hippy-chicks' from the '70's when guys with long hair were in vogue. Bice's mane and great rocker voice providing them memories of their youth.

I am intrigued by HIcks, but not for his thick mop of gray. I like his voice. His unique blues influence is interesting in that with today's young music afficianadoes you don't find an interest in the Muddy Waters, Blind Lemon Brown, and others such as you will find in this link. http://www.bluesworld.com/OTHERPRE.html

The fact that someone with Hicks' musical taste to decide to enter a pop-themed music contest like Idol is intriguing. Back in my day of studying the Blues and jazz music I encountered a huge bias from scholars of these musical styles against the type of tunes produced in pop and promoted in the "American Idol" format; a downright snobbery against the mainstream. Hicks has probably found a limited scope and potential in getting his voice and music heard. Music is a tough business. Hicks is also at the age where if you haven't "made it" by now, you just may never. AI 5 will quite possibly give him a venue to become a public entity to further his career. Do I think Hicks will take the AI5 title? I will not voice a prediction on that yet. Hicks is going to have to show he has the versitility and vocal chops to deliver a sound palatable to the AI public. "Unique" can carry you only so far in a talent show such as Idol. I am rooting for him, I like what I saw in the auditions; his coming into the 'deciding room' playing that mouth harp was genius.

There are already fan sites popping up and here are some links:
http://www.realitytvmagazine.com/blog/2006/02/taylor_hicks_is.html
http://ourplaceblog.blogspot.com/2006/02/download-3-of-taylor-hicks-songs-and.html
http://technorati.com/tag/Taylor%20Hicks
http://taylorhicks2006.com/
http://s15.invisionfree.com/TaylorMade/index.php?
There will be more as the season gets underway.

Waiting for Wednesday to see what he has to offer on his initial appearance!